"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎١‎٨‎٤] (٧٣٨/٣٧٢)

LEBANON
361
Between Jubeil and Ras Ma‘ameltein flows N. Ibrahim, north
of which the shore and adjacent fields are covered with black
volcanic gravel, probably from a submarine trap-dyke as
there is no trap in the neighbouring hills.
Between Ras Ma‘ameltein and Ras et-Teir lies the bay of
Juneh, including a town of the same name which is the
port of northern Lebanon ; the shore is low and shingly.
On the hills above the town jLere are large mulberry planta
tions, and luxuriant vegetation covers the rich soil down to
the sea. The cape, at the base of which Ma‘ameltein lies, pro
jects N. of Juneh Bay, and is of highly stratified argillaceous
marl rising abruptly from the sea. A mountain spur reaches
nearly to the north-western shore of the bay ; its sides are
clothed with dark groves and studded with hanging villages,
and the summits are crowned by white convents.
Along the coast there is great scarcity of fresh water,
accounted for by the fact that the strata dip sharply
and carry the water below sea-level. These ‘ uptilted ’ strata
are a striking feature of the lower Lebanon geology ; they are
frequently 1,000 ft. high and double that in thickness, and are
always accompanied by a scarcity of springs.
South of the Nahr el-Kelb is Ras el-Kelb, and beyond is Jun
el-Khudhr, or St. George’s Bay with a sandy shore extending
to Nahr Beirut; this bay is the usual winter anchorage for
war vessels and several streams fall into it. Onward to
Ras Beirut, a low but abrupt point, there is a succession of
small bays separated by rocky points.
The low hills surrounding Beirut are mostly of reddish sand
interspersed with rock and covered with light soil; they are
offshoots from the mountain, which itself follows the coast in
a parallel line at a distance of three to four miles inland from
the town. The western extremity of the promontory is rocky,
as also the shore, for a considerable distance southward. The
rock in the neighbourhood of Beirut and Tripoli is of the same
porous sand conglomerate and on the shore at the former
place it is constantly wearing away. The sand is driven
inland by the prevailing SW. winds, but here the encroachment