14 [ No. 07 GEOGRAPHY : SOKOTRA north . There are also three minor watercourses which drain to the west. None of these are perennial. The whole of the limestone country is stony and arid , containing a few stunted trees and bushes and some poor grazing grounds.

The coastal plains consist of sand, gravel, and boulders. They are traversed by shallow water courses , dry except during the rains, and most of them contain shallow lagoons of fresh or brackish water, some of which are surrounded by date -palms and some by mangrove trees. Their vegetation is scanty. During the rains there is a fair growth of grass, suitable for grazing, but this dries up and leaves only stunted bushes and herbs . The largest of the coastal plains is the Naukad , which extends for nearly 50 miles along the centre of the south coast and averages about 3 miles in width ; much of its surface, especially in the west, is covered with drifting sand -dunes. Other important plains exist at Kalansiya on the west coast, and at Ghubbet Kurmeh and Tamarida Bay on the north coast. Ghubbet Kurmeh is more than 20 miles in length and about 2 miles in average width, while the Tamarida plain is 4 or 5 miles long and 3 or 4 miles wide.

Speaking generally, the Mount Haghier ridge and the eastern half of the island are fertile and wooded, and produce good pasturage. The rest of the island is more or less desolate, except at a few places such as Kalansiya.

Coast The coast-line is over 180 miles in length. It consists of the plains already described , and of bold, rugged cliffs, whose altitude varies from about 200 ft. to over 1,900 ft. There are neither gulfs, estuaries, nor harbours. The south coast is almost unbroken, but