'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎56r] (116/862)

DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND 67
Ab-i-Maima and the Kharkhara distribute their waters into the Haur
Isawi and Haur Halfawi, which combine to form intermittent marsh
some 20 miles east of Kumait. d his marsh in the flood season extends
almost to Amara, where it is known as the Haur Sanaf.
Between the Chankula and Ali Gharbi there is no marsh of conse
quence, but the low ground east of the Tigris from Ali Gharbi to
Amara is liable to inundation from the river. Known as the Haur
Sarut in the north and the Haur Jazra north of Amara, it may link up
in the south with the Haur Sanaf, but there is always a strip of higher
ground between this shallow marsh and the Tigris, which permits
communication by land between Amara and Kut by the left bank.
Many of the stream-beds across the plain are marked by bushes
from 3 to 4 feet high. Elsewhere there are low scattered bushes and
some grass, but much of the ground is barren and sandy. There are
few landmarks, except along the Tigris banks.
The Country on the Right Bank of the Tigris from Amara to Kut
(figs. 9, 18)
Some 8 miles by river below Kut the course of the ancient Tigris
(Shatt Dujaila) leaves the present course near the Arab fort of Maqasis
and winds into the desert first south-eastwards and then south. It
forms a depression in some places from 10 to 15 feet deep and its bed,
though generally dry, is often bush-covered. Rain collects in pools
and there are occasional water-holes, but the depression is now to
be used to carry water for irrigation (p. 438), and the country
which it passes is likely to become more productive. On both sides
of it there are traces of ancient canals and settlements which have
not yet been investigated, and across its first great loop are the high
banks of the ancient Sinn canal, 35 feet high (p. 50).
Between the Shatt Dujaila and the Tigris from Ah Gharbi to Amara
there is a wide expanse of marsh, the Haur Sanmya, fed by a number
of irrigation channels leading from the Tigris. The limits vary greatly
with the season, but it has not been surveyed in detail. Maps show
it as being open water from 2 to 5 feet deep in July 1915 an P n
1019 but it is believed to be less extensive now than then. Another
small marsh, the Umm al Baram, is fed by channels between Maqasis
and Shaikh Saad. Few if any of the channels have perennial water in
them, but the heads of some are left permanently open to take water
from the Tigris when it rises. Even in summer, when the beds are
dry, water is near the surface. ...
Communication along the right bank of the Tigris between river