IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Scientific Results of a Journey in Central Asia, 1899-1902 : vol.4 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
PRSCHEVALSKIJ'S FIRST AND THIRD JOURNEYS.
451
tempests that are characteristic of Central Asia prevail also in Tibet. They come for the most part from the west, beginning at noon and lasting until sunset. They are extraordinarily violent. In February, May, and June they rage almost every day. They are in part caused by the great difference of temperature that obtains between the Tibetan high plateau and China. The rainfall is dependent upon the monsoons. The influence of the Indian monsoon extends across the Himalaya and over northern
J
Tibet, and we observed that within that region the rains accompany the west-southwest storms, while within the sphere of the Chinese monsoon they accompany southeasterly storms.»
Next I add a few excerpts dealing with the course of his journey. »On 12th September 1879 we started from Tsajdam to travel into Tibet. Instead of climbing over the lofty Burchan-Budha, we chose the route through the glen of Nomochungol. In order to reach it we had first to cross over an infertile plain, where salt marshes alternate with cliarmik and tamarisk steppe. Still even there we came across a patch of ground cultivated by poor Mongols. I found the Burchan-Budha just as wild and infertile as before. The Nomochun-gol was then only 9 to 12 meters broad and 3o to 6o cm. deep. Its bed has cut through loess deposits and layers of gravel-and-shingle.
Two days' journey from Dijnsij-obo we struck into the road which I traversed in the year 1872-73, namely the road over the Schuga Mountains, which there reaches an altitude of 456o m. Its northern slopes were already covered with snow. We found the Schuga river was fairly full of water. It pierces the range in a northwesterly direction, flows across large salt plains, and finally empties into a salt lake in Tsajdam.
Two mountain-passes lead across the Marco-Polo range, Tschum-tschum and, farther west, Angijr-daktschin, and of these we selected the former. Notwithstanding the considerable altitude of 497o m., the passage was fairly comfortable. There are no wild cliffs, and the mountain-slopes abound in green vegetation and game. By this we had reached the Tibetan high plateau. Our guide led us along a little brook, which appeared to join the Naptschitaj-ulan-muren, a tributary of the Mur-usu. There we lighted upon old caravan camping-places, which had probably been made by pilgrims to Lhasa. On the 4th October the ground was covered with a sheet of snow 20 to 25 cm. deep, and the thermometer dropped to — 9° C.
Every now and again we rested a day in places that offered grazing for our outworn animals. We had difficulty in finding the road, for the snow obliterated the trail of the caravans which had previously travelled that same way. The next plain that we crossed is that which stretches between the Marco-Polo range and the Koko-schili range and lies at an altitude of 4200 to 4500 m.
The latter range attains in that part an absolute elevation of 4800 m. above sea-level, but a relative altitude of only 600 m., nowhere reaching to the snow-line. The mountains there are dome-shaped and their slopes grassed; otherwise the vegetation appears to be scanty. Between the Koko-schili and the Dung-bure chain stretches a high plateau about 4500 m. above sea-level. The crossing of the Chaptschik-ulan-muren, probably an affluent of the Mur-usu, occasioned us great
i
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.