Page 242 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

(
298 HASA

Physical Character

The greater part of Kasa consists of steppe and desert land rising
westward from a low coast, along which the country is of tihdmah
type. The surface is broken by a number of isolated hills which
serve as landmarks ; continuous high ground is found chiefly in the
interior to the W. of the region ; such is the line of hills along
the Wadi el-Miyah (see p. 309), and the Jobel et-Taff to the S. ;
the stony ridges of Suimnan, running more or less parallel with the
. coast of the Gulf, intervene between Hasa and the belt of Dahanah
which separates it from Nejd. Apart from the Wadi el-Miyah the
principal valley is the great Wadi Fariiq in the SW. Saline de­
pressions (sibdkh) occur in the tracts on or near the coast. Shallow
wells of drinkable water arc numerous, and there is a fair quantity of
grazing ; the desert parts of the region are thus habitable by
Bedouins. But the richest districts are the two oases of Hasa and
Qatif in the S., where water is abundant, and there are not only
' wells, but springs, streams, and lake-like ponds, the whole repre­
senting the subterranean drainage of inner Arabia, which passes
the Dahanah underground. (See also under Bahrein.)

Climate

The climate of the lower and eastern part of Hasa is of the
character usual to tihdmah plains, but the moisture is increased in
the oasis tracts by the amount of surface water used in irrigation.
Here the great heat common to the whole region is doubly oppressive
in the hot season, more especially in Qatif; as the coastal plain is
left behind, the healthier desert conditions begin to obtain. Statis­
tics are not available for Hasa, as for Kow'eit and Bahrein, but it is
probable that the variations of temperature lie somewhere between
those quoted for these two principalities, the climate being less
subject to extremes than that of the former, and perhaps rather
less equable than that of the archipelago. The average maximum
temperature would then be about 110° F., and the average minimum
rather above 40° F., the hottest weather occurring in July and
August, with heat increasing from April and decreasing from
September, the cool season falling between November and'March.
The average rainfall should be about 4 in., almost the whole
being confined to the cooler season and to comparatively few wet
days.

••
;-:y
•••*