Geology end Mineralegy.—The mountains of Syria and Palestine are composed chiefly of a hard compact limestone, of a whitish or pale yellow colour, disposed in strata variously inclined, and affording a great number of caverns, to which frequent allusion is made in the Scriptures. The limestone rocks of which Lebanon Is composed are of a whitish colour, from which circumstance the name of the mono tain is supposed to be derived. The rock which lines the valley of the Jordan is of a texture much less compact than that of the mountains of Lebanon or of central Palestine ; and it diminishes in compactness as we approach the Dead Sea. In the neighbourhood of Um-Reis, the ancient Cedars, to the south-east of the Lake of Gennesareth, there is a considerable quantity of black basaltic rock among the alleareons stone which prevails on the east of the Jordan between Yarmak and the Zerka. This black basaltic rock is also found in large quantities in the plain of the Ifaouran, farther to the east. In the mountains south of the Zerka the calcareous stone is interspersed with layers of sandstone of different colours, and large blocks of black basalt. The hills about Jerusalem are of a hard light-coloured lime stone, which, as we approach the Dead Sea, is exchanged for white or grayish limestone of a looser texture, containing layers of a reddish micaceous stone. [DEAD SEA.] The black basaltic rock of the Haouran extends along the whole eastern border of the country. In the parts near the Jordan it is generally found in detached Traces of basalt are also found on the west of the Lake of Gennesareth. Slate is found about the Dead Sea. In many places the limestone is covered by chalky rocks, containing corals, shells', and other marine exuvise. In the chalky beds about the summit of Carmel are found hollow atones lined with sparry matter, which resemble petrified olives and other fruit. This chalk?' formation appears very conspicuously in the White Cape (Ras-el-Abaid) below Tyre. There are indications of coal in various parts of Lebanon. Salt Is obtained in abundance from the Deed Sea and the Mediterranean. The water of the Dead Sca is intensely salt. Fragments and beds of salt are found about its shores. [DEAD SEA.] Saltpetre is found in the district of the Haouran.
In modern times the mineral wealth of the country has been almost entirely neglected. Iron abounds in the Lebanon and Kesraoun Moun tains, and traces of it are found in other parts. Of copper there is no mention in modern times, though from the description of Moses (Dent. viii. 9) it seems to have been found in ancient times. Palestine possesses neither tin, lead, nor gold; but some traces of silver have been found. There are celebrated mines of asphislturn in the neigh bourhood of Hasbeya, near the sources of the Jordan.
The indications of volcanic action are chiefly confined to the basin of the Jordan and its lakes ; and they are most frequent about the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea. Hot springs, lava, and pumice stone are found about the Dead Sea. There are hot-springs at Tiberias, on the western side of the Lake of Tiberias, and at other places round the lake, which has itself a striking resemblance to the crater of a volcano. In the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea are still mines of asphaltum (' slime pits') of which the vale of Siddim was full in ancient times (Gen. xiv. 10), and other traces of the 'brimstone, salt, and
burning,' by which the cities of the plain were overthrown. Palestine has been the scene of repeated earthquakes.
Valleys, Plains, and Deserta—The chief valleys of Palestine are longitudinal, and run from north to south. The transverse valleys have a general east and west direction, being formed by the offsets of the principal mountain ranges. The chief plain country is the low land along the Mediterranean. The chief valleys are to the east of that range, and are the Bekka before mentioned, the basin of the river Jordan, and the great valley of Amin extending from the Dead Sea to the iElanitic Gulf.
The flat country along the coast varies considerably in breadth, and is diversified by elevations which are offsets from the central moun tains. The soil of this part of the country is very fertile, being composed of a rich brown mould. The climate along the coast is very warm. To the south of Caesarea is the celebrated vale of Sharon, which is terminated in the neighbourhood of El-Arish by a sandy desert (the wilderness of Shur and Primo) which extends westward to Egypt, and eastward to the peninsula of Sinai.
The country between the mountains of Libanus and Anti-Libanun formed the Ceele-Syria of the Greeks and Romans. Its length is about 90 miles, and its average breadth about 11 miles : it is the richest and most beautiful part of Syria.
The great valley of the Jordan extends about 175 miles from the sources of the river in the north, to the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It is bounded on both aides by mountains, which on the east rise almost precipitously from the bed of the river till near the head of the Dead Sea, where the valley becomes wider: on the west there is a fertile vale between the river and the mountains, averaging about a half or three-quarters of a mile in breadth, except at the Lake of Gennesareth, where the mountains come close up to the shores. The valley of the Jordan is in fact a great longitudinal cleft, which traverses the country from north to south, and in its lowest part, the surface of the Dead Sea, is 1312 feet below the level of the Mediter ranean. The valley is very warm, and singularly fertile. The name of the valley of the Jordan is usually restricted to the Ohor or the part between the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, which is about 65 miles long, and 5 or 6 miles wide in the northern half, but it grows much wider towards the Dead Sea, near which it spreads out into the plain of Jericho on the west and the plains of Moab on the east of the Jordan. The plain of Jericho is about 18 miles long by 7 or 8 miles broad, and is bounded on the west by an amphitheatre of mountains, which, by concentrating the sun's rays, cause a great degree of heat in the plain, which Is further increased by the sandy nature of the soil, and by the low level of the plain. The plain immediately sur rounding the Dead Sea consists on the eastern side for the most part of a sandy desert, with a few cultivated spots ; on the western side the soil is rich, the heat great, and water abundant, but on the immediate borders of the lake it is a dreary waste. The great valley of Arabs, which extends from the south of the Dead Sea to the head of the ./Elanitic Gulf, is not within the limits of Palestine properly so called.