Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 3, Anatomy-Astronomy

A R A
Vragon. veneration by the Mahometans. A visit to it constitutes a
—' necessary part of the great pilgrimage. (See Mecca.) The
mountain consists of a granite rock about 150 feet high,
which is ascended by staircases, partly cut in the rock and
partly composed of solid masonry. On this hill Adam is said
to have met his wife Eve after a long absence; and it is
thence called Arafat or Gratitude. On the summit is a
chapel, which the Mahometans believe to have been built
by Adam. The interior was destroyed by the Wahabys in
1807.
ARAGON, or Arragon, a province, or, as it is usually
denominated by the inhabitants of the peninsula, a kingdom,
of Spain, and one of the component parts of that monarchy,
situated between Lat. 40. 0. and 42. 51. N., and between
Long. 2. 10. W. and 1. 45. E. It is bounded on the north
by the Pyrenees, which separate it from France ; east by
Catalonia and Valencia; south by Valencia; and west by
Navarre and the two Castiles. the length from north to
south is 215 miles, and its breadth from 65 to 135 miles, with
an area of 11,088 geographical square miles, and a popula¬
tion in 1849 of 847,105. In 1833 it was divided into the
new provinces of Zaragoza, Huesca, and Teruel. The pro¬
vince is divided by the river Ebro into two nearly equal parts,
which are distinguished as Trans-ibero and Cis-ibero. Its
surface is very irregular: the western part, towards Old Cas¬
tile, begins with the Sierra de Moncayo, but from the foot
of these mountains to the Ebro the country is a continued
level and fertile plain in the centre. To the south the ground
rises gradually till it attains considerable elevation in the
mountains near Cuenca, in which are the sources of the most
considerable rivers of Spain, some of which direct their
courses to the Mediterranean, while others force their way
to the Atlantic. Mountains, branching from the Pyrenees,
traverse the northern part, and it has likewise some moun¬
tains in the south; but these are of less elevation. The tem¬
perature of Aragon is extremely varied. In the north, near
the Pyrenees, the climate is rigorous; while in the south,
especially towards the Mediterranean, it is very mild.
The agricultural productions of the province necessarily
vary with the variations in the elevation and aspect of the
land. The greater part is appropriated to feeding flocks of
Merino sheep, and their wool forms the most important of
the productions of the province ; in return for which they re¬
ceive the manufactures of England and France. Wheat is
grown more than sufficient for its own consumption, and it
contributes to supply the neighbouring province of Navarre.
Its wine and oil are generally more than its own demands re¬
quire, and they are both of the best quality which Spain pro¬
duces ; but having none but difficult communication with
any other country where these valuable articles are wanted,
the cultivation of them languishes. Near the banks of the
Ebro flax and hemp are grown in more than sufficient quan¬
tities for the domestic manufactures ; and a supply of the lat¬
ter is furnished to some of the maritime towns of Biscay,
where it is preferred for cables to any other. The supply of
horses and cows is not equal to the demands of the inhabi¬
tants, the deficiency being made up from the adjoining pro¬
vinces. The mountainous parts abound with excellent ship-
timber, but the badness of the roads prevents this branch of
commerce from being carried on to any great extent.
The manufactures of the province are inconsiderable; that
of silk, which was formerly extensive, has been gradually on
the decline for some years. Manufactories for coarse cloths
occupy the inhabitants of the city of Albarracin, and the large
village of Tarazona; and some cloths of fine wool are made
at Jaca, and some baize in its vicinity. Linen and sail-cloth
are also made, but the quantity of each is small. There are
iron manufactories on the mountains, where the abundance
of trees calculated for making charcoal has introduced forges;
but the badness of the roads checks their extension.
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Aragon is not deficient in mineral riches, though the la- Aragon,
hour applied to them, as to most other objects in Spain, is in
a very languid state. Near the Pyrenees, besides mines of
iron there are three mines of lead and one of copper, and,
what is unique in Spain, a mine of cobalt. Besides these,
there is a mine of alum near Alcaniz, which is very produc¬
tive ; and there are also quarries of marble and iasper.
At two leagues N.N.E. of Albarracin is the extraordinary
fountain called Celia, at an elevation of 3700 feet above the
sea. From this fountain the river Xiloca issues, and run¬
ning through a beautiful country of 30 miles in extent, filled
with inclosures, orchards, gardens, and vineyards, joins its
waters, near Calatayud, to the more copious stream of the
Xalon, which descends from Old Castile ; and these united,
lose their names by mingling their waters w ith the Ebro. Be¬
tween the stream of the Xiloca and the mountains which sepa¬
rate Aragon from Molina, is a very extensive lake called Gal-
locanta, which covers about 6000 acres of land; and at a little
distance from the lake are the ruins of the ancient city Bil-
bilis, which has derived celebrity from being the native place
of the Roman poet Martial.
The principal river of Aragon is the Ebro, to which most
of the other rivers in the province are tributary. (See Ebro.)
The soil is generally dry; but the valleys are usually well-
watered and fertile. The Imperial Canal of Aragon, which
extends in the direction of the Ebro from Tudela almost to
Sastago, is about eighty miles in length, nine feet in depth,
and has an average breadth of sixty-nine feet. It is navi¬
gable for vessels of from 60 to 80 tons burthen. This great
work was commenced by Charles V. in 1529, but remained
unfinished for nearly 200 years.
The capital of Aragon is Zaragoza, a city of more than
40,000 inhabitants; for the description of v/hich, with its me¬
morable resistance to the French invaders, see Zaragoza.
The other considerable cities and towns are Teruel, Daroca,
Calatayud, Borja, Tarazona, Alcaniz, Caspe, Barbastro, Mon-
zon, Huesca, and Jaca. At the most western part of the
province a district called Cinco-villas is remarkably fruitful.
T he whole extent of 17,000 acres derives its fertility prin¬
cipally from an artificial canal, cut for the purpose of irriga¬
tion, called the royal canal of Tauste, by means of which the
whole of the land may be flooded at pleasure.
The name of this kingdom was derived from the small but
precipitous torrent Aragon, which rises in the Pyrenees,
and, running from north to south, falls into the Ebro.
A great portion of the Pyrenees is in the province of Ara¬
gon. They run from east to west, presenting towards Spain
the convex part of a kind of spherical segment, losing their
height gradually towards each extremity. The highest point
of this range of mountains, called by the French Mont Perdu,
and by the Spaniards Monte Perdido and Las Tres Sorores,
is visible from the city of Zaragoza. According to the actual
measurement of the naturalist Ramond, who reached its sum¬
mit in 1802, it is 11,430 feet above the level of the sea. Its
top is constantly covered with snow, the permanent limits of
which, on the same authority, are stated at 7750 feet of ele¬
vation. Before the measurement of Ramond, the point called
Canigu was supposed to be the highest peak of this range,
but it was thereby ascertained to be but 10,050 feet high.
There are at least fifty passes through the Pyrenees from
France into Spain, but few of these are practicable except
for the peasantry. The regular carriage roads over these
mountains are the following:—1. The Col de Pertus, be¬
tween Perpignan and Jonquera; 2. The pass of Puy Mo-
riens, between the valley of Sagre and that of the Ariege;
3. The Port de Confranc, between Zaragoza and Pan; 4.
The Port de Roncevaux, between Pamplona and St Jean ;
5. The pass of Bedassoa, between Vittoria and Bayonne.
From an accurate survey by the French engineers, it ap¬
peared there were upwards of eighty practicable passages,
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