seemed rather barren, we changed our direction to the S. S. W. where grass appeared in the distance. Marching across the plain we saw several herds of Pantholops antelopes, some of them containing up to 4o individuals. Near the lake we pitched our Camp CCCXIX in an erosion furrow 1 m. deep and surrounded with good grass and fuel of all sorts. In the course of the day we had seen an old camp, and near the lake we found the marks of three Tibetan tents and a sheepfold of stone. Above the camp was a frozen spring where a herd of 3o kyangs was seen. In
the night, February 2d, we had a temperature of 14.9° only, due to the strong
S. W. storm blowing and the uninterrupted heaps of compact clouds sailing over Tibet. For the sake of our animals we stayed here for a day, — an unusually stormy day; it was as dark as in the evening, and snow was driven across the plain by the gale, but no new snow fell. Of the surroundings, nothing was seen, not even the shore in our immediate vicinity. February 1st', 2d, and 3d, we stayed at Camp CCCXIX. At our arrival the day before, the weather was comparatively clear and I had been able to draw a panorama of all the surrounding mountains. It is reproduced on Pan. 4o4A and B and c, Tab. 72. To the W. N. W. and N. W. are hills of moderate size and N. N. W. is the entrance to the valley by which we had come down. To the right of it are the mountains bounding the shore plain of the lake to the north and N. E. Then follows the lake Shemen-tso with all the more or less rocky mountains rising on its shores and sometimes with old beach-lines visible in the distance. The next day, February 3d, after a temperature of —19.8°, the weather remained the same. The southern part of the plain was nearly swept free from snow by this indefatigable gale, but on the lee sides of every hill, terrace or plant snow was heaped, as well as on the lee side of the tent. All mountain sides turning north, N. E. and east were quite white, unless they were too steep to give the driving snow a hold. On slopes turning south large portions were swept bare. The whole lake was frozen over and covered with snow. A small island seems to be situated in the western - most part of the lake. Two promontories, one from the northern shore to the E. S. E. and one from the southern, S. S. E. from our camp, are more marked features of the landscape.
On February 4th, we marched 15.6 km. E. S. E. along the shore. Cain, CCCXIX is at an altitude of 5,002 m. The lake is at 4,960 m.i In the night the temperature was at —27.9°, the air was perfectly clear with nearly no wind. The day was sunny and fine with only a little breeze from the S. E. Having passed the belt of vegetation near the camp, we marched on even ground of yellowish grey alluvial clay along the shore, traversed by a large number of shallow furrows and watercourses. About half the area of the plain was snow-covered. Most of the snow had
1 On the map, P1. 17, it is 4,968, which is a misprint. Cp. the meteorological journal, p. 88.
IIIFカラー高解像度
