| | 226 WESTWARDS TO LADAK. The moderately high range on the south is said to be called Jagar or Jagargogma. The wind was this day less violent than usual. The place where we encamped was known as Döllu-tschuga. On the 9th November we were to pass out of this latitudinal valley and go over into a fresh one farther north; so that both orographically and hydrographically this stage offered a pleasing diversity from the otherwise rather monotonous landscape. We proceeded first north-east, then north-west, but on the whole bore to the north, and were consequently led by our men of Rudok farther and farther away from their forbidden country. From Camp CXXIII we saw the valley in which the two last-mentioned lakes are situated continuing on towards the west, though it no doubt subsequently inclines as usual towards the west-north-west and north-west. Its continuation appeared however to be narrower than usual, for the offshoots from the mountains on both sides reach down to very near the middle of the valley, their bases approaching quite close together. It is this valley that is traversed by the brook of Döllu-tschuga. We even saw the outlet of the valley bearing S. 7o° W. from our camp; it too is rather narrow and contracted, so that the valley actually appears to debouch upon the broader basin in which the two lakes are situated. From this it results that the range which borders the narrow part of the latitudinal valley on the north, the part lying entirely west of Camp CXXIII, describes a rounded curve towards the north-east before it continues towards the south-east. There is undoubtedly a convenient route to the west through this latitudinal valley; but I had no reason to find fault with the more northerly route by which the Tibetans led us, for it traversed unknown and fairly interesting country. Following the extreme western dried up part of the lake, we had immediately on our right thick and extensive sheets of gypsum, studded with the usual platforms, pyramids, and mounds, all of snowy white gypsum. At intervals we crossed over little tongues and offshoots of this formation. Farther on the ground became more marshy and small sheets of water gleamed out amongst the expanses of gypsum. The presence of sheets of ice revealed the fact, that the water there was fresh. Although the wild-geese were frequently within shot, yet as they always kept to situations in which they were entirely surrounded by water, we left them alone, because in any case we should have been unable to fetch them. We now bore more to the north-east. Down the flanks of the mountains on our left came various watercourses, clearly defined in the gypsum, though not very deeply incised; it is only after rain that they carry water. Next we skirted a bay of the lake penetrating towards the north-west. It was only close to the shore that it was frozen hard enough to bear; elsewhere the ice was very thin, the result of the past night's frost, when the thermometer had dropped to — 24°.3 and the air was perfectly still and quiet. Here again a large watercourse enters the lake, though it was at that time perfectly dry. Turning away from the shore, we proceeded east along the foot of a ridge, or rather a low portion of the range that borders the latitudinal valley on the north. On the southern side of this ridge we observed four very distinct and beautiful old beach-lines, the ones at the top and the bottom being the most energetically shaped; the former was about 25 m. above the surface of the lake. Thus here again we find the old beach-lines solely and alone on that |
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