A COUNTRY WITH MANY PASSES. 289
visible. The rest of the day it was hidden either by hills or by snow clouds. A slope from the western hills has to be crossed in a little threshold, the name of which was given as Anachung-la. At its foot was a tent near the bed of the river. The only information given by a woman of this tent was that the region belonged to the province of Bongba, and that we would have to cross the pass Sangchen-la, the next day. South of it we would come across a tent belonging to Nakchu, a district that seems to be situated west of Nakfsang and not to be confounded with the famous river and district of that name, far to the east. South of Sangchen-la, there was a direct road to Chokchu.
Our direction becomes more and more south with the broad open plain of the valley to the east, south and north, and surrounded by considerable mountains and irregular interrupted ranges. However, one gets the impression that the principal orographical stretching is W. N. W.—E. S. E. and that Sha-kangsham is the culminating part of a short meridional range which possesses some other snow-peaks farther south, and morphologically resembles the Targogangri.
Sha-kangshazn is also a mountain knot from which many ridges and ramifications start in different directions. From the southern end of its culmination crest, the range seems to start westwards, which was now in front of us. To the E. S. E. the mouth of a larger valley is seen, which comes from a group with eternal snow. From a distance, and from a route which, as a rule, follows the valleys, it is very difficult to make out the principal features of the orography.
We camped at the base of a little hill. Here, as at several other places in the course of the day, was a sheepfold, and there were heaps of dry dung of tame yaks. The grass was bad. Snow remained in beds. A Tibetan we met said that the region south of Sangchen - la was called Atsok. From the secondary threshold we had passed in the course of the day and which was called Amchung- la, one could see to N. 48° E. a much lower pass in the range we had crossed in Chaklarn-la. The latter was, by some nomads, also called Anachen-la. The real Amchung-la was now said to be the saddle seen to the N. 48° E. As a rule it is impossible to feel quite sure of the reliability of the information given by the natives, unless it is checked from several informants.
On this day, we had not reached living rock. The gravel in the valley consisted of dark grey quartzite schist. Pan. 443A and B, Tab. 82, gives an idea of the complicated appearance of the world of mountains surrounding Camft CCCLXIII. To the N. N. W. and N. W. it shows the valley of the ice river continuing in a curved line between the hills. To the N. E., E. N. E. and E. S. E., it shows the ranges bordering the valley on the east. N. 88° E. and just right of it, are some of the peaks with eternal snow situated south of Sha-kangsham, and no doubt belonging to the same meridional range as the culminating group.
37. IV.
IIIFカラー高解像度
