Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/652

622 PERSIA [GEOGRAPHY. of a fine, pale - coloured alluvial loam, which covers the lowest portion of the surface, or of gravel, tine or coarse, which usually forms a long gentle slope from the surrounding hills to the alluvial flat, and tills up with long slopes the broad valleys opening into the larger plains. All these deposits are more conspicuous than they are in most countries in consequence of the paucity of vegeta tion and the absence of cultivation throughout the greater part of the surface. Xor is this prevalence of recent or sub-recent de- trital accumulations confined to the plains, for the slopes of the hills up to a considerable elevation are in some cases composed of similar unconsolidated formations, from which only occasional peaks of solid rock emerge. This, however, is by no means uni versally the case, many ranges consisting entirely of rock. Again, the descent in Baluchistan from the plateau to the sea-coast is over broad terrace -like flats of gravel and sand, separated from each other by ranges of hills running parallel to the coast-line. The mountains and hill-ranges of Persia comprise a consider able variety of geological formations, a few of which, however, prevail over large areas of country. So far as our knowledge at present extends, the great mass of the Zagros chain (the term being used in the widest sense for the whole mountain-range from Mount Ararat to Shiraz, together with the numerous parallel minor ranges north-east of the main chain) consists of cretaceous (hippuritic) and tertiary formations, the former constituting the north-cast half of the range and its slope towards the central plain of Persia, whilst the nummulitic and later formations prevail almost exclusively on the south-west watershed overlooking the Tigris valley. Older rocks occur, but they are of subordinate importance, and it appeared probable, both to Mr Loftus and myself, that part at least of the altered rocks which form no inconsiderable portion of the range to the north-east is very probably of cretaceous origin. Old granite rocks, however, form a great band, extending from Lake Urumiah to a point nearly due west of Isfahan, and the same crystalline masses appear in the ranges between Isfahan and Kashan. " The general direction of the Persian mountains north-west to south-east has already been noticed. Speaking of these, Blanford says that, so far as they have been examined, "they have the same geological features as the Zagros, and consist similarly in the main of cretaceous and nummulitic rocks, the former prevailing to the north-east towards the desert, the latter to the south-west near the sea. Here, again, metamorphic rocks occur, some of them granite, others but little altered, and closely resembling in facics the cretaceous beds in their neighbourhood. Volcanic formations also occupy an extensive area, and whilst some appear of very late origin, others are possibly contemporaneous with the cretaceous epoch. " Of the southern border-land of the Persian plateau he writes " Where crossed by Major St John and myself, between Gwddar and Jalk, it consisted of low ranges running east and west, and, except near the sea, was almost entirely composed of unfossiliferous sandstones and shales, associated with a few beds of nummulitic limestone. So far as could be ascertained, these ranges appear to belong entirely to the older tertiary epoch. Here and there a few isolated masses of basaltic igneous rock have been introduced through the strata, but their occurrence is exceptional. Along the sea-coast, however, from the frontier of Sind to the Persian Gulf, and probably throughout a large portion of the north-east shores of the gulf, a newer series of rocks rests upon the nummulitics. This newer series is easily recognized by the presence of thick beds of hardened clay or marl ; it is of great thickness, and abounds in fossils, a few of which appear to be living forms, whilst others are extinct. The exact age has not been ascertained ; the mineral character is very different from that described by Loftus as charac teristic of the gypseous series, and it is therefore premature to class these beds of the Persian coast, for which I have proposed the name of Makran group, more definitely than as newer tertiaries. It is highly probable that they represent a portion at least of the gypseous series. Along the coast itself are a few mud-volcanoes." Remarking that hippuritic limestone had not been noticed on the eastern frontier, 1 he turns to north-western Persia, a region " widely explored by various Russian and German travellers." " There would appear, both in Adarbaijan and the Alburz range, to be a greater development of older Mesozoic and Palaeozoic forma tions than in any other parts of western or in southern Persia. From the very brief visits I was enabled to pay to the Alburz and the small area examined, I can form but an imperfect conception of the range as a whole, but the impression produced by my visits is that the geological composition of this mountain-chain presents a striking contrast to that of all other parts of Persia which I had previously seen. It appears probable that a very considerable portion of this range consists of carboniferous and Devonian beds, and that Jurassic or Liassic rocks are also extensively developed. The same formations extend to Adarbaijan, but here, as well as in the eastern parts of the Alburz, cretaceous and nummulitic rocks are also found. Metamorphics (granite, &c.) exist in several places, 1 It has since been found extensively in southern Afghanistan and around Kwatta. whilst volcanic outbursts occupy a considerable area, and the highest mountain in Persia, Damavand, in the Alburz chain, about 60 miles east-north-east of Tehran, is a volcano which, although dormant in the historical period, is of recent formation, and still gives vent to heated gases. The volcanic masses of Ararat, Sahend, south of Tabriz, ami Savalan are also, in great part at least, of geologically recent origin." Jl-incrals, ii-c. Of the value and extent of minerals in Persia Mint i much still remains a matter of surmise. Iron and lead are to be &c, found, copper and coal also, but gold and silver have not yet become substantial results, and the turqnoise is perhaps the only product of high price and estimation. This gem, however, is not readily procurable at Nishapnr, its birthplace, but should rather be sought for at Tehran or Ispahan, where it comes into the market with other exotics. The mines are situated at the base of the hill of Sulaimaniyah, lying north of Zamanabad, a village on the high road from Mashhad to Tehran. "When the Sistan mission was at Nishapur in 1872 they were farmed by the Government for 8000 "tumans" per annum, or about 3200 in English money. In Malcolm s days, though coining was held to be a choice privi lege of royalty, foreign piastres and ducats were in considerable vogue. Accounts are kept in "tumans," "krans," and "shahis," of which the value of the first has deteriorated to 8s., the second is barely the French franc, and the third is about a halfpenny. Less than the last is called "pul-siyah," or black money. The " shahi" and the "panabat," a silver coin worth about 5d., have for long been in common circulation. In late years the manufacture of false money and forging the royal seals had become such common practices that the old rough hammer-struck coinage was called in, and medals in gold and silver with milled edges were substituted. But these also were counterfeited, and a head of police was called in from Austria to endeavour to check the evil. The Yazd marble has a watered appearance with yellowish tinge. A handsome specimen is to be seen in the tomb of Hatiz at Shiraz. There is a quarry on the road from Yazd to Karman. The petri factions called Tabriz or Maragha marble are found on the road between those two places. Eastwick describes the coal obtained from the pits at Hit, in the hill-country west of Tehran, as light, brittle, glittering, and with occasional red stains. There were no large blocks visible. Though petroleum and naphtha appear indigenous to Persia, and Floyer visited an oil-spring in Bashakard, the produce of which was burnt in lamps at Minab near Bandar- Abbas, the produce of the oil-wells at Baku has found its way to Mashhad, and meets there with a ready sale. In connexion with this circumstance, Lovett states that a great number of lamps of the most trumpery German manufacture are imported into Khurasan and sold at large profits. Dr Bellew, referring to the twelve divisions of the district of Nishapur, and to its 1200 villages and hamlets, mentions the report that it possesses also twelve different mines, yielding turquoise, salt, lead, copper, antimony, iron, together with marble and soap-stone. The statement needs, however, verification. Climate. The climate of Persia varies much according Clim to locality. In the Caspian provinces, where rain is fre quent, it is hot, humid, and unhealthy for the greater part of the year. In the tablelands it is intensely cold in win ter, and, though it is hot in summer, its dry clear heat is temperate in comparison with that of Sind and the Punjab. The spring and autumn are the best seasons. In the south and south-west, towards the Persian Gulf and in Baluch istan, the heat is intense throughout the summer and often in the spring and autumn. The three regions of Nearchus and the old travellers illustrated by parching heat, sand, and barrenness in the south, a temperate climate, pastures, and cultivation in the centre, and severe cold with bare or snow-clad mountains in the north may still be accepted as conveying a fairly accurate descrip tion of the tracts lying generally between Bushahr and Tehran ; but of course there are seasons and seasons, and it may be very hot as well as very cold in the north as else where. In June the traveller, starting from the former place en route to the capital (Tehran), will for more than 50 miles, or up to the bridge of Dalaki, experience a fierce heat during the day, and not always find relief in a cool night. Reaching the plateau of Kunar Takhtah, 12 miles farther, at an elevation of 1800 feet, he will not then necessarily have escaped the influence of hot winds and a thermo meter ranging to 100. Some 50 miles farther he will have felt a most agreeable change at an altitude of 7000 feet ; and in another 24 miles, at Khan-i-Zanian, he will