Owing to its position as the first range which the northerly winds strike after crossing the north German plain, the climate on the summit of the Harz is generally raw and damp, even in summer. In 1895 an observatory was opened on the top of the Brocken, and the results of the first five years (1806-1900) showed a July mean of 50° Fahr., a February mean of 24.7°, and a yearly mean of 36.6°. During the same five years the rainfall averaged 641⁄3 ins. annually. But while the summer is thus relatively ungenial on the top of the Harz, the usual summer heat of the lower-lying valleys is greatly tempered and cooled; so that, adding this to the natural attractions of the scenery, the deep forests, and the legendary and romantic associations attaching to every fantastic rock and ruined castle, the Harz is a favourite summer resort of the German people. Among the more popular places of resort are Harzburg, Thale and the Bodethal; Blankenburg, with the Teufelsmauer and the Hermannshöhle; Wernigerode, Ilsenburg, Grund, Lauterberg, Hubertusbad, Alexisbad and Suderode. Some of these, and other places not named, add to their natural attractions the advantage of mineral springs and baths, pine-needle baths, whey cures, &c. The Harz is penetrated by several railways, among them a rack-railway up the Brocken, opened in 1898. The district is traversed by excellent roads in all directions.
The northern summits are destitute of trees, but the lower slopes of the Upper Harz are heavily wooded with pines and firs. Between the forests of these stretch numerous peat-mosses, which contain in their spongy reservoirs the sources of many small streams. On the Brocken are found one or two arctic and several alpine, plants. In the Lower Harz the forests contain a great variety of timber. The oak, elm and birch are common, while the beech especially attains an unusual size and beauty. The walnut-tree grows in the eastern districts.
The last bear was killed in the Harz in 1705, and the last lynx in 1817, and since that time the wolf too has become extinct; but deer, foxes, wild cats and badgers are still found in the forests.
The Harz is one of the richest mineral storehouses in Germany, and the chief industry is mining, which has been carried on since the middle of the 10th century. The most important mineral is a peculiarly rich argentiferous lead, but gold in small quantities, copper, iron, sulphur, alum and arsenic are also found. Mining is carried on principally at Klausthal and St Andreasberg in the Upper Harz. Near the latter is one of the deepest mining shafts in Europe, namely the Samson, which goes down 2790 ft. or 720 ft. below sea-level. For the purpose of getting rid of the water, and obviating the flooding of such deep workings, it has been found necessary to construct drainage works of some magnitude. As far back as 1777-1799 the Georgsstollen was cut through the mountains from the east of Klausthal westward to Grund, a distance of 4 m.; but this proving insufficient, another sewer, the Ernst-Auguststollen, no less than 14 m. in length, was made from the same neighbourhood to Gittelde, at the west side of the Harz, in 1851-1864. Marble, granite and gypsum are worked; and large quantities of vitriol are manufactured. The vast forests that cover the mountain slopes supply the materials for a considerable trade in timber. Much wood is exported for building and other purposes, and in the Harz itself is used as fuel. The sawdust of the numerous mills is collected for use in the manufacture of paper. Turf-cutting, coarse lace-making and the breeding of canaries and native song-birds also occupy many of the people. Agriculture is carried on chiefly on the plateaus of the Lower Harz; but there is excellent pasturage both in the north and in the south. In the Lower Harz, as in Switzerland, the cows, which carry bells harmoniously tuned, are driven up into the heights in early summer, returning to the sheltered regions in late autumn.
The inhabitants are descended from various stocks. The Upper and Lower Saxon, the Thuringian and the Frankish races have all contributed to form the present people, and their respective influences are still to be traced in the varieties of dialect. The boundary line between High and Low German passes through the Harz. The Harz was the last stronghold of paganism in Germany, and to that fact are due the legends, in which no district is richer, and the fanciful names given by the people to peculiar objects and appearances of nature.
See Zeitschrift des Harzvereins (Wernigerode, annually since 1868); Günther, Der Harz in Geschichts- Kultur- und Landschaftsbildern (Hanover, 1885), and “Der Harz” in Scobel’s Monographien zur Erdkunde (Bielefeld, 1901); H. Hoffmann and others, Der Harz (Leipzig, 1899), Harzwanderungen (Leipzig, 1902); Hampe, Flora Hercynica (Halle, 1873); von Groddeck, Abriss der Geognosie des Harzes (2nd ed., Klausthal, 1883); Pröhle, Harzsagen (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1886); Hautzinger, Der Kupfer- und Silbersegen des Harzes (Berlin, 1877); Hoppe, Die Bergwerke im Ober- und Unterharz (Klausthal, 1883); Schulze, Lithia Hercynica (Leipzig, 1895); Lüdecke, Die Minerale des Harzes (Berlin, 1896).
HASA, EL (Ahsa, Al Hasa), a district in the east of Arabia stretching along the shore of the Persian Gulf from Kuwét in 29° 20′ N. to the south point of the Gulf of Bahrein in 25° 10′ N., a length of about 360 m. On the W. it is bounded by Nejd, and on the S.E. by the peninsula of El Katr which forms part of Oman. The coast is low and flat and has no deep-water port along its whole length with the exception of Kuwét; from that place to El Katif the country is barren and without villages or permanent settlements, and is only occupied by nomad tribes, of which the principal are the Bani Hajar, Ajman and Khālid. The interior consists of low stony ridges rising gradually to the inner plateau. The oases of Hofuf and Katif, however, form a strong contrast to the barren wastes that cover the greater part of the district. Here an inexhaustible supply of underground water (to which the province owes its name Hasa) issues in strong springs, marking, according to Arab geographers, the course of a great subterranean river draining the Nejd highlands. Hofuf the capital, a town of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, with its neighbour Mubāriz scarcely less populous, forms the centre of a thriving district 50 m. long by 15 m. in breadth, containing numerous villages each with richly cultivated fields and gardens. The town walls enclose a space of 1½ by 1 m., at the north-west angle of which is a remarkable citadel attributed to the Carmathian princes. Mubāriz is celebrated for its hot spring, known as Um Sabā or “mother of seven,” from the seven channels by which its water is distributed. Beyond the present limits of the oasis much of the country is well supplied with water, and ruined sites and half-obliterated canals show that it has only relapsed into waste in recent times. Cultivation reappears at Katif, a town situated on a small bay some 35 m. north-west of Bahrein. Date groves extend for several miles along the coast, which is low and muddy. The district is fertile but the climate is hot and unhealthy; still, owing to its convenient position, the town has a considerable trade with Bahrein and the gulf ports on one side and the interior of Nejd on the other. The fort is a strongly built enclosure attributed, like that at Hofuf, to the Carmathian prince Abu Tahir.
‘Uker or ‘Ujer is the nearest port to Hofuf, from which it is distant about 40 m.; large quantities of rice and piece goods transhipped at Bahrein are landed here and sent on by caravan to Hofuf, the great entrepôt for the trade between southern Nejd and the coast. It also shares in the valuable pearl fishery of Bahrein and the adjacent coast.
Politically El Hasa is a dependency of Turkey, and its capital Hofuf is the headquarters of the sanjak or district of Nejd. Hofuf, Katif and El Katr were occupied by Turkish garrisons in 1871, and the occupation has been continued in spite of British protest as to El Katr, which according to the agreement made in 1867, when Bahrein was taken under British protection, was tributary to the latter. Turkish claims to Kuwēt have not been admitted by Great Britain.