IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Scientific Results of a Journey in Central Asia, 1899-1902 : vol.4 |
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Citation Information
FROM LEH TO THE KARA-KORUM.
405
springs and flowing amongst thickets of bushes. On its left side the glen was now overhung by steep, towering walls of rock, with immense screes gushing out of every fissure and every watercourse, and their foot abruptly shorn by the summer floods. We forded the river for the last time near Riung-karu-jogma or Tschahrvagh or Tschahr-bagh, and then encamped at an altitude of J967 m., at the foot of a gigantic gravel-and-shingle terrace. Above it rise up steep and rugged masses of rock, while narrow, wild-looking side-glens open out towards the west. We had again reached a region in which the scenery is sublime. The vegetation was however scanty, only a few solitary bushes and some kamisch.
April 16th. In order not to weary our animals, and especially the yaks, we made short marches, and generally encamped at the places where the Jarkent caravans are accustomed to stop for the night. During the preceding night violent gusty winds blew in our glen, and every now and again we heard landslips of gravel and stones falling from the terrace at the foot of which we were encamped; in fact our position was far from being safe. Shortly before reaching Tschahrvagh we came across an inhabitant of Schejok, grazing some yaks and sheep; he was the only human being we met with in the course of the whole of our journey through these
mountains.
The volume of the Schejok had now visibly decreased a little. On the whole its glen still preserved the same characteristics as hitherto, and led us north-north-west without windings worthy of mention. At first we advanced for a considerable distance close to the foot of the mountains on the right side of the glen. On this side, as also on the side opposite to it, we now encountered a great number of gigantic screes, the fronts of which often rose fully I oo m. above the glen. Every now and again, in places that are not invaded by the
river, we would see köuruk scrub and tamarisks. Upon butte, which we passed on our left, we crossed over to glen by means of a low threshold which reaches across
Fig. 328. VERTICAL SECTION OF DEPRESSION AT MANDARLIK.
reaching a minor detached
the left or east side of the
it. The space between the
butte and the cliffs on the east is in great part filled with sedimented yellow clay. There a large side-glen, called Galik-tartan, comes down from the east. After twice more fording the river we approached Mandarlik, a peculiar depression scooped out by the stream some time ago at the base of the cliffs on the left side of the glen. There, being well protected, and well watered by a spring, which had formed some small pools, grass, kamisch, and bushes were growing. There were wild-duck. The place, which lies at an absolute altitude of 4145 m., is also called Julghuluk (= Julghunluk) and in Tibetan Bodba.
On the I j th April we again did a very short stage along this remarkable road, which by this was beginning to get monotonous. We were still within the peripheral region and within the confines of the drainage-area of the Indus; as yet there were no indications that we were approaching the vast, relatively flat Tibetan plateau-land. The vertical relief was still the more pronounced; of the horizontal relief we did not see much, for our view was limited on both sides by the lofty walls of rock.
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