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216 216 THE HIGHLANDS OF SAMARIA AND JUD.EA.

Five of such divisions have been adopted on the present occasion. The first has the Mukutt'a and Jalud Eivers on the north, and the Wadys Shair and El Humr on the south. The second division succeeds, and has on its southern boundary Wady Balut. and Wady el 'Aujah. The third has for its southern boundary Wady Alallah, Wady Aly, Wady Ismaen, Sikreh and Werd, Wady el War and el Meshash. The fourth and fifth are divided between the Shephelah on the west, and the mountains of Judah on the east. The grounds of these divisions will be discussed in the following explana- tion of their details.

The Northern Samaritan Hills.

The north-eastern base of the Samaritan Hills, from the sea at the foot of Mount Carmel to the Jordan, is generally defined with precision by the abrupt termination of the slope in the continuous lowland formed by the plain of Esdraelon or Merj Ibn Amir, the Valley of Jezreel or Wata el Jalud, and the Plain of Beisan. But for the considerable projection of Mount Gilboa to the north, the whole of this face would fall nearly in the same oblique line, running from north-west to south-east. Mount Carmel is slightly advanced beyond the central part of the range, and the foot of the hills on the south of the Plain of Beisan falls almost in the same line as the foot of Mount Carmel. Mount Gilboa projects between the Plains of Beisan and Esdraelon, along the line of the Mediterranean and Jordan waterparting, and thus brings prominently forward, the main axial division between the eastern and the western watersheds. It will be noticed that the western base of Mount Gilboa is nearly parallel with the western base of Mount Carmel ; but the comparison leads to 110 inference. It may, however, be assumed that the recess between the two mountains is due to denudation of the softer chalky rocks which lie between those hard limestone masses, and which probably extended up to the line of the Mukutt'a Biver. Such an extension is still found running out to the river at Ludd, where the junction takes place of the head-