of it was the hill from which we had obtained our view the day before; on the left, that is to the south, was a range of moderate height, with dome-shaped and pyramidal peaks and protuberances, and a tangle of deeply incised watercourses winding round them, then running together and making their way down to the main channel. We followed this last down from the pass, going towards the north-west. This watercourse is deep and energetically eroded, and is bordered by abrupt, sharply defined scarped terraces. Beside it some bushes were growing, and in them hares and partridges were common. The glen trends gradually towards the north-west, and once more afforded us a view across the Detsche-tso. The mountainous regions nearest to us on the south are called Galtser, those farther away Dschogtsom, though both are probably rather the names of grazing-grounds. Quite close to the northern shore of the lake is a rather small black range called Durtse, which culminates in the peak T3. The main range on the northern side of the latitudinal valley is said to be called Dagdschu. It is of course impossible for me to vouch for the accuracy of these names, as I had no opportunity to control them.
After we issued from the glen, we left its watercourse on our right and watched it disappearing in the direction of the lake, though it did not appear to reach all the way to it. We crossed over any number of rivulets coming from the mountains on the south; some of these were bordered by very awkward escarpments. Except for this the ground, consisting of coarse sand or fine gravel, was hard and excellent for marching on. We approached the lake at an acute angle, and then kept along its shore and not very far from it. The whole of the eastern part of the lake-bottom is occupied by a single gigantic deposit of gypsum, dotted over with pyramidal elevations; otherwise the desiccated portion is level. In this lake again, as in the preceding similar lakes, these knobs and pyramids, often reaching
IIIF Color HighRes
