Gebel Dif and Gebel Anfeib together form a still further continuation south-eastward of the same great sandstone plateau, being separated from Gebel Hodein by the deep winding gorge of Wadi Dif. The sandstone beds here dip to the north-east, and the highest points are near the west edge of the mass, where they are flanked by lines of lower hills, formed of schists cropping out from under the sandstone. A triangulation beacon in latitude 23° 8′ 24″, longitude 34° 59′ 19″, marks the south end of the high plateau of Gebel Anfeib; it is 705 metres above sea-level, and very conspicuous from the east, but it is generally invisible from the west side of the mass, owing to the ridges north-west of it being slightly higher. In occupying the point as a station, I approached it from Bir Dif, following up the Wadi Abu Hashim to its head, then down the Rod Mukrayib round Gebel Lilowit, the south tip of the schist range, and turning north across various small wadis to a camp in one of the heads of Wadi Edunqul, at 315 metres above sea-level and 1,200 metres south-east of the beacon. This camp could also have been reached from Bir Abu Saafa via the Wadis Hodein and Anfeib. The climb to the beacon, of 400 metres, is steep, but not difficult, and occupies less than two hours.
Gebel Tibatib is a conspicuous dark conical peak among the low dark hills which extend from Gebel Anfeib to Wadi Hodein. Its summit is 396 metres above sea-level.
Gebel Butitelib is a steep-sided little hill mass of grey felsite close west of the easy pass which leads from the head of Wadi Abu Hashim into the Rod Mukrayib, near the south end of Gebel Anfeib. It rises to 485 metres above sea, or eighty metres above the sandy pass.
Gebel Lilowit, the south end of the schist range which flanks Gebel Anfeib on the west, is 485 metres above the sea.
Gebel Niqrub el Tahtani is a conspicuous isolated jagged mountain south of the Rod Mukrayib (which drains its northern face), and west of Wadi Madi. The beacon on it is in latitude 23° 0′ 39″, longitude 35° 0′ 53″, 829 metres above sea-level and about 500 metres above the Rod Mukrayib. A conspicuous pinnacle close north-east of the beacon has practically the same altitude.
Gebel Niqrub el Foqani is a mountain of granite and felsite rising to a height of 1,078 metres above the sea, from among the low hill country which separates Wadis Madi and Gemal, in latitude 23° 52′. Its great height and isolated position render it a conspicuous object in the landscape from great distances. It is drained by myriads of small wadis radiating in all directions, but which all eventually join Wadi Madi on the east or Wadi Gemal on the west. It is best ascended from the west side, where a camp can be got 1,500 metres due east of the beacon on the summit and 496 metres above sea-level, in one of the stony heads of the channels draining towards Wadi Gemal. The ascent from this camp occupied a little over two hours, and was not very difficult; but an attempt from any other direction would most likely have failed, as the slopes to the south and east are extremely steep and in places precipitous. The top of the mountain is a very rugged ridge, so broken that it is an hour’s hard work to get along its 700 metres of length. The main ridge is surrounded by lower flanking peaks on the north, east and south, while from the west there runs off a long ridge, curving round to the south and enclosing a small sandy plain south-west of the summit. This curved ridge is cut through from east to west by a rather steep pass, 490 metres above sea-level. The view from the summit of Gebel Niqrub el Foqani is very extensive, as will be seen from the panorama drawn to scale from theodolite measurements on [Plate XVI], but in the winter months the mountain is frequently wrapped in clouds for days together; I had to remain eight days on the summit in December 1907, before I could complete my observations, most of the time being spent in a cold wet mist which blotted out the landscape. The beacon on Gebel Niqrub el Foqani, in latitude 22° 51′ 29″, longitude 34° 56′ 49″, marks a point on the administrative boundary between Egypt and the Sudan, the limit proceeding east-south-east to Bir Meneiga, and south-south-west to Gebel Um el Tiur el Foqani.
The low hill country between Gebel Niqrub and Wadi Madi consists chiefly of east and west ridges formed by dykes. A rather high granite hill about ten kilometres to the south-east, close to Wadi Madi, is marked by a beacon and overlooks the well called Bir Madi; the beacon is 556 metres above sea-level, or eighty metres above the well.
To the south-west of Gebel Hodein the sandstone runs off in a mass of very high hills called Gebel Kala, leaving a much lower area of schist hills in between, through which the Wadi Feqoh pursues its sandy barren course. Gebel Kala has not been closely approached, but its principal peaks have been fixed by triangulation, and the highest is 846 metres above sea-level. The scarps of these hills are very steep, and the mass appears to be much cut up by wadis draining to Feqoh. The sandstone ceases just beyond Gebel Kala, and its place is taken by granite, which forms the mountains of the watershed further south-west.
MEASURED PANORAMAS FROM THE SUMMITS OF GEBELS NIQRUB & GERF.
(Plotted to scale from theodolite-observations & telescopic sketches.)
| Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt. | PLATE XVI. |