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nlA io o,©HAB1 )ERt»¥W,iI 8a » « p i ffoWw,.(wKti.,j Observations on the pEyisical ««¿ •p ofitira l O eo g ra fh y i f N o r th -Africa— ' N a tu ra lly divisible into three P a r t s^ -P r o d u 'c tb d e 'in G o id— B om id a r f o f tbe Moors and Negroes— the Foulahs, the Leuesethiopes o f the An- ■)‘ 'c ie ttU P l(l 1« ••/rasloi'l n o ashsms* » (B i s ) /tic jirno 01 m d sd /r,rn j j T o o iirv ieW , N b fth -A fr ic a ap^SaHTtB^'e composed o f three distinct parts' o rm em b d r t. • -Tbe i r h f i ' an® sfaallest!is a fertile region along the Mediter-' ranean, ly in g opposite to Spain, F ranc e , and I ta ly (commonly distinguished b y the name o f B a rb a r y ) ; and which, could w e suppose the western bason o f the Mediterranean to h av e o n c e been dry land, (bating a lake o r re c ip ien t fo r the surrounding rivers), might b e regarded as a part o f E u ro p e ; as posessing much more o f the E u rop ean , than the African character. T h e s e c o n d part is wha t may be deemed the body o f N o r th A fr ica , comprized between the R e d Sea, and C ape Verd, on the east and w e s t ; and h a v in g the G rea t Desert (o r Sahara) and its members, on the n o rth; the Eth io pic o cean , and South A fr ic a , on the opposite side. T h e p rominent feature o f this immense region, is a vast belt o f elevated land, o f great breadth, often swelling into lo fty mountains, and running generally from west to east, about the tenth degree o f latitude. Its western ex tremity seems to b e C . V e rd ; the mountains o f A b y s sin ia , the eastern. T o the north, its ramifications are neither numerous nor ex ten s iv e , i f we except the elevated tract which turns the N ile to the northward, beyond Abyssinia. Tow a rd s the south, no particulars are known, save that a multitude o f riv ers , some o f them v e r y large, descend from that side, and jo in the A tlan tic and Ethiopic seas, from the R io Grande on the west, to C a p e L o p e z on the e a s t ; p rov in g incontestably that b y far the greatest prop o rtion o f rain water falls on that side, durin g the jSeriodfcal season o f the S W w in d s ; which corresponds in all itscircumisl.ances.with, thejsame m o n sp o a jn India.* ■ J o thé .north o f ihis TielthWith tfie ex ception o f ,thg Eg yptian N ile , the waters conform g en e ra lly to the! direction iof, the high land ; passing at no g rea td is tan ce (comparatively): from 'its base, to the, right and le ft : as i f the surface.of:the'-Sahara h ad a. general dip to the southward.!; T h e s e rivers, moreover, receive all their supplies from the south: no s tre am s .o f any bulk ■being co lle c ted in the D e s e r t ;0 ft ;<. ;m i s 0m math !vr a»i ’ : :: ; 3 In order to p rod u c e this e ffe c t,th e r e must necessarily be a v ast hollow in the interior o f A fr ica ; between the high land’ o f N u b ia o n the east, and Man- ding on the w e s t ; and o f which the mountains and:Desert form the e th e r two sides. ’N o r is this state o f things'unexampled in the other continents. ■In’ A s ia , the hollow,Ho whose waters the Caspian and A ra l serve as recipients, is' no:less extensive than the one jiis tir .en tion cd ; reckoning from die sources o f the W o ig a t o those o f the O x u s ; (which latter has e v e r commun ica ted with the Caspian, either throughout the y ea r , o r during a part o f it :). the difference is, that in A s ia , a greater portion- Of the ho llow is .filled up with waiter, th a n in A fr ican :’ , ft Jm u t a i • grtnqs T h é m i u D part is o f coursé, the G r e a t Desetit (or Sahara), and its members : consisting o f the lesser deserts o f B o rn o u , Bilma, Ba rca, So r t, & c . T h is may b e considered as an o c e a n o f s a n d , Î presenting a surface equal in extent tQ 'a § o u tp rn e b a .t fp fE u r b £ e ,r_and having its gutfs, and b a y s ; as also : its, islands, fe r t ile , in . gro ves 'an d . pastures,.. and. in many instances co n taining" a g reà t.population; su b je c t to order an d tegu la r government. T h e * A ridge stretches, to the south, through the middle of South Africa, and forms an impenetrable barrier between the two coasts.;. M. Çorrba de Serra informs me, that the Portugjieze in Congo aijd Angola, have never been able, to penetrate to the coast of the Indian ocean. Mr.Brucelearnt (Vol. iii. p. 668.) that a high chain of mountains from 6* runs southward through the middle of Africa. He supposes the, gold of Sofala to,be drawn from these mountains, (p. 66g.)-;ff. - : , .... ■■ . - i i ' h , : t Circumstances have shewn, that itdedirtes to the. eastward,also. 1* I " A wild expanse of lifeless sand and sky yfounse»,,- 1 2


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