'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎208] (267/905)

208
LAKES AND RIVERS.
Character of
the country.
Lakes,
and streams.
[chap,
passes, for which the Afghan, as well as the other mountains
of Fran, are so remarkable. 1 The opener portion of this
singular route consists of ascending and descending valleys
running between precipitous masses of limestone; whilst the
more difficult passes, such as the Kotul-i-Mullu, the Kotul-i-
Kumarij, and the Tenk-i-Turkan, are carried over portions
of the mountains themselves by zig-zags cut in the face of
the rock. That of Kumanj employs nearly five hours of a
narrow precipitous road, supported by a wall on the lower
side ; and altogether so difficult, that, if adequately defended,
this pass could scarcely be forced by an army till turned by
another road; but guns have been carried across it.
With the exception of these mountains, Farsistan i»
chiefly a plain country; it is also less desert than any of the
other large provinces of the kingdom, and has many rich
and picturesque tracts, particularly that between Khurrah
and Khoonsar, 2 besides the delightfully wooded, but partially
inhabited, valleys between Shiraz and Beibahoun. The plains
of Sahara Laeshter and Dagumbeson are without cultivation;
but those of Basht and Sahara Dawater, near Ardicoun,
are very fertile: about Basht there is a profusion of box and
myrtle, which give a delightful perfume. 3 The valleys near
the town of Failioun produce orange-trees and abundance of
rose-bushes; and in those near Deh Hassan-Ali-khan, are
oaks, fine walnut and other fruit trees, especially large
standard apricots. 4
Fars contains the salt lakes of Bakhtegan (also called
Ninz) and Dereachte, which are in the neighbourhood of Shi
raz ; there is also a fresh-water lake in the plain of Zerdan.
The principal streams are the Band-emir, or Araxes, which
receives the Kur Ab, or Cyrus, as it runs from west to east
m the centre of the province, and eventually falls into lake
Bakhtegan; and the Nabon, whose course is from Firoz-abad
southward to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. : in this country are also the
higher parts of the two branches of the Tab.
I l h t is c ° ns ^ ered one of the most difficult passes westward of the Indus
Jrottinger s Travels, p. 237.
■ MS Journal of the Right Honourable Sir R. Gordon, in 1812
Ibid.