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increased supply ; these tunnels communicate with the surface of the ground by 
a series of air shafts ; they mostly date from early times. No deep wells appear 
to exist in the oasis and certainly no borings have been made in modern times. 
The fall of the water-level is probably due to the gradual choking of the passages ; 
an unsatisfactory and laborious method of cleaning out wells is in vogue hut 
little trouble is taken to prevent the deterioration of the water-supply generally. 
Practically all the available land in this oasis is under cultivation, although 
with the reduced output of the springs the supply is barely sufficient for efficient 
irrigation. 
44. Farafra oasis occupies a large semicircular depression 300 kilometres 
west of Assiut. The floor is formed of the white chalk at the top of the Creta- 
ceous, but at Ain-el-Wadi, a spring in the north part of the depression at 26 
metres above sea level, the underlying beds are locally exposed. The solitary 
village of Qasr Farafra is situated on the western side at 76 metres above sea 
level, and contained 542 inhabitants at the last census. In the entire area there 
are some 20 springs, mostly grouped round the village, each irrigating a small 
patch of cultivated ground; the total area of the latter, including the few palm- 
groves, probably does not amount to 500 acres. Wheat, barley, durra, rice, 
onions and some fruit are grown, and small quantities of dates and olives are 
exported; formerly the olives of Farafra were celebrated for their quality, but of 
late years the trees have deteriorated. 
The water rises as springs from the white chalk and does not necessitate the 
use of lifting appliances, though the output appears to be decreasing through 
natural causes. There are a few examples of horizontal conducting channels of 
ancient date and two or three of the springs appear to have deep vertical shafts 
as in the ancient wells of Daklila. Sweet and brackish water-holes occur in 
several outlying localities within the depression, as well as in the neighbouring 
little known oasis of Iddaila to the west. Owing to the absence of waste pools 
and marshy land the climate of Farafra is more healthy than that of the 
other oases. 
45. The Geology of Egypt ( 1 ). The north-east corner of Africa, lying between 
the Red Sea on the east and the sand merged portion of the Libyan Desert on 
the west, and stretching from the Mediterranean to the 22nd parallel of north 
latitude, both in its topographical and geological characters is distinctly tripartite, 
as follows 
(1) A rugged broken undulating sandstone desert, forming the southern part 
of the country ; 
(2) Elevated plateaux, for the most part of limestone, stretching from lat. 25° N. 
(approximately) to the Mediterranean ; 
(3) The mountainous igneous range of the Red Sea Hills, with peaks over 
1800 metres (6000 feet) in height. 
As a whole one of the most waterless and desolate areas in the world, the 
country is traversed from south to north by a narrow highly cultivated and thickly 
(i) In writing this note at the request of Sir William Willcocks I have made free use of all 
sources, of information, but am chiefly indebted to the publications of Schweinfurth and the late 
Professor Zittel, Capt. Lyons, and my past and present colleagues on the Geological Survey of 
Egypt. 
