Re: The hill Manti was the Tauric mountain

[Geiserik]

On 18 jan, 22:39, Geiserik <dejonghn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Just collecting references, article will be rewritten and deleted.
>
> Alma 1
> [15] And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor;
> and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was
> caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth,
> that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God;
> and there he suffered an ignominious death.
> Alma 2
> [22] Now those whom he had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites
> were called Zeram, and Amnor, and Manti, and Limher; these were they
> who went out with their men to watch the camp of the Amlicites.
> Alma 16
> [6] And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the
> matter. And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites
> will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the
> borders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on
> the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee
> thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.
> [7] And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river
> Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti
> into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river
> Sidon.
> Alma 17
> [1] And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land
> of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his
> astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the
> land of Zarahemla.
> Alma 22
> [27] And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout
> all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who
> were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the
> sea, on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land
> of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea
> east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the
> seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by
> the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of
> the river Sidon, running from the east towards the west -- and thus
> were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.
> Alma 43
> [22] Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the
> Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the
> land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round
> about in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that
> they might come into the land of Manti and take possession of the
> land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know
> whither they had gone.
> [24] And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and
> Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the
> Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might
> come over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack
> upon the weaker part of the people. And those messengers went and
> delivered the message unto Moroni.
> [25] Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon,
> lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land
> and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army
> and marched over into the land of Manti.
> [32] And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of
> the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.
> [42] And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of
> Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.
> Alma 56
> [14] The land of Manti, or the city of Manti, and the city of Zeezrom,
> and the city of Cumeni, and the city of Antiparah.
> Alma 57
> [22] And now behold, it was these my sons, and those men who had been
> selected to convey the prisoners, to whom we owe this great victory;
> for it was they who did beat the Lamanites; therefore they were driven
> back to the city of Manti.
> Alma 58
> [1] And behold, now it came to pass that our next object was to obtain
> the city of Manti; but behold, there was no way that we could lead
> them out of the city by our small bands. For behold, they remembered
> that which we had hitherto done; therefore we could not decoy them
> away from their strongholds.
> [13] And thus we did go forth with all our might against the
> Lamanites, who were in the city of Manti; and we did pitch our tents
> by the wilderness side, which was near to the city.
> [25] And behold, it was night and they did pitch their tents, for the
> chief captains of the Lamanites had supposed that the Nephites were
> weary because of their march; and supposing that they had driven their
> whole army therefore they took no thought concerning the city of
> Manti.
> [26] Now it came to pass that when it was night, I caused that my men
> should not sleep, but that they should march forward by another way
> towards the land of Manti.
> [27] And because of this our march in the night-time, behold, on the
> morrow we were beyond the Lamanites, insomuch that we did arrive
> before them at the city of Manti.
> [28] And thus it came to pass, that by this stratagem we did take
> possession of the city of Manti without the shedding of blood.
> [39] And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly
> spoken, are with me in the city of Manti; and the Lord had supported
> them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even
> one soul has not been slain.
> Alma 59
> [6] Yea, even those who had been compelled to flee from the land of
> Manti, and from the land round about, had come over and joined the
> Lamanites in this part of the land.

Crimean Mountains. (Map: Crimean Mountains.) Young, folded mountains
of the Alpine mountain system located in the southern part of the
Crimea. Including the foothills, they cover one-fifth of the
peninsula's area. They extend for about 150 km from Sevastopil to
Teodosiia and are 40–50 km in width. The Crimean Mountains consist of
three long, parallel ranges, separated by valleys. They descend
gradually towards the north and fall sharply towards the south. The
first two ranges starting from the north constitute the foothills; the
third range, called the Yaila (the name is sometimes applied to the
Crimean Mountains as a whole), constitutes the mountains proper.
Between the steep southern slope of the mountains and the Black Sea
lies a hilly coastal strip, the Crimean southern shore.

Geology. The Crimean Mountains are a large, integral, anticlinal
platform whose southern wing sinks into the sea. The uplifting and
folding occurred as early as the Jurassic period. At the end of the
Lower Cretaceous period the anticline appeared, but the main orogenic
processes occurred only in the Miocene and Pliocene periods, when the
lower part of the anticline broke off. The uplifting lasted into the
Quaternary period, while the southern part of the mountains continued
to subside. Besides longitudinal depressions, a series of latitudinal
depressions appeared, and there was volcanic activity, particularly on
the south side. Earthquakes still occur (the last violent one was in
1927), which indicates that tectonic movements have not ceased. The
mountains are built mainly of sedimentary deposits of sea origin: sand-
clayey schist, conglomerates, and sandstones and limestones of the
Permian-Triassic and Jurassic periods. The hard Jurassic limestones
are particularly common. The lower layers are built of Cretaceous and
Tertiary layers, slightly inclined towards the north. The sedimentary
layers are dissected by volcanic deposits.

Landscape. (Map: Crimean Mountains: Relief Profile.) The relief of the
Crimean Mountains is the result of complex interactions between the
internal and external processes of the Tertiary and Quaternary
periods. Repeated upliftings and subsidings caused active erosion to
alternate with peneplanation.

The lower two ranges are longitudinal monoclines of the northern wing
of the Crimean anticline. They have gentle northern slopes and steep
southern slopes (cuestas), which appear wherever hard deposits break
through the surface. The outer range reaches up to 342 m and is built
of Neogene limestone and lime sandstone with an inside core of Upper
Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene limestone (550–750 m) lying on soft
chalk marl. The cuestas face insular, tablelike mountains, which
indicate the former extension of the cuestas now retreating northward
under the influence of denudation. Both ranges are dissected by
latitudinal passes, often in the form of canyons. Between the ranges
lies a wide (3–4 km) valley, traversed by the Sevastopil–Symferopil
railroad and highway. A second longitudinal valley stretches southward
from the middle range and merges with the first range in the east.

Beyond the second longitudinal valley the highest range, the Yaila,
rises gradually. It is the axis of the anticline and consists of hard,
Jurassic limestone. The top of the range forms a large, high plateau,
which drops suddenly several hundred meters to the southern shore. In
the west this range is quite unbroken and is divided into the Ai-Petri
Yaila (1,320 m), Yalta Yaila (1,406 m), Nikitska Yaila (Demir-Kap
peak, 1,504 m), and Babuhan Yaila (which has the highest peak, Roman-
Kosh, 1,545 m). Farther east the Yaila breaks up into more or less
isolated, tablelike massifs: the Chatyr-Dag (Eklizi-Burun peak, 1,525
m), Demerdzhi Yaila (1,237 m), Tyrke, Dolgorukii Yaila, and the
circular Karabi Yaila (1,259 m). In the eastern part the tablelike
massifs disappear; Aharmysh Mountain (723 m) is their last member. The
mountains divide into many ridges and peaks, dissected by erosion, and
decline below 1,000 m in altitude. The Yaila, particularly the western
part, is peculiar because of its karst features of a Mediterranean
variety: karroo fields in areas lacking topsoil; various closed forms
of different sizes (funnellike sinkholes, gullies, depressions, etc);
precipices where the snow lies year round; subterranean caves with
stalactites and stalagmites, of which the best known are Byndash-Koba
and Suuk-Koba in the vicinity of Chatyr-Dag. The surface of the Yaila
is waterless, because precipitation penetrates the limestone layers
and collects on the schists of the Middle Jurassic period, forming
subterranean lakes and rivers. The slopes of the Yaila are dissected
by deep canyons.

In the west the Crimean Mountains descend directly into the Black Sea.
East of Foros the mountains recede from the sea for a few kilometers
and create a narrow, sheltered shore (see Crimean southern shore).

Climate and soils. The mountains' climate is distinguished from the
climate of the surrounding regions by its lower temperatures, high
precipitation, strong winds, and microclimatic variation depending on
elevation, relief, exposure, and so on. At 1,200 m the average July
temperature is 15.7°C, the average January temperature is -4.2°C, and
the average annual temperature is 5.7°C. In the west the annual
precipitation is 1,000–1,200 mm; in the east, 510–700 mm. The soils
are brown forest soils. At the highest elevation mountain-meadow
subalpine soils are found, while on the southern slopes subtropical
red soils are found. The foothills have a moderate continental climate—
the average January temperature in Symferopil is -1°C, the average
July temperature is 22°C, and the average annual temperature is 10°C—
with an annual precipitation of 437 mm.

The soils are varied: low-humus southern chernozem, peat-carbonate,
brown, and chestnut. The rivers are short and of irregular incline.
They are fed by precipitation and subterranean waters. On the northern
slopes we find the sources of the Chorna River, Belbek River, Kacha
River, Alma River, Salhyr River, and other rivers, and on the southern
slopes, the Uchansu River, Derekoika River, Avunda River, and others.

Flora. The mountain flora on the northern slopes differs from that on
the southern coast, which has a Mediterranean climate. The following
vegetation belts are found on the northern slopes: (1) in the
foothills, the forest-steppe dotted with clusters of low oak,
hornbeam, and other tree and brush species; (2) up to 600–700 m, oak
forests with pilous oak at the lower elevations and rock oak at the
higher; (3) up to 1,300 m, beech forests with an admixture of
hornbeam, linden, maple, ash, yew, and, at the upper limit, crooked
pine (Pinus hamata) and Crimean pine (Pinus pallasiana). The southern
slopes of the Crimean Mountains up to 300 m and sometimes up to 500 m
are covered with Mediterranean evergreen vegetation; at 800–900 m
there are forests of Crimean pine and oak (Quercus petraea, Q.
calcarea); and at 1,200–1,300 m there are beech forests (Fagus
taurica) with an admixture of Crimean and crooked pine, hornbeam,
maple, and so on. The most common tree in the Crimean Mountains is the
oak, which covers more than half of the wooded area. The forests offer
important protection against erosion and conserve water well.

The summit of the Crimean Mountains, the Yaila, is a forestless,
karst, rocky plateau, covered with mountain meadows and juniper brush.
For centuries the Yaila provided summer pasturage for the sheep of the
Crimean Tatars, and the vegetation has become impoverished. Today
pasturage is restricted.

Both lower ranges of the Crimean Mountains are deforested and under
cultivation. The lower, longitudinal valley is heavily populated and
intensively cultivated. The upper longitudinal valley is covered
mostly with forest, and its mountains are completely covered with
forest and meadows.

Fauna. The Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea coast belong to the
Mediterranean zoogeographical subprovince and are distinctive in
lacking many common forest species and in possessing Balkan, Near
Eastern, Mediterranean, and endemic species. The mountain-forest fauna
is richest on the northern slopes of the Yaila, particularly in the
forests of the Crimean Game Preserve, which contains the Crimean red
deer (endemic subspecies), the Crimean chamois, forest marten, fox,
rock marten, mole, and other species. Bird species include hawks,
owls, jays, tomtits, mountainous yellowhammers, blackbirds,
stonechats, and several Mediterranean birds. The amphibians are
represented by leopard boas and smooth snakes. Few fish species are
found here. Some species of animals—mouflon, squirrel, and so on—have
been acclimatized at the preserve. Among the reptiles found on the
southern coast are the endemic Crimean gecko, and such lizards as the
rock lizard. Characteristic invertebrates include the cicada, praying
mantis, scolopendra, Crimean scorpion, and Crimean black beetle. Many
Mediterranean species of mollusk are common. Of the Diptera mosquitoes
are most common. The original flora and fauna of the Crimea are
preserved best at the Crimean Game Preserve.