156 SURROUNDINGS Oh THE MANASAROVAR.
A short distance east of Tugu-gompa the almost uninterrupted narrow shore lagoons begin again, separated from the lake by a mud-neck. This formation is characteristic for the whole south and west shore.
The northernmost point on the façade of Tugu-gompa was, on August 3rd, at a distance of 98.46 m. from the water-line of the lake. Beginning from the shore the first 55 m. were occupied by lagoons and wet mud and clay; the next 1 o m. are dry clay; then begins the fine gravel and finally the gravel wall or terrace on the top of which the temple is built. The foot of the façade, at the western corner, was now 6.30 m. above the surface of the lake. One Lama pretended that 18 years ago, or in 1889, the lake reached the very foot of the façade, a piece of information which seems to be very unreliable.
On the section from Tugu to Camp 218 some changes take place. The lake is deeper; about 5 m., only some 5o m. from the shore. The scree of gravel and alluvia from Gurla goes down to the deepest parts of the lake. In the south one sees where the solid rock comes to an end and the greyish scree from every deep-cut valley and glacier passage in Gurla begins to spread and become broader and less steep as it approaches the lake. On the way down all these screes melt together more or less. Two brooks are seen coming out in white rapids from their rock valleys, but only one mouth is passed at the shore, being 11 m. broad and carrying 1.07 cub. m. a second. The other brook disappears under the gravel of the scree. In this way the Manasarovar receives a good deal of water that escapes control. At such places where the ordinary belt of lagoons is developed, a great number of springs appear in or just above the lagoons, which stand on clay and mud. But at places where the gravel and sand of the scree dip into the lake, and where no lagoons are developed, the springs appear from the bottom of the lake, as can be clearly seen from the boat. Outside of the lagoons no such springs are visible at the bottom. It seems probable that the water from melting snow and glacier ice flows over the top of beds of glacial clay, and through the deposits of gravel and sand which cover them and which are permeable. At places where the underlying clay appears on dry land the springs will therefore reach the surface a little above the shore, but where the scree clips into the lake they join the lake directly, at some distance from the shore. One can easily prove that this is the case. Making a hole with a stick through gravel or sand near the shore, one sees how it immediately gets filled with water coming from the south and slowly streaming to the lake on the top of the underlying clay. A more abundant spring near Camp 218 had a temperature of + 3.4° C. at the same time as the lake had 15° near the shore, proving that the cold glacier water keeps its temperature beneath the gravel on its way down.
Along some sections the 6 m. terrace reaches the very shore of the lake which in such cases is deep directly outside of them. A short distance east of Camp 218, the lagoons begin again and then continue northwards.
IIIFカラー高解像度
