a river of Syria, which has its rise near a small hill at the foot of Mount Lebanon, to the north of Damascus, not far from the source of the Jordan. The two rivers flow in opposite directions; the latter southward to Lake Asphaltites, the former to the north, till, near Antioch, it makes a circuit to the west and south, and falls into the sea. The waters of the Orontes, at their source, are said to issue out in a large stream from the solid rock. It then takes a bend eastward, receiving several smaller streams in its course, till at last it winds along to the northeast, through the plains of Khoms and Khamah, about a hundred miles from its source. It soon increases to a considerable size, and swells out suddenly into a large lake, extending at least five miles to the north-east, and in some places nearly two miles wide. It is contracted in some parts between narrow and steep banks; and its course is deep and rapid, being scarcely less than four miles an hour. Its waters are a dull yellowish white, from the clayey and chalky soil of its banks in the lake above. At Antioch, where it falls into the sea, it is stated by Buckingham to be from 100 to 150 feet wide, and its stream flows at the rate of about three miles an hour. Such is the parched nature of the climate, that it would be often dry were it not for the bars of sand which obstruct its course, and allow the water to accumulate. Its stream is very deeply sunk amongst rocks, and it can only be rendered subservient to the purposes of irrigation by being laboriously raised with wheels. It forms three lakes, the Bahr-el-Kades, that of Famie or Apamea, and that of Antioch. By means of this river and the Euphrates, it is thought that a shorter route to India, nearly navigable all the way, might be effected; and an expedition was sent out by the British government in 1835, under Colonel Chesney, to explore the navigation of the Euphrates for this purpose.