"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٢‎٨‎٤] (٧٣٨/٥٧٣)

562
haurAn and JAULAN
by providing artificial catchments for torrents and surface
drainage, but the great possibilities of this system have not
been exploited.
El-Leja, 1 the refuge lies NE. of the plain and, seen
at a distance, from the W. it looks like a low blue plateau.
It is a ‘ lava sea ’ about 350 miles in area, roughly oval in
shape with its greater axis lying N. and S. ; its clearly
marked edges' rise abruptly from the plain to a height
of 20 to 30 ft. The ‘ sea ’ sends out a multitude of sharp
and rugged promontories and everywhere on the plain below
there are thick scatters of basalt boulders, masses of fallen
rock, and elevated outcrops. The eastern side is marked by
W. Luwa, while the greater part of the southern side is bordered
by W. el-Qanawat; both wadis are dry in summer.
In general, El-Leja is a barren tract spread around extinct
craters, which has been riven into deep chasms, conical
peaks, and confused masses of rock. Several of these peaks
rise to a considerable height the most prominent being
Tell el-Amara, alt. 2,825 ft. The eastern and central portions
have a more uniform surface than the western, while the
outer portions are less rocky than the interior. In the vicinity
of Damet el-‘Aliyeh it is a labyrinth of deep and inaccessible
crevasses and overhanging cliffs. A considerable number of
trees, chiefly dwarf oak and terebinth, subsist among the
rocks of the interior but very few are to be found elsewhere.
Areas of fertile soil occur in the depressions which in the
winter retain the water, and in spring and early summer
produce pasture and grain crops. Authorities differ as to
the existence of perennial water, but it seems clear that
some springs do exist. At Qirata, Merrill reports that ‘ there
is a large fountain of excellent water which is full of fish.’
There is also a spring of excellent water west of Mesmiyeh,
and several springs along the northern border between ShaTeh
and Mesmiyeh which send out a small stream to W. Luwa. The
numerous cisterns and open reservoirs of antiquity are still used
for rain-water storage; during dry summers the inhabitants
are often forced out into the plain in search of water.