The Meaheea is surrounded on all sides, except the sea, by a desert, whose surface consists of loose sand. This long sandy tract begins on the east on the banks of a small river called Wady'm Seyd, and thence stretches westward to the (Muriel' Mountains, occupying nearly the whole of the space between the mountains and the sea west of the town of Tripoli. Its western portion has no springs nor running water. Where it borders on the Mesheea, and at the distance of several miles from it, the sand rises in irregular hills, and is totally barren. But in approaching the mountains small spots covered with shrubs and grass occur, which afford pasture to the flocks of the Beduins, and near the base of the mountains the pasture-grounds are nearly contiguous, and frequently interspersed with corn-fields. The eastern districts of the Desert, or those near the Tarhooua range, are also covered with high sand-hills, which reach to the base of the mountains, but they are traversed by two small perennial streams, called Wady ltamleh and Wady'm Seyd, which run in rather narrow valleys, considerably depressed below the general level of the Desert. These valleys are covered with bushes, and between them corn-fields often occur. Barley and dhurra are cultivated.
The °burials Mountains, south of Tripoli, occupy a tract 12 or 15 miles in width. The northern declivity appears to be very irregular, several bills of basalt being dispersed over their base. The mountains rise with a rather steep ascent, but on the top they spread out In plains of moderato extent, which are divided from one another by hills, many of which have a conical form. The plains are in a high state of cultivation. They are covered with ooru and saffron fields, intemperaed with oliestrees, but the elevated alteration presents the caltivatices of the palms. The sides of the hills, which are too steep for the growth of corn. are planted with almonds, figs, apples, olives, awl vines. A oonaiderable portion of this tract however is used as pasture-grounds. The Inhabitants of the Ohurian Mountains live mostly underground, In caves which have been dug for the purpose.
Farther to the east, and where the Tarhoona Monutains branch off, the mountain mean sinks much lower and assumes a different cha racter. it is a tableland about 30 miles lu width, which runs towards Cape Mesurata, and only on its edges assumes the aspect of high hills or mountains, especially towards the Desert which lies north of it. The greatest part of the surface of this table-land is a plain, nearly level, whose soil Is very stony, or covered with gravel, and completely barren. But in the vicinity of the higher grounds which inclose it on the north, it is furrowed by depressions, or wadies, which are partly cultivated, and yield good crops of corn, and the level grounds sepa rating them are covered with fine comae for sheep and camels.
The custom portion of this table-land, in approaching the Gulf of Sidra, splits into several short ranges of hills, which fill up the space between Cape Sciarra and the town of Mesurata, and in many places come close up to the sea. Thus a hilly tract Is formed, which extends about 60 miles from west to east, along the seashore, and from 5 to 6 miles inland, where it terminates on the plain of the table-land. Thil tract is the bast-watered district in Tripoli, as several small streams which descend from the table-land run through its valleys, and reach the sea after a course of 6 to 8 miles, but there is always water in them. The western district consists of a succession of hill and dale. They possess a considerable degree of fertility, and produce wheat, barley, and dhurra. In the eastern districts the hills are separated from the sea by a level plain about two miles wide, which in two places is interrupted by ranges of low bills, so as to bo divided into three plains of moderate extent, which are known as the plains of Lebds, Zeliten, and Mesnrata. The hills south of them are mostly
pasture-grounds, between which some corn-fields are found ; but the plains themselves, which slope gently towards the sea, are well culti vated. Thick groves of olives and date-trees rise above the numerous villages, which are scattered over their surface, and the intermediate spaces are either covered with the most luxuriant turf or rich with abundant crops of grain. The plains of Lebda and Mesurata espe cially are distinguished by their rich crops of corn, and large quantities of it are sold to the wandering tribes living east of them or exported by sea. The cultivated grounds in the plain of Mesurata extend along the shores of the Gulf of Sidra as far as Bushaita. A ridge of low sausl-hilla separates the plains from the sea.
The country south of the table-land, extending to the Sudalt Mountains, contains a much smaller portion of cultivated ground than that north of It; the greater part of it is a complete desert. Accord ing to the scanty information which we possess, it appears that its surface presents a anacession of several wide depressions, running from west to east, and terminating on the east in the low grounds which extend along the western shores of the Gulf of Sidra. From each of these wide valleys smaller valleys branch off, and penetrate a few miles into the higher gronnda, which inclose them. These higher grounds are many miles wide, and rise rather steep above the valley to an elevatiou of 400 to 500 feet. A large portion of them is probably 1000 feet above the sealeveL Their surface is neither level nor yet hilly. It presents everywhere a useless waste, though it greatly varies in aspect. At some places it is what the natives call a esalifr,' or a level plain consisting of loose sand, without either stones, rocks, water, or vegetation. Other tracts, called sereer,' are gravelly plains from which the sand has been swept by the winds. The gravel Is generally small, and in some instances rounded as pebbles on the sea-beach ; In others sharp and pointed, as if recently broken ; and a third kind, which sometimes covers spaces of many miles in extent, is mostly composed of small stones which have a shining exterior. In the screers alone sand.hills are found. A third kind of desert is called warr ;' it presents a rough plain covered with large detached atones lying In confusion, and very difficult to pass over, as its surface is much broken and interspersed with numerous rocks and small hillocks. A few spots in these deserts are covered with bushes. The few wells which are found are generally above 100 or even 200 feet deep, and yet their water is bitter and brackish. The habitable portson of this region is limited to the depressions above mentioned, where several villages are found close together, whilst all the other parts are uninhabited. But even in those districts which are far from the villages a few fields are cultivated, and produce barley and dhurra. The Inhabitants of the villages cultivate them, but do not venture to form agricultural settlements on them for fear of the wandering tribes of the adjacent desert. These valleys have generally a watercourse in the middle, in which however water is found only for a few weeks in the year, as the rains south of the Oburian Mountains and the table land are far from being so abundant as north of them. The greater part of the depressions is overgrown with shrubs, and supply only pastures fur camsla, sheep, and goat.; the most fertile of them is that of Benioleed, which L situated on the south of the table-land math of the Tarhoora Mountains. The 'wary' which borders on the south of the valley of Ileniol, al L covered with lava and columnar greenatone, and is of great extent.