IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Southern Tibet : vol.4 |
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Citation Information
34
But at many places one sees that great volumes of water have washed over the ground without forming regular furrows. Gradually the ground becomes more and more barren, there is no more yapkak and no rabbits' holes. The dust is more reddish and sometimes covered with fine gravel. With the sun behind them, the Kara-korum Mountains now have a more greyish tint but towards evening they again appear in a tone of pink.
The mountains bounding the plain to the east, project like a promontory to the N. W. We marched towards this promontory with the intention of turning east on its other side. At its base there was an erosion bed which seemed to be directed to the north. The rock was greyish green sandy schist. Turning around the corner, Camp VIII was pitched at a place where the grass was the best we had seen since Pobyang, and where water could be had by digging small wells. At i o'clock p. m. the temperature of the air was i 6.9°. The surface of the sandy ground had by direct insolation a temperature of 2 8.8°, and where it was moist 21.2°. At a depth of 10 cm. in a well I read I o.9°, at 3o cm. 7.0°, and at 55 cm. 5.9°. No precipitation had fallen during the day, though the heavens became covered by clouds in the afternoon, and one could see the precipitation on the high mountains around. It seems as if the arid plain is protected by them.
From the point where the erosion bed was crossed i '/2 km. S. W. of Camn VIII, Pan. 22, Tab. 4, was taken to the S. W., west, north, and N. E. It represents the mountains bounding the Aksai-chin Plain in this direction.
The next day an excursion was made up to the top of the low hills south of Camp VIII. A valley with unusually good grass leads up between the hills. The rock in situ is greyish green sandy schist. The valley becomes steep before it emerges upon the top of the plateau-shaped mountain, which, seen from below, has a red colour. At the edge of the plateau one is 6o or 7o m. nearly perpendicularly above the plain. Here my men built a cairn which probably will be found by future travellers. On the top of the plateau the rock proved to be light reddish Barrêmien-limestone with grey patches, grey dense limestone, and red calcareous sandstone. At the base of the plateau-hill fossils were found in reddish grey Cenomanlimestone. It proved to be Rudist individuals, which Professor Douvillé places near the Praeradioliles Fleuriani from the Cenoman of Mans. The limestone of this region, therefore, should belong to the upper Cenoman. All the specimens of rock from my itinerary are described by Professor Hennig in Vol. V.
From a dominating point of the plateau some 4 km. S. E. of Caluft VIII, I sketched Pan. 23A and 23B, Tab. 5, which goes all round the horizon and partly embraces rather distant mountains. Only in the direction of the next day's march,
e. to the east, the distant view is somewhat hidden by the eastern continuation of the plateau itself. To the S. W. is the plain we had just crossed in search of water,
THROUGH THE REGION OF AKSAI-CHIN.
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