'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎55r] (114/862)

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DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND 65
the Haur al Hawiza is fed by the Tigris through the Nahrs Mashara,
Chahala, and Michariya (pp. 52-3) and by the Karkheh distributaries
east of the Persian boundary. Numerous Arab hamlets line the
channels and much rice is grown. Most of the Haur al Hawiza is
unsurveyed. As on the right bank, there is a narrow band of higher
ground near the river, and Qala Salih can be reached from Amara in
the dry season. From Qala Salih to Qurna, however, the flood water
comes close to the river, and even in the summer the number of creeks
to be crossed prevents communication by land.
(b) The Upper Delta Lands
The region of the ‘Upper Delta Lands’ is here taken to include the
country between the Euphrates below Ramadi and the Tigris below
Baghdad, as far down the rivers as Nasiriya and Amara. It includes
also the land on the left bank of the Tigris to the foot of the Jabal
Hamrin from the Fat-ha gorge southwards, and between the Tigris
and the Persian border at the foot of the Pusht-i-Kuh. It thus extends
beyond the delta in the strict geographical sense, but it is more con
venient to include all the land up to the outer foothills for purposes of
description.
The Country north of the Tigris between Amara and Kut al Imara
(fig. 18)
The Tigris between Amara and Kut approaches closest to the hills
at Ali Gharbi, where it is only 17 miles from the international
boundary along the edge of the plain. Farther south-east the boun
dary makes a slight embayment to include the sandstone foothills of
Band-i-Buzurgan, half the Persian Jabal Hamrin, and Jabal Fauqi.
The chief characteristic of this plain is the number of shallow stream-
beds which emerge from ravines across the border but soon peter
out in the sun-baked sand and alluvium. Most of these rise on the
outermost slopes; but four drain larger areas behind the outer hills o
the Pusht-i-Kuh. These are, from north to south, the Galal Badra
(known as the Ab-i-Kanjam Cham beyond the frontier), the Galal
Chankula (the ‘Wadi’ of the campaign for Kut in January 1916, and
the Ab-i-Tima of the Pusht-i-Kuh), the Ab-i-Maima or Tib river
(which has a long course in the Pusht-i-Kuh, and breaks out of t e
hills between the Kuh-i-Gutba and Persian Jabal Hamrin), and the
Kharkhara (not to be confused with the Karkheh, and variously
known beyond the border as the Dawairij, Ab-i-Dislan, Chikhan, or
Ab-i-Danan).
F
A 5195