19 
southern part, and its altitude is only 7 feet above the Medi- 
terranean. The Jordan passes from the southern end of the 
Huleh Lake, through a rugged gorge, in which it forms a con- 
tinuous rapid, till it enters the Sea of Galilee, the surface of 
which is depressed to 682 feet below the level of the Mediter- 
ranean. The Sea of Galilee is fourteen miles in length and 
nearly seven miles broad in its widest part ; its greatest depth 
is about 150 feet. The Jordan leaves the Sea of Galilee at its 
southern end, and continues its descent with an increasing 
depression below the Mediterranean till it enters the Dead Sea, 
the surface of which is no less than 1,292 feet below the 
Mediterranean. I refrain from entering into further parti- 
culars about this unique river, except to point to the line on 
the Map which defines approximately the great extent to which 
the western bank of the Jordan would be submerged if its 
waters rose to the level of the Mediterranean. One of the 
vertical sections also illustrates the descent of the river. 
The next subject includes the rivers and watercourses that 
lie between the Jordan and the Mediterranean coast line. 
These present a very complicated problem. They certainly 
display at first sight an appearance of great confusion, and 
look almost too much entangled to be unravelled. The 
reduction of this labyrinth to its natural elements will be 
found described at length in my published Introduction to 
the Survey of Western Palestine , illustrated by the special 
edition of the Reduced Map. In a few words the explanation 
is as follows : — All the watercourses and streams, with a very 
few remarkable exceptions, fall either into the Mediterranean 
or into the Jordan. Each outfall pertains to a distinct 
drainage area or basin. The limit of each basin is called its 
water parting, and it is ascertained originally by tracing up 
every stream from its outfall to its source ; and, if the stream 
has branches, the principal branches would be traced likewise. 
On the Special Map the water parting of each basin is 
distinguished by a coloured line, which could easily be made 
bolder, and the basin is named after its main channel. Thus 
the outfall to which each part of the country belongs is seen at 
a glance, and then it becomes easy to distinguish the division 
of a large basin among its principal branches. Having defined 
the limits of the basins and traced their chief features, it will 
be found that the basins differ in the following respect. Only 
some of those on the Mediterranean slope are contiguous 
to Jordan basins, while some only of the Jordan basins are 
contiguous to those of the Mediterranean. Those basins 
which fall short of the Mediterraneo- Jordan water-parting 
are distinguished on the Special Map by a green tint, and the 
c 2 
