"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎٢‎٨‎٣] (٧٣٨/٥٧٠)

PHYSICAL SURVEY OF HAURAN
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hill country north of El-Leja, lies at an average alt of 2,000 ft.
with a gentle fall southward. Its surface, partly flat and
partly undulating, is marked by volcanic mounds and basalt
outcrops variously disposed, in some parts fairly frequent and
in others few and far between. In general the plain is furrowed
by widely separated wadis ; those on the west towards Jaulan
are, however, more frequent and are both deep and steep.
Wide stretches of the surface are free of obstruction but much
of it is strewn with basalt boulders, in parts so thickly covered
as to make cultivation impossible and movement exceedingly
difficult. Everywhere the soil is rich and capable of raising
fine wheat crops, clearance of the stony tracts only being
required to make the whole region cultivable. The prevailing
formation is granulous dolerite and a brownish red or blackish
green slag, blistered and porous. The dolerite consists of
thin slabs of crystal of greyish white labradorite with small
grains of olivine and augite. The soil consists of soft decom
posed lava. W. el-‘Ajam, which carries the N Zabirani and
N. el-‘Awaj, marks the boundary between the calcareous
formation of the plain to the N. and the basaltic formation
of Hauran. At Aufaneh, on the base of Hermon NE. of
El-Quneiterah, limestone is seen and to the S. the whole
country is basaltic.
The whole plain is dotted with ancient villages built of
basalt, the larger ones being usually surrounded by walls
and distinguished by numerous towers. Large rock-cut
cisterns, vaulted reservoirs and artificial pools, all ancient,
are used for storing rain water and afford supplies throughout
the year to many settlements otherwise waterless.
Immediately S. of Nahr el-‘Awaj there rises a basalt range,
J. el-Mani‘, running SE. to the arable plain near Bahret
el-Hijaneh ; its highest summit, alt. 3,640 ft., is in part
isolated and resembles a truncated cone. Farther south and
lying roughly parallel, there is another low rugged range J.
el-Khiyareh. Between the two ridges is an elevated rocky
plateau extending to the Hajj road and having to the S. of it a
fertile plain called Ardh el-Khiyareh. Between J. el-Khiyareh