Page:An Introduction to the Survey of Western Palestine.djvu/55

39 NAHR EL 'AUJA. 39

'Auja, by a permanent stream, which flows from the south, passing Jaffa and Sarona. This stream is the recipient chiefly of the Wady Nusrah. Near the junction of Wady Nusrah, two small streams also join, which only drain a small portion of the southern waterparting included between Eamleh and the coast. The Wady Nusrah on the contrary is the recipient of all the rest of the drainage of the southern division of the basin.

The Watercourses of the Northern Division of el 'Auja Basin.

An account of the chief watercourses of the two divisions of this basin, is the next step towards understanding its topography. Of the four streams which unite near Tell el Mukhmar and receive all the watercourses of the northern division, the most northerly is the Wady Kalkilieh, which receives the drainage of the north-western edge of the basin as far east as el Funduk (alt. 1,295 feet). The Wady 'Azzun is its most southern tributary, and rises between 'Azzun and Kefr Lakif. Yet 'Azzun was supposed by Dr. Robinson to mark the northern limit of the 'Auja basin. " Phys. Geog,, Holy Land," p. 176.

The next of the four streams is the Wady Kanah, which has been identified with the Brook Kanah of the Bible, the boundary between the tribal territories of Ephraim and Manasseh. The Palestine Exploration Survey appears to throw remarkable light on this much contested subject. See the Quarterly Statement," October, 1880. The Kanah is one of the two great wadys of this division which derive their origin from the edge of the Jordan basin. The Wady Kanah drains the north-eastern part of the division, from el Funduk, by Mount Gerizim and the Plain of Mukhnah, to Yanun and Kh. el Kerum (alt. 2,700 feet).

The third stream is the Wady Eabah, which rises at Haris (alt. 1,560 feet), a village identified by the Talmud with Timnath Heres, allotted to Joshua. This valley is only about half the length of the Kanah valley, and, like the Kal-