IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Southern Tibet : vol.4 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
THE SOURCE OF THE INDUS. 189
branch inside an island had the breadth of 4.70 m., a mean depth of 0.234 m., a mean velocity of o.1II m. and a volume of 0.12 cub. m. per second. The whole Gartang River, therefore, in the afternoon of November I I th, i 907, carried a volume of 6.67 cub. m. per second.
The left or uppermost Indus branch was 2 7.5 m. broad, had a mean depth of 0.304 m., a mean velocity of 0.678 m. and a volume of 5.67 cub. m. per second. The right Indus branch was 3 2.7 m. broad, had a mean depth of 0.288 m., a mean velocity of 0.437 m. and a volume of 4.11 cub. m. per second. The maximum depth of
the four branches was, for the Gartang, 0.78 m., for the little branch 0.31 m., for the upper Indus branch 0.51 m. and for the lower Indus branch 0.48 m. The Gar-tang is, therefore, deeper than the others. The Indus branches remain shallow on account of the greater quantities of solid material they are bringing down to its delta across the valley.
The result is, therefore, that the Gartang- River had 6.67 cub. m., and the
Singi-kamba 9.78 cub. m. per second. At the date of measurement, the Sing-i-kamba carried 3.11 cub. m. more water each second than the Gartok branch. The relation between the two source branches of the Indus was, therefore, nearly as two to three, the Gartang being only I of the Singi-kamba. The latter is thus the source branch of the Indus. It is also the longer of the two. This result perfectly agrees with my deductions in Vol. II of this work, p. 2 I I, where I have described »The Source of the Indus».'
A measurement like this, undertaken in the beginning of November, will give
a more exact idea of the capacity of the two rivers in relation to one another, than a measurement carried out during the rainy season or in the spring when the snow melts. During the winter no differences in the meteorologial or climatological relations will influence the comparison between the two rivers. They live their life under exactly the same conditions. No precipitation will occasionally make the one bigger than the other. The temperature is low within both areas. All springs and smaller feeders are frozen. The situation will perhaps only be more disadvantageous for
the Singi-kamba, in so far, that this river flows at a greater absolute altitude, and, therefore, is exposed to severer cold. Its small feeders and brooks from springs in side valleys, will, therefore, cease to deliver their tribute to the river at an earlier date. In spite of this fact, we have found the Singi-kamba to be the larger of the two.
On the other hand, it is very likely that the Gartang, during the rainy season, is the larger river, and if measurements were made every day in the course of a year, it is possible, nay probable, that the annual volume of the Gartang- would
j Cp. also my personal narrative Trans-Himalaya, Vol. III, p. 45, London 1913.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.