the foot of the mountain, but there was abundance of both at no great distance. At Tallhe we were at a height of 3353 feet.
Immediately behind and above the well rises a wall of oolitic limestone, dipping at 70° towards N. 25° E. This wall is only a couple of yards broad, and stands like a plank supporting the loose material of which the rest of the mountain is composed. Several similar almost vertical dykes are seen in the small massive, which is scored by small valleys opening on to our plain. Immediately round the camp the hills consist of red, finely divided material, overlaid with a layer of limestone conglomerate several yards thick, which dips at an angle of 7° towards N. 50° W., and protects the hills, delaying their total annihilation. At some places the denudation has proceeded so far that the covering layer has burst up into blocks which still lie on the tops. To the south, several similar hills are seen with drainage channels between them. It is evident that the stratum was once continuous, for it covers all the hills, and is denuded only where streams have overcome its resistance.
The geographical names given me this day were extremely few, and that is not strange in so desolate a country. Not far off, to the north-east, is a salt spring called Saghabve-surkhab, and a terraced flat to the north-west is named Rigis-ya. Some small conical hills rise in the west. The relief is exceedingly flat and feebly marked, but one can perceive that the Tallhe hill is the highest point of a very slight undulation, with sides sloping at a gradient imperceptible to the eye. Northwards the ground falls all the way to the hollow into which a westerly extension of the Kevir extends, and which is traversed by the stream which runs on towards Kuh-i-gugird. And north of this inlet of the Kevir the ground rises to the foot of the small heights which skirt Elburz to the south.
The only products of the country are the fuel which is collected and sold in Teheran and the steppe shrubs which yield fodder for camels and sheep. Nevengk, as his duty demanded, began to make a horrible noise at night, for a man came to the well of Tallhe to water his camels. He
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