4 
on either side the drainage flows east and west, cutting its 
way deeper and deeper through the mountain-ranges until the 
gulfs are reached, sometimes, as in the case of Wady Feiran, 
which the Serbal range pushes northwards, by a very circuitous 
route. 
These wadies, or watercourses, in consequence of the 
mountainous character of the country, form the only roads 
through it. They are generally dry torrent-beds, their 
breadth and character differing according to the nature of the 
surrounding rocks and the rapidity of their descent. Some 
few are as level and hard as a high road, but the majority 
afford very rough walking amidst loose rocks and boulders. 
A remarkable feature along the coast is the existence of a 
promontory in almost every case at the mouth of the larger 
wadies. At the outfall of a river is usually found a bay; but 
the wadies of Sinai are only filled with water after a storm, 
and the torrents which then flow down them deposit a large 
amount of debris , which gradually assumes the form of a 
promontory. 
The general aspect of the country is one of extreme barren- 
ness and desolation; but it has a beauty and grandeur of its 
own which cannot fail to captivate the traveller. The variety 
of colouring is very great, and the evening and morning effects 
are most striking. The white limestone mountains, dazzling 
and trying as they are under a midday sun, melt into exquisite 
shades of purple as the sun goes down. The warmer tints of 
the brown and red sandstone glow with rich hues of colour ; 
but it is in the granitic district that the full beauty of the 
desert is seen. There the wildness of the scenery and the 
varied forms of the mountains, streaked with dykes of purple 
and black, and displaying a brightness of colouring, red, 
white, rose, and green, which fully compensates for the lack 
of vegetation, exceeds the power of description ; and the 
impressiveness of the scene is heightened by the deathlike 
stillness which reigns around, and by the absence of any signs 
of life. 
The excessive dryness of the atmosphere causes a remark- 
able clearness, which enables the eye to see objects at a very 
great distance, but at the same time renders it exceedingly 
difficult to estimate distances. 
The range of temperature is very great in the higher districts 
during the winter months. On 13th November, 1867, at a 
height of about 5,000 feet above the sea-level, my thermometer 
at 6*30 a.m. stood at 17° Fahr., and at midday in the sun at 
120°. In December, 1868, at the camp of the Survey expe- 
dition, close to St. Katharine^s monastery, at an altitude of 
