Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/234

194 In no country has this statement a fuller illustration than in the region over which the little Geological Map accompanying this volume extends. The present habits, and much of the past history, of the inhabitants have been moulded on the physical characters of the various parts which are the direct outcome of their geological structure. The mild patient character of the Egyptian cultivator befits the nature of that wide alluvial tract of fertile land which is watered by the Nile, and is one of the most recent tracts reclaimed from the sea. The mountainous tracts of the Sinaitic peninsula, formed of the oldest crystalline rocks of that part of the world, have become the abode of the Bedouin Arab, the hardy child of nature who has adapted himself to a life in keeping with his wild surroundings. The great tableland of the Till, less rugged and inhospitable than the mountainous parts of Sinai and Serbal, supports roving tribes, partly pastoral, and gradually assimilating their habits to the fellahin of Philistia and of Palestine, who cultivate the ground and rear large flocks and herds.

A review of the past history of these regions would probably show a still more intimate connection between the character and habits of the various peoples and the physical features of the country than those even of the present day; but it is not necessary that I should do more than allude to them here, in order to enforce my statement that the connection between their characters and habits may be traced largely to the nature of the country, and this again back to its geological structure. I therefore pass on briefly to explain the meaning of the various colours which have been used in the construction of the map.

It will be seen that the map embraces a large area, extending from the banks of the Nile on the west to the mountains of Edom and Moab on the east, and from the southern extremity of the Sinaitic peninsula on the south, to the mountains of Lebanon on the north. It includes the entire Jordan Valley, and the long continuous depression of the Arabah Valley till it becomes submerged beneath the waters of the Gulf of Akabah.

The oldest rocks occupy the greater portion of the Sinaitic peninsula, as well as the mountains bordering the Gulf of Akabah, and extending northward along the eastern side of the Wâdy el Arabah. They are coloured deep purple and pale pink on the map; and consist of granitic,