National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

THE WATER-PARTING BETWEEN RAGA-TSANGPO AND CHAKTAK-TSANGPO.

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was always moist and swampy. The barren slopes show clearly by concentric lines, that the whole mass of fine detritus moves slowly downwards, a phenomenon that is very common in the highest regions of Chang-tang; such regions are very treacherous both for men and animals.

Three small valleys contain the highest feeders of the Kichung: Kichung-tiblung-

ogma, Kichung-tiblung-barma and Kichung-tiblung-toma, all three with brooks from melting snow. The Kichung-la has a height of 5 504 m and a rather narrow crest; there is no sign of vegetation, everything is detritus, and living rock is found only in a little threshold, tight, hard schist. The pass is a water-parting between the Raga-hloshung and the Chung-sang, which goes its own way down to the Tsangpo. Innumerable small brooks join to form the Chungsang, which first goes S. 25° w. but then turns south; Chomo-toye is a little rocky tooth at its left side; at a place called Penlung a few miles down in this valley, a tent was pitched. Lower down, Hopkän is a valley from the Chomo-uchong, surrounded by hills with good pasture grounds. Still farther down, a series of ridges and ramifications are visible, and beyond them the deep gigantic valley of the Tsangpo. Far south a high snowy peak, Ngaritsunga, is said to be on the frontier of Nepal; the rest of the Himalaya was hidden by clouds. On Ryder's map there is a valley which very well corresponds to my Chungsang valley.

To the W.S.W. the magnificent peaks of Chomo-uchong are beautifully visible with their snow- and ice-fields. To the N. 83° E. is visible the well-defined but flat depression in this hopeless labyrinth of ranges, ridges and inumerable ramifications, which is formed by the joint Raga-tsangpo.

In order to reach a second pass, 5 48o m, close by, one has to follow the

very crest, from which the source-branches go to Chungsang; its slopes are steep and living rock of quartzitic breccia, crystalline limestone and basalt, crops out at some places. This nameless threshold is a water-parting between the Chungsang to the south, and to the north the Kichen-kada, which turns N.E., E. and S.E., and joins the Raga-hloshung.

A third threshold is also nameless and divides the water only between the

uppermost feeders of the Kichen-kada. The fourth pass is Kanglung-la, the highest of all, 5 528 m. being a water-parting between the Raga-tsangpo and the Chaktaktsangpo. This mighty mountain-knot to the N.E. of Chomo-uchong thus distributes the water to three of the northern tributaries to the Tsangpo : Chaktak-tsangpo,

Chungsang and Raga-tsangpo. On Kanglung-la, sandstone stands in living rock. The view from this high pass was very hidden, partly by surrounding mountains, partly by clouds and falling snow. To the N.E., however, some parts of the Lombo range are to be seen, but beyond them no high snowy mountains; the Lombo range hides everything in that direction. From the pass, the valley Kanglungshärki-pu, a tributary to the Chaktak-tsangpo goes down to the W.N.W. The left slopes of this valley are full of snow and are cut through by many watercourses. The