The Euphrates valley from Hit to Balis is a tract of no great value, except as a line of communication.

The Mesopotamian Desert presses it closely upon the one side, and the Arabian upon the other.
The river flows mostly in a deep bed between cliffs of marl, gypsum, and limestone, or else between bare hills producing only a few dry sapless shrubs and a coarse grass; and there are but rare places where, except by great efforts, the water can be raised so as to irrigate, to any extent, the land along either bank.

The course of the stream is fringed by date-palms as high as Anah, and above is dotted occasionally with willows, poplars, sumacs, and the unfruitful palm-tree.

Cultivation is possible in places along both banks, and the undulating country on either side affords patches of good pasture.

The land improves as we ascend.