As-Safa ( ar, الصفا, ), also known as Tulul al-Safa (, ), Arabic for ''Al-Safa hills'', is a hilly region which lies in southern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, north-east of
Jabal al-Druze volcanic plateau. It consists of a basaltic lava field of volcanic origin, covering an area of 220 square kilometres, and contains at least 38 cinder cones. This volcanic field lies within the northern part of the massive alkaline
Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field that extends from southern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, through eastern
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
. The region is extremely scarce in water.
Volcanic activities
The field contains numerous
vents which have been active during the
Holocene Epoch (12,000 years ago). A boiling
lava lake
Lava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. The term is used to describe both lava lakes that are wholly or partly molten and those that are solidified (someti ...
was observed in the Es Safa volcanic area in the middle of the 19th century (see
Erta Ale in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Puʻu ʻŌʻō in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
for reference).
Demography
The region was frequently used by the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
through history as a refuge in the years of war. The whole region currently lies within
As-Suwayda Governorate, as the governorate's borders run along the region's boundaries. Only roaming
Bedouins
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...
visit it occasionally, in addition to some archaeologists.
Safaitic inscriptions were first discovered in this area in 1857, and were named after the region.
Syrian civil war
In the
Syrian civil war, al-Safa became the last pocket of
ISIL in the As-Suwayda Governorate and the Rif-Damasiq Governorate. It was surrounded by the
Syrian Army in the
As-Suwayda offensive. The area was captured on 17 November 2018.
List of volcanic cones in Es Safa
* Tell el Aqzass (''Tell el Aqzass'') 889 m.
* Tell ed Ders (''Tell ed Ders'') 878 m.
* Jabal Rghēli (''Jabal Rgheli'') 874 m.
* Tell Darayir Šimāli (''Tell Darayer Shimali'') 844 m.
* Tell Um Ħwār (''Tell Um Hwar'') 818 m.
* Tell Um el Janbrīs (''Tell Um el Janbris'') 808 m.
* Tell Darayir Qebli (''Tell Darayir Qebli'') 803 m.
* Tell ‘Ali (''Tell Ali'') 770 m.
* Tell al Khēl (''Tell el Kheil'') 765 m.
* Tell Eş Şafa (''Tell Es Safa'') 739m.
* Tell Ţarrān (''Tell Tarran'') 731 m.
* Jabal Sīs (''Jabal Sees'') 692 m.
* Tell Zqēţa (''Tell Zqeita'') 670 m.
* Jabal el Jarīn (''Jabal el Jareen'') 657 m.
* Jabal Abū Ghanem (''Jabal Abu Ghanem'') 632 m.
References
External links
*
Photos of Es-Safa volcano in Panoramio
Mountains of Syria
Volcanic fields
Es Safa
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