After rain, there is frequently grazing in the depressions in the atmurs, such as El Gura, near Tendera.
In the khors on the east of the watersheds there is little or no grass until the lower levels are reached, except in the Odrus plain and in the upper part of Khor Adit, near Sinkat.
Water supply.Throughout the whole stretch of desert, between the hills and the railway, water is scarce.
Besides those at the well-known halting places on the Berber-Suakin caravan road—Obak and Ariab—the following wells may be noted:—
Garafab.—50 miles N.N.E. of Abidia, has several shallow wells among sand dunes.
Sararat Well.—In Wadi Amur, is 96 miles from Garafab. The well is 50 feet deep, and is lined with stone, but only gives a small supply. This well is probably the same as that marked on the older maps as the “Oasis of Amur.” South of the Suakin-Berber road the chief wells are as follows:—
Tendera, Mib, and Oi.—There are several good wells at each of these places.
The Mib wells are specially good, and lie in a hollow of the hills, reached by a narrow defile about ¾ of a mile long. The water supply at Thamiam is very good, but the wells are dug in the bed of the khor and are liable to fill up. There is sometimes water in the rocks at Rauai, but it was stated not to be sufficient to water a hamla of 80 camels in November, 1902.
Talgwarab is only a water hole 18 feet deep, and cannot be counted on as a supply at present. The natives state that attempts to dig down deeper are prevented by the light soil falling in.
Near the watershed the wells are more numerous. There are four wells in the upper part of Khor Haieit, and several others in the deep valleys through which the larger khors drain into the Haieit, Amur, and Arab basins. In the upper part of Wadi Amur, above Sararat, wells are reported to be about 11 miles apart. On the eastern side, besides the existing wells, water could probably be found at a depth of a few feet anywhere in Khor Arbat. The wells in the lower parts of the khors are frequently brackish. Hoshiri at the foot of Khor Okwat is an example of this.