Page:An Introduction to the Survey of Western Palestine.djvu/89

73 WADY EL MALEH. MINOR BASINS. 73

short distance eastward to receive the Wady el Tubkah which skirts the eastern border. Then it runs northward to the confluence with the Wady ed Duba or esh Shukh (alt. 723 feet below the sea).

The Wady ed Duba skirts the eastern moiety of the northern edge of the basin, and drains the area between it and the range of Eas er Eaby, which is prolonged by a spur extending eastward between the affluents of ed Duba and the Wady el Maleh.

Below the confluence of the Duba, the Wady el Maleh receives small affluents from the north-eastern part of the basin, near 'Ain el Helweh ; and then runs on eastward to the Jordan ; which it enters where the plains on the south of Beisan, are terminated by the mountains closing in upon the river.

MINOR BASINS BETWEEN WADY EL MALEH, THE JORDAN, AND WADY FAR' AH.

The eastern edge of the Maleh basin is only from two to three miles distant from the Jordan. The steepness of the slope towards the valley is best expressed by the actual observations. The river is 1,080 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, at the Makhadet (ford) es S'aidiyeh, and 1,120 feet at Makt. Umm Sidreh. The summits on the eastern edge of the Maleh basin, and on its continuation along the basin of Wady el Bukei'a are as follows : Eas Nukb el Bakr (alt. 95 feet), Dhahret el Meidan (alt. 653 feet), Kh. Mofia (alt. 590 feet), Eas Umm Zokah (alt. 840 feet), Eas el Jibsin (alt. 110 feet). These elevations above the sea, added to the figures representing the depression of the river below the sea, are equivalent to heights of 1,100 to 2,000 feet above the stream, and they frequently terminate in rocky,, precipices.

This bold and abrupt slope is broken up by numerous ravines and wadys, rising near the summit, and exhibiting much variety in their descent. The Wady Umm el Khar-