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‘Persian Gulf pilot comprising the Persian Gulf and its approaches from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east.’ [‎56r] (116/404)

The record is made up of 199 folios. It was created in 1932. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Chap. III.]
COAST OF LAS BELA
61
Chart 38, plan of Sonmidni harbour.
miles outside the entrance, and through it winds the entrance channel;
there are depths of 4 fathoms [l m 3) close to the outer edge of the
shoal.
The eastern entrance point is composed of sandy hillocks, thinly 5
covered with tamarisk bushes, and between it and the town is a
mud flat which mostly dries and over which the Windar (Vindar)
river, flowing south-westward, discharges during floods.
The western entrance point consists of low bare sandhills.
Westward of the harbour is a vast swamp, that extends within 10
the coastal sandhills almost to the foot of the Haro range, and at
high water is partly covered. During heavy rains, the Purali
river discharges into the northern part of the swamp, though, being
dammed about 20 miles inland, its waters are usually absorbed in
irrigation. 15
The harbour is only used by native craft. Vessels wishing to
communicate should anchor off the bar, in a depth not less than
5 fathoms (9 m l), with Churma island bearing about 173°. It is
advisable to engage a local fisherman as pilot to conduct even a
ship's boat up to the town. 20
Chart 38.
Coast.—Anchorage. —The shore of Sonmiani bay, from the
western entrance point of Sonmiani harbour, trends westward for
about 43 miles to Ras Kachari; it is low with sand-hillocks, on
which are tufts of grass, to the Haro range, a distance of about 25
24 miles, whence it again is low to Chandragup (Darya cham),
13 miles farther westward. The depths offshore are regular, and
the coast can be approached into a depth of 6 fathoms (ll m 0);
the 3-fathom (5 m 5) line lies from one to 2 miles offshore.
Phor river enters the sea about 33 miles westward of Sonmiani 30
harbour; its mouth is a small salt-water creek into which, during
the rains, flows the river that drains the valley westward of the
Haro range.
Anchorage could be obtained, in a depth of 5 fathoms (9 m l),
in the bay westward of the mouth of Phor river, but a depth of 35
3| fathoms (G 11 ^) is charted about 2| miles offshore, nearly 6 miles
south-westward of the mouth of the river.
Chandragup {Lat. 25° 26' N., Long. 65° 50' E.), the eastern
of a detached group of low hills near the middle of the southern
part of a plain extending westward from the Haro range for about 40
30 miles, is situated, about 2 miles inland, 4| miles west-north
westward of the mouth of Phor river; it consists of several white
conical hillocks, the highest of which attains an elevation of about
300 feet (Ol 1 ^).
Aspect. —Ras Kachari, the western entrance point of Sonmiani 45
bay, is the south-eastern extremity of some low cliffs above which
rise the detached group of hills of which Chandragup is the
easternmost.
Between the Haro range and Ras Malan, situated about 30 miles
westward of Ras Kachari, the coast appears from seaward as a sue- 50
cession of rugged mountains, generally of light colour, with lower
whitish-clay peaks, called "shur"by the natives, in front of them.
Jabal Hinglaj, 20 miles west-north-westward of Ras Kachari, and 8
miles inland, is about 3,500 feet (1006 m 8) high, and quoin-shaped; see
Chart 748b.

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Content

Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. pilot comprising the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and its approaches, from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east. Published for the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1932. Eighth edition.

The pilot begins with a number of introductory sections:

  • Notice of caution when approaching British ports, including the closure of ports and examination of vessels entering ports (folio 1v, inside front cover);
  • Notations of supplements and annual summaries of notices to mariners relating to this book (folio 2);
  • Cautionary notes on the measurements, including those for (bearings, longitude, latitude, depth) given in the pilot, and the different methods of shading used to indicate colours of flags, tidal light signals and beacons in the pilot (folio 5);
  • Advertisement to the eighth edition (folio 6) providing an outline history of the pilot, and updates to the latest edition;
  • Contents page (folios 7v-8), referring to the pilot’s pagination;
  • A list of views (illustrations), with reference to the pilot’s pagination (folio 8v);
  • A glossary of terms (folio 9), organised alphabetically, and with an indication of their origin (Arabic, Baluchi, Hindustani, Persian);
  • Notes on the system of orthography (folios 10-11);
  • Information relating to Admiralty charts and other hydrographic publications and general navigation (folios 12-19), with sections on the correction of Admiralty charts, and their degree of reliance, navigational publications, including the Admiralty lists of lights and wireless signals, tide tables, and general remarks relating to practical navigation;
  • A map of the head of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , dated July 1932, indicating those areas covered by Admiralty charts (folio 20v);
  • A map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Gulf of Oman, dated July 1932, with an indication of those areas covered by Admiralty charts mentioned in the pilot (folio 21v);
  • An insert (folio 22) detailing those elements not included in the present volume.

The main body of the pilot is arranged in chapters and appendices as follows:

Throughout the main chapters there are illustrations of the parts of the coastline being discussed by the accompanying text. These illustrations, which are a mix of line drawing and reproductions of watercolours, indicate the profile of the land, and highlight distinctive topographical features such as trees and forts.

Extent and format
199 folios
Arrangement

The pilot is arranged into eight chapters (I-VIII) and five appendices (I-V). The arrangement of chapters is geographical, moving from the easternmost point of the Gulf in chapter II to the westermost point in chapter VIII. The contents page (ff 7-8) and alphabetically ascending index (ff 182-93) refer to the pilot’s pagination system.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 199.

Pagination: There are two printed pagination systems, which generally situate numbers in the top-left corner of versos and the top-right corner of rectos. The first, which uses Roman numerals, runs through the pilot’s introductory pages (ff 6-19). The second pagination system uses Arabic numerals, and runs through the remainder of the pilot (ff 23-197).

The number of each chapter is indicated throughout the chapter (expressed as ‘Chap.’ and the chapter number as a Roman numeral) in the top-left corner of rectos and the top-right corner of versos. The lines of text on each page in each chapter are numbered in intervals of five (i.e. 5, 10, etc.)

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English in Latin script
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‘Persian Gulf pilot comprising the Persian Gulf and its approaches from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east.’ [‎56r] (116/404), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C251, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023623198.0x000075> [accessed 19 February 2025]

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