'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎70r] (144/862)

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DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND QI
almost waterless for the greater part of the year. Such are the condi
tions for the last 35 miles of the course of the Little Zab. In the last
55 miles from Altun Kopru to its junction with the Tigris, the river
falls from 850 feet to about 450, or only a little over 7 feet a mile. For
a brief account of its regime see p. 43.
Central Assyria (fig. 24)
The region between the Little and Great Zabs is occupied by the
plain of Qaraj or Makhmur in the south, by the two parallel ranges of
hills, Jabal Qara Chauq and Avana Dagh crossing the region from
south-east to north-west in the middle, and by the plains of Koi
Sanjaq and Erbil in the north.
The triangular plain of Qaraj, bounded on the west by the Tigris,
on the east by the Little Zab, and on the north-east by the Jabal Qara
Chauq, is traversed from north to south by the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Fadha which
joins the Little Zab about 4 miles above the confluence with the
Tigris. The plain is intersected by watercourses, especially in the
north, many of them brackish and some sulphurous, and most of them
draining into the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Fadha. A very few are perennial, but only for
short distances; some form kandas with deep-cut banks. There are a
few hillocks rising one or two hundred feet above the plain, but the
general appearance is flat with a gradual slope from 500 feet above sea-
level in the south to 1,000 feet along the foot of the Qara Chauq. The
climate is torrid and for most of the year the aspect is that of desert
country. Wells are scarce, particularly in the south, and rainfall
varies from year to year, but in years of plenty it collects in pools and
provides water for nomad flocks. The soil has a reputation for ferti
lity, but is at present wasted through lack of water. Formerly an old
canal, the Nahr Qanausa watered the riverain belt on the left bank of
the Tigris. Ibn Hawqal, the Arab geographer, writing in the tenth
century a.d. praised the magnificent fields occupying the broad plains,
and there are many tels and other signs of a prosperous settled popula
tion in the past. Makhmur, almost the only permanent settlement, is
close to the site of an ancient town of considerable importance; it is
the junction of routes from Mosul, Qala Sharqat, and Erbil.
To-day the population varies with the rainfall. After two or three
years with plentiful winter rains the region near the hills is studded
with settlements; after lean years only a few favoured spots are
inhabited. But generally about the beginning of March the desert is
flushed with spring grasses which last for a month or six weeks. At
this season Kurds bring their flocks southwards from the Erbil plain;