'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.' [‎290] (357/905)

290
MOUNT ARJISH,
[CHAP. XIII.
extensive tribe of Kurds. The chain is composed of serpen-
tines, gypsum, and sandstone; and it rises to the height of
5790 feet, having on its wooded sides the springs 1 of the
eastern branch of the Halys. With the exception of an open
ing about midway between Sivas and Kaisariyeh, which leads
to Gurun, the range is nearly continuous, wooded, and pre
serves a considerable elevation till the culminating point of
Arjish Tagh rises from its vast volcanic bed to the height of
12,809 feet. 2
Mount Arjish may be considered the centre from which a
succession of volcanic groups spread in different directions.
One chain takes a north-westerly direction, along the eastern
side of the Halys, till at length it joins the mountains of
Angora beyond that river. Its principal peaks are the Aka-juk
Tagh, Haji-Bektash Tagh, rising to 3780 feet, Khirkah Tagh,
3095 feet, Karvanserai Tagh, Baranli Tagh, Boz-uk Tagh,
^ara Goz Tagh, 4180 feet, Begrek Taghi, and Denek tagh,'
in which are the mines of the same name, at an elevation of
3340 feet above the sea. 3 Limestone and sienite prevail in
these groups, which generally inclose plains, and they are
usually wooded. 4
The districts of Kaisariyeh and Ak-Serai' are more rugged,
and peculiarly marked by their wild and stony ravines, inter
spersed with some productive plains and fertile declivities. 5
The action of volcanic matter in those districts may be
traced by the groups of Akajik Tagh, Kojah Tagh, and Sari-
bulak Tagh (granite), which skirt the eastern side of the lake;
also by the loftier peaks to the southward of Hasan Tagh and
Karajah Tagh ; here the upland of lava has been rent into deep
and narrow secluded glens, studded with pinnacles and rocky
precipices; but on the western side of the geat salt lake (Tuz
Goli) the operations of nature are less strongly marked.
North-eastward of Argeeus there is a succession of these fis-
Ainsworth's Assyria and Babylonia, p. 281.
As ascertained by Mr. W. J. Hamilton's intrepid ascent in 1837 .—See Royal
Geographical Journal, Vol. VIII., Part II., p. 151.
^ Ainsworth ' s Journey, Vol. X., Part III., pp. 284 to 288.
Ibld - 5 Ibid., p. 303.