Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/433

 THE JEBEL AIAN AND BENI HASSAN UPLANDS. 065 Tho border chain of the Jobel lladz temiinutcs northwards in the Jebel BelUunoHh, the Sierra do Bullones of the Si>iiniur<lM, which in identified as the Septem Fratres (" St»ven lirothcrs ") of the ancients. Towanln the cant this majw develops the narrow peninsula which is connected by a fortifie<l iNthniUN with the isolated bluff of Ceuta; on the other hand it projccti* northwards to form tho Jebel Mu(a heafUand, which is the southern of the two " PilUrs of Hercules." This southern pillar, the Abyla of the ancients, is scarcely less ini|)osin^ than tho Rock of Gibraltar, and is even of greater height (2,8o0 feet). Hut a nearer view shows that it is a shapeless mass, a chaos of rocks, offering a retreat to wolves, wild boars, and monkeys. The temi " Elephant Mountain," applied to it by Strabo, is justified by the apiwarance it presents when seen from a distance. At the same time, the forests which flourished in this region of the continent eighteen hundred years ago, were, according to Pliny, still frequented by elephants. West of the Mons Abyla other crests follow along the narrowest part of tho strait. But beyond Cape Ciris the coast begins to trend southwards through a series of curves separated one from the other by the detached headlands of the Jebel HaCiz. Beyond the cliffs of Tangier the coast-line again abruptly turns south- wards. Above the cape forming the north-western angle of the continent, the headland of Spartel, or Ishbertil, the Tarf-esh-Shakr of the natives, rises to a height of 1,040 feet. Cape Spartel is the ancient promontory of Ampolousion, or " Vine Point," and this district still yields the best grapes in Marocco. The neighbouring town of El-Araish has for its coat-of-arms bunches of grapes, which a man is lifting with an effort. One of the caverns in Cape Spartel excavated by. the surf was formerly dedicated to Hercules, and near it stood the tomb of Anta;us. Thus was symbolised the struggle between the blind forces of nature and the triumphant genius of man at this " land's end," where vessels sailing westwanls ent^rtxl on the trackless ocean. For a distance of over 360 miles, between Cape Spartel and Mogador, the Atlantic seaboard almost everywhere presents a low surf-beaten beach, which is carefully avoided by mariners. The shallow waters extend seawards for over 30 miles, where the plummet first reaches depths of G60 feet. Along the coast the highest headland is that of Cape Cantin, whose alternating layers of grey and red marls, limestones, and ferruginous clays, tcnninate here in vertical cliffs, elsewhere in irregular step formations. Signs of upheaval have been observed at various I>oints, and an old beach containing deposits of shells runs along the coast at a mean height of 65 feet above the present sea-level. But acconling to some authorities, the opposite phenomenon of subsidence has been noticed, at knwt at Mogador. Rivers of Marocco. Enjoying a more copious rainfall than the rest of Mauritania, Marocco is able to send seawards a larger number of rivers, some of which, although reduced by evaporation and irrigation works in their lower course, retain a larger volume than