h and unpalatable. Volcanic action
probably did not cease in the region very much, if at all, before the
historical period. Fragments of basalt in many places strew the plain;
and near the confluence of the two chief branches of the Khabour, not
only are old craters of volcanoes distinctly visible, but a cone still
rises from the centre of one, precisely like the cones in the craters of
Etna and Vesuvius, composed entirely of loose lava, scorim, and ashes,
and rising to the height of 300 feet. The name of this remarkable hill,
which is Koukab, is even thought to imply that the volcano may have been
active within the time to which the traditions of the country extend.
[PLATE XXII., Fig. 2.]

Sheets of water are so rare in this region that the small lake of
Khatouniyeh seems to deserve especial description. This lake is situated
near the point where the Sinjar changes its character, and from a high
rocky range subsides into low broken hills. It is of oblong shape, with
its greater axis pointing nearly due east and west, in length about four
miles, and in its greatest breadth somewhat less than three. [PLATE
XXIII., Fig. 1] The banks are low and parts marshy, more especially on
the side towards the Khabour, which is not more than ten miles distant.
In the middle of the lake is a hilly peninsula, joined to the mainland
by a narrow causeway, and beyond it a small island covered with trees.
The lake abounds with fish and waterfowl; and its water, though
brackish, is regarded as remarkably wholesome both for man and beast.

[Illustration: PLATE 23]

The Sinjar range, which divides Western Assyria into two plains, a
northern and a southern, is a solitary limestone ridge, rising up
abruptly from the flat country, which it commands to a vast distance on
both sides. The limestone of which it is composed is white, soft, and
fossiliferous; it detaches itself in enormous flakes from the
mountain-sides, which are sometimes broken into a succession of
gigantic steps, while occasionally they present the columnar appearance
of basalt. The flanks of the Sinjar are seamed with innumerable ravines,
and from these small brooks issue, which are soon dispersed by
irrigation, or absorbed in the thirsty plains. The sides of the mountain
are capable of being cultivated by means of terraces, and produce fair
crops of corn and excellent fruit; the top is often wooded with fruit
trees or forest-trees. Geographically, the Sinjar may be regarded as