Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/76

50 We now reached the foot of a lofty ridge of red granite and porphyry, rising to a height of 1,153 feet above the plain, crossing our path in a direction a little north of east, and forming a sort of outer wall to the mountainous district of Sinai to the south. Major Kitchener and others of our party climbed to the summit of this ridge, and planting the theodolite on the highest pinnacle, took angles to all the consjiicuous points within sight. The ridge is traversed by a gorge—one of three passable ones—called El Watiyeh. It was one of the grandest I had ever seen; the walls of red porphyry rising from 800 to 1,000 feet above the remarkably level floor of the pass itself. The effect is more striking from the intense redness of the porphyry, rendered deeper still, sometimes almost to blackness, apparently by the fierce rays of the sun, from which one is glad to get protection by keeping close to the shady side. The gorge bends to the right in a northerly direction; and on emerging we found ourselves in an open space, and in front of a succession of granitic heights and intervening valleys by which the ascent to Jebel Mtisa is made.

This remarkable ridge is found on examination to be a huge "dyke" or mass of porphyry and red granite protruded through the floor of grey granite, which seems to have been the most ancient and fundamental rock of this region. The junction and relations of these two important masses of plutonic origin may be clearly seen at the northern entrance to the gorge; and half way through it will be seen that a basaltic dyke coincides with the general direction of the gorge itself.

On Monday evening, 19th November, we encamped in a plain about seven miles from the Convent of St. Catherine, and near a spring of water surrounded by palms and other plants. The elevation of our camp was found by Mr. Laurence—who made the determination from observations on the boiling point of water—to be about 4,880 feet. The air of the following morning was cold and bracing. Here we remained while visiting Jebel Musa and the neighbouring places.