'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎14] (23/568)

14
BOUNDARIES AND PHYSICAL FEATUEES
On the south-western side of the mountains, towards the plains, is
a belt of foot-hills, 500-2,000 ft. high, composed chiefly of sandstone
and gypsum. Between their ranges, from NW. to SE., run valleys
which are often broad and open, and in spring well covered with
grass. Across the hills the streams running down to the plains
cut narrow gorges (tangs). The water-supply, though often tainted
with sulphur, is generally plentiful except in summer. Timber is
scarce.
Beyond the foot-hills the higher ranges rise to altitudes of 7,000-
15,000 ft. On the south the Kuhgalu country reaches the neigh
bourhood of the Behbehan—Shiraz caravan-route via Basht and
Talaspid, which may be taken as the limit of our area in this direc
tion. The little-known highlands of the Kuhgalu seem to consist
of a plateau which is drained by streams running towards the plains
of Behbehan or Arabistan, is traversed from NW. to SE. by lime
stone ridges rising to some 8,000-10,000 ft., and is backed on the
west by the yet higher Kuh-i-Dina. On the north the Kuhgalu
country almost touches the extremity of the great southerly loop
formed by the upper Karun. From this part of the Karun valley
north-westwards to the Ab-i-Diz extend the ranges of the very rugged
Bakhtiyari mountains, 1 rising to about 15,000 ft., and drained by
the Karun and its tributaries. Beyond the Ab-i-Diz, and just west
of a line drawn from Dizful to Khurramabad, is a rather less
difficult country about 50 miles wide from west to east. Here
the main ranges are somewhat lower, and between them lie
broad valleys, trending NW.-SE., or lines of low hills. Through
this part of the mountain-belt break streams from the Persian plateau,
whose waters go to form the Karkeh and Diz rivers ; their gorges are
generally difficult, and the easiest routes lie over saddles in the
ranges. ^ To the north-west, again, of this easier country, beginning
from the Kebir Kuh, are the lofty and rugged mountains which lie
between the Tigris plains on the south-west and the valley of the
Saidmarreh on the north-east; here the tribes of the Pusht-i-Kuh,
the lower hill-country bordering the Tigris plains, have their summer
quarters. At the northern end of these mountains the ranges sink
to the upland plains of Qasr-i-Shlrln and Zohab. The mountain-
country as a whole is well watered. The high summer pasture-
grounds of the nomad tribes, which they frequent when the grass in
1 On the southern fringe of these mountains, near the extremity of the Karun
loop mentioned above, and somewhat south of the Lynch Road, the ranges
appear to be lower and the valleys more open than elsewhere in fche Bakhtiyari
country. A good alignment for a road from the plains of Arabistan to Isfahan
has recently been reported to exist here t