Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/411

 LEBANON 393 trees ; of the first may be mentioned several oaks Quemis Mellul, Q. subalpina (Kotschy), Q. Cerris, and the hop-horn beam (Ostrya) ; of the second class the rare Cilician silver fir (Abies cilicica) may be noticed. Next come the junipers, sometimes attaining the size of trees (Juniperus excelsa, J, rufescens, and, with fruit as large as plums, J. drupacea). But the chief ornament of Lebanon is the Rhododendron ponticum, with its brilliant purple flower clusters ; a peculiar evergreen, Vinca libanotica, also adds beauty to this zone. (3) Into the alpine region (6200 to 10,400 feet) penetrate a few very stunted oaks (Quercus subafpina, Kotschy), the junipers already mentioned, and a barberry (Berberis cretica), which sometimes spreads into close thickets. Then follow the low, dense, prone, pillow-like dwarf bushes, thorny and grey, common to the Oriental high lands Astragalus and the peculiar Acantholimon. They are found up to within 300 feet of the highest summits. Upon the exposed mountain slopes rhubarb (Rheum Ribes) is noticeable, and also a vetch (Vicia canescens, Lab.) excellent for sheep. The spring vegetation, which lasts until July, appears to be rich, especially as regards corolla- bearing plants, such as Corydalis, Gagea, Bulbillaria, Colchiciun, Puschkinia, Geranium, Ornithogalum, &c. The flora of the highest ridges, along the edges of the snow patches, exhibits no forms related to our northern alpine flora, but suggestions of it are found in a Draba, an Andro- sctce, an Alsine, and a violet, occurring, however, only in local species. Upon the highest summits are found Sapo- naria Pumilio (resembling our Silene acaulis) and varieties of Galium, Euphorbia, Astragalus, Veronica, Jurinea, Festuca, Scrophularia, Geranium, Asphodeline, Allium, Aspenda ; and, on the margins of the snow fields, a Taraxacum and Ranunculus demissus. The alpine flora of Lebanon thus connects itself directly with the Oriental flora of lower altitudes, and is unrelated to the glacial flora of Europe and northern Asia. Zoology. There is nothing of special interest about the fauna of Lebanon. Bears are no longer numerous ; the panther and the ounce are met with ; the wild hog, hysena, wolf, and fox: are by no means rare ; jackals and gazelles are very common. The polecat and hedgehog also occur. As a rule there are not many birds, but the eagle and the vulture may occasionally be seen ; of eatable kinds part ridges and wild pigeons are the most abundant. In some places the bat occasionalby multiplies so as actually to become a plague. Geography. The district to the west of Lebanon, averaging about six hours in breadth, slopes in an intricate series of plateaus and terraces to the Mediterranean. The coast is for the most part abrupt and rocky, often leaving room for only a narrow path along the shore, and when viewed from the sea it does not lead one to have ths least suspicion of the extent of country lying between its cliffs and the lofty summits behind. Most of the mountain spurs run from east to west, but in northern Lebanon the prevailing direction of the valleys is north-westerly, and in the south some ridges also run parallel with the principal chain. The valleys have for the most part been deeply excavated by the rapid mountain streams which traverse them ; the apparently inaccessible heights are crowned by numerous villages, castles, or cloisters embosomed among trees. Of the streams which are perennial, the most worthy of note, beginning from the north, are the Nahr Akkdr, N. Arkx, N. el-Barid, N. Kadisha, &quot; the holy river &quot; (the valley of which begins far up in the immediate neighbour hood of the highest summits, and rapidly descends in a series of great bends till the river reaches the sea at Tri poli), Wady el-Joz (falling into the sea at Batrun), &quot;Wady Fidar, Nahr Ibrahim (the ancient Adonis, having its source in a recess of the great mountain amphitheatre where the famous sanctuary Apheca, the modern Afka, lay), Nahr el- Kelb (the ancient Lycus), Nahr Beirut (the ancient Magoras, entering the sea at Beyrout), Nahr Daniur (ancient Tam- yras), Nahr el- Auwaly (the ancient Bostrenus, which in the uppar part of its course is joined by the Nahr el-Bariik). The Auwaly and the Nahr el-Zaherani, the only other streams that fall to be mentioned before we reach the Litany, flow north-east to south-west, in consequence of the interposition of a ridge subordinate and parallel to the central chain. On the north, where the mountain bears the special name of Jebel Akkar, the main ridge of Lebanon rises gradually from the plain. A number of valleys run to the north and north-east, among which must be mentioned that of the Nahr el-Kebir, the Eleutherus of the ancients, which takes its rise in the Jebel el-Abyad on the eastern slope of Lebanon, and afterwards, skirting the district, flows westward to the sea. To the south of Jebel el-Abyad, beneath the main ridge, which as a rule falls away suddenly towards the east, occur several small elevated terraces having a southward slope ; among these the Wadi en-Nusur (&quot;vale of eagles&quot;), and the basin of the lake Yammiina, with its intermittent spring Neb a el-Arba in, deserve special mention. Of the streams which descend into the Buka a, only the Berdani need be named ; it rises in Jebel Sunnin, and enters the plain by a deep and picturesque mountain cleft at Zahleh. With regard to height, the most elevated summits occur in the north, but even these are of very gentle gradient, and are ascended quite easily. The names and the elevations of the several peaks, which even in summer are covered with snow, have been very variously given by different explorers ; according to the most accurate accounts the &quot; Cedar block &quot; consists of a double line of four and three sum mits respectively, ranged from north to south, with a deviation of about 35. Those to the east are Uyiin Urghush, Makmal, Muskiyya (or Naba esh-Shemaila), and Ras Zahr el-Kazib ; fronting the sea are Karn Sauda or Timarun, Fumm el-Mizab, and Zahr el-Kandil. The height of Zahr el-Kazlb, by barometric measurement, is 10,018 feet ; that of the others is almost the same. South from them is the pass (8351 feet) which leads from Baalbec to Tripoli ; the great mountain amphitheatre on the west side of its summit is remarkable. Further to the south is a second group of lofty summits the snow-capped Sunin n, visible from Beyrout ; its height is 8554 feet, or, according to other accounts, 8895 feet. Between this group and the more southerly Jebel Kuneiseh (about G700 feet) lies the pass (4700 feet) now traversed by the French post road between Beyrout and Damascus. Among the other bare summits still further south are the long ridge of Jebel el-Baruk (about 7000 feet), the Jebel Niha, with the Tau amat Niha (about 6100 feet), near which is a pass to Sidon, and the Jebel Rihan (about 5400 feet). The Buka a, the broad valley vhich separates Lebanon from Antilibanus, is watered by two rivers having their watershed near Baalbec, at an elevation of about 3600 feet, and separated only by a short mile at their sources. That flowing northwards, El- Asy, is the ancient Orontes ; the other is the Litany. In the lower part of its course the latter has scooped out for itself a deep and narrow rocky bed ; at Burghuz it is spanned by a great natural bridge. Not far from the point where it suddenly trends to the west lie, immediately above the romantic valley, at an elevation of 1500 feet, the imposing ruins of the old castle Kal at esh-Shakif, near one of the passes to Sidon. In its lower part the Litany bears the name of Nahr el-Kasimiyeh. Neither the Orontes nor the Litany lias any important affluent. The Buka a used to be known as Ccelesyria (Strabo, xvi. 2, 21), but that word as employed by the ancients had a XIV. 50