'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎36v] (77/862)

3S^HiSH^:KR;i!aSi
38 GEOLOGY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND
which must be taken into account by any central authority which has
to deal with the settlement and well-being of the inhabitants. These
principles can be used to advantage to assist the economical use of
water and its proper distribution only if they are clearly understood;
they are also of interest to the historian and may help him to trace
out the course of the Tigris at certain periods of its history (p. 50).
Samawa to Nasiriya (direct distance 60 miles; by river 85 miles)
In this section the Euphrates now follows a single channel (fig. 9),
the last overflow from the land irrigated by the Hilla canal entering
the river by small creeks from the Haur Lafta about 15 miles below
Samawa. Except for the demands of strips of lift-irrigated land there
is little water drawn off from the river, which averages from 150 to
200 yards wide and is fairly easy to navigate. Beyond the cultivated
strip on the south side the country is featureless except for occasional
mounds of ancient sites, the most important, Tel al Muqaiyir, mark
ing ‘Ur of the Chaldees’ (photo. 7), 12 miles south-west of Nasiriya.
This plain affords an easy route for road and railway, the latter
embanked over low ground. The whole country, including the river
course, was under the Great Swamp in Abbasid times, and the Haur
al Iqtaiya appears to be a remnant; but most of the area beyond the
1 iverain strip has been drained and now has an arid aspect. As
Nasiriya is approached cultivation on both banks increases, and on
the north bank in particular the land becomes much intersected by
small irrigation channels, many of them connected with the Shatt al
Gharraf, but few have any water in them except in the flood season.
The Euphrates below Nasiriya (fig. 10)
At Nasiriya the water-level of the Euphrates is only 8-2 feet (2-5
metres) above sea-level in September, though the town is about 100
nules m a direct line from Basra. It is calculated that in the same
month the discharge of the river averages only 37 per cent of the
water discharged at Hit; the rest has been drawn off for irrigation or
lost in swamps or by evaporation. The average discharge per second
m September is about 3,530 cubic feet (100 cu. m.) at Nasiriya com-
pared with 9,180 cubic feet (260 cu. m.) at Hit. Just above Nasiriya
and trom there downwards numerous canals take off on both banks
until the whole river is finally dispersed, the scattered waters gradually
draining into the Hammar lake. These canals are only partially
controlled by the cultivators; moreover the effect of the many losses