Jabal ad-Duruz

Jabal ad-Duruz ( _ar. جبل الدروز), also known as Jabal al-Arab (Arabic: جبل العرب) is an elevated volcanic region in southern Syria, in the As-Suwayda Governorate. In the winter, snow falls, which is atypical for this region. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also small Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in this area. It was an autonomous state in the French Mandate of Syria from 1921 to 1936, under the same name.

Geology

The Jabal ad-Duruz volcanic field, the southernmost in Syria, lies in the Haurun-Druze Plateau in SW Syria near the border with Jordan. The most prominent feature of this volcanic field is 1800m-high Jabal ad Duruz (also known variously as Djebel Al-Arab, Jabal ed Duruz, Jabal ad Druze, Jabal al Druz, Jebel Duraz, Djebel ed Drouz). The alkaline volcanic field consists of a group of 118 basaltic volcanoes active from the lower-Pleistocene to the Holocene. The large SW Plateau depression is filled by basaltic lava flows from volcanoes aligned in a NW-SE direction. This volcanic field lies within the northern part of the massive alkaline Harrat Ash Shamah (also known as Harrat Ash Shaam) volcanic field that extends from southern Syria to Saudi Arabia.

Peaks

* Tell Qeni (1803) m.

* Tell Joualine (1732) m.

* Tell Sleiman (1703) m.

* Tell Qleib (1698) m.

* Tell Abou-Hamra (1482) m.

* Tell El-Ahmar (1452) m.

* Tell Abed-Mar (1436) m.

* Tell Khodr-Imtan (1341) m.

* Tell Azran (1220) m.

* Tell Shihan (1138) m.

In Arabic, the word "tell" means "hill" but in Jabal ad-Druze, "tell" rather refers to a volcanic cone.

ee also

*Jabal ad-Druze (state)

ources

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