'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1338] (393/688)

NAFtD
On the west of Madh-
hur extending south
wards to Dhldah on
the outskirts of
Qaslm.
50 miles east-south
east of Jubbah and
30 north-west of
Hail. Elevation
above the sea is
3,280 feet.
About 35 miles north-
north-west of Hail.
About 25 miles south
east of Jauf-al-'
'Atnir.
40 miles east-north
east of Baqa'a.
A tract of theNafud 60 miles in length but
narrow. It consists of three parallel
strips running north-west and south
east ; they are Umm-adh-Dhumaid on
the east, Ma'-athir in the centre, and
Batrah on the west.
A village in the Nafud close to its south
ern border ; it stands on a white chalky
plain surrounded by low sandstone
hills. The place consists of about 20
houses of Shammar with half-a-dozen
wells and about the same number of
date-gardens. The soil is sandy and the
water sweet. A little fruit and some
corn, especially barley, are cultivated ;
the grain fields are unfenced.
A locality situated in an enormous Falj
of red sand towards its northern end.
There is good water at 10 fathoms from
the surface in about a dozen wells.
Shammar Arabs camp and graze their
camels and horses here all the year
round, but there are now neither date-
palms nor any permanent village.
A valley running north-east and south-west
with a breadth of about 1 mile and a
depth below the surrounding Nafud of
120 to 150 feet. It is rugged, with rock
coming to the surface in places and else
where flints or sand, and appears to
drain a large area of Nafud and to
supply the wells of Shaqiq and Azhari.
The wells of Shaqiq are two at the*usual
watering-place ; they are sunk through
20 feet of hard soil, this upper por
tion being masonry-lined, and then
through 100 feet or more of rock. The
diameter at the mouth is 3 feet, but
it increases further down. The water
never entirely fails and is generally
sweet but sometimes becomes fetid.
'Anizah, Shammar and Shararat nomads
collect here, especially at the end of
summer. The wells of Azhari lie about
6 miles further east.
A halting place on the Ha'l-Nafaj route.