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| Scientific Results of a Journey in Central Asia, 1899-1902 : vol.3 |
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Citation Information
CROSSING THE ARKA-TAGH.
77
priate either to the mountain or to the river. The stream flows towards the west,
and like the streams in the other great latitudinal valleys, it keeps nearer to the base of the northern mountains than to the base of those on the south. Above the left bank rises a very distinctly marked erosion terrace to the height of 8 to i o m. The top of this we reached by means of a small side gully. The southern side of the valley is shut in by a stupendous mountain-range, with a gigantic craggy node, crowned by pinnacled summits, sharp crests, and glittering snow-fields, and with several spurs projecting like the side-scenes of a theatre towards the north. At the point where we forded the river the altitude was 4719 m. ; consequently we had descended about 30o m. since leaving the pass.
Over gently rising, soft ground, seamed with small gullies and ravines, we
made our way south-west towards the opening of a transverse glen, where there was some scanty grass, and a herd of yaks grazing on it. From this side-glen there issued a fairly large brook, which contributed its moiety to the main stream; and from the southern range several similar brooks emerged one after the other. But the range on the north sent down only insignificant contributories. On the northern slopes of the former range there was a greater quantity of snow than on any of those we had hitherto crossed. The precipitation here is greater, and consequently this river is larger than those between the more northerly ranges.
We explored the valley in which we pitched Camp No. XX (alt. 4784 m.) ; it extended towards the south-south-west, and proved to be quite impracticable, the advance being stopped by impassable snow-fields. On both sides of the valley our camp was overhung by almost completely detached mountain-masses. The illustration shows the one on the east (fig. 63).
Not far from Camp No. XIX there was laminated schist dipping 62° S., and projecting in thin lamine through the weathered materials of the rounded hills. Higher up in the first side-glen of the day red sandstone cropped out, dipping 14° towards the S. 20° E., and after that black schist dipping 67° towards the S. 6o° W., and hard greenstone. Near the pass there was a variety of hard fine-grained rock, with white veins in it and cleavage-lines running in several directions. This rock dipped 78° towards the S. 20° E. At the last rocky gateway there was a porphyritic green-stone, dipping 79° to the N. 80° E. Immediately east-south-east of Camp No. XX I discovered a black schist, alternating with a hard crystalline schist, with a dip of 8o° towards the S. I o° W. Generally speaking, the solid rocks all day towered straight upwards in the form of pinnacles and spires, at the foot of which were accumulated gigantic screes of débris, that is gravel of medium size, but very sharp-edged. We saw granite nowhere. This was the eighth parallel range we had crossed belonging to the middle portion of the Kwen-lun system.
August 5th. In order to get over this the third range of the Arka-tagh, we had to try another transverse glen, and accordingly, after fording the stream that ran north-north-east past our camp, we made a circuit round the mountain-mass on the west, and steered towards the north-west and west, keeping along the northern foot of the mass as well as of several similar spurs projecting towards the north, the slopes of which were overgrown with moss and short, thin grass. The hollows between these spurs are threaded by rivulets, all of which eventually join the main stream of the valley.
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