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86   NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL MAP SHEETS   [Chap. IV

excessive wind-erosion. Its triangular area   A descriptive account of my explorations

is limited to the west and south by the Tarim   of 1906-07 in the Lop desert and among the

and its terminal marshes, and to the east by   ruins of the Lou-lan Site is given in Desert

the salt-encrusted bed of the ancient dried-   Cathay, i. pp. 359 sqq. The ancient topo-

up Lop sea. Within this area the Kuruk   graphy of the Lou-lan territory and the

darya, the Dry River', once fed by the   physical features of the Lop desert, having a

Konche-darya and partly, perhaps, also by   direct bearing on the early Chinese route

branching beds of the Tarim river, had its   which passed through it, have been fully dis-

delta during early historical times.   cussed in Chapter ix-xi of Serindia; see in

Its water rendered nomadic occupation   particular, i. pp. 332 sqq., 34.0 sqq., 349 sqq.,

of the riverine belt in the north possible for   416 sqq. For a preliminary account of my

the indigenous herdsmen and fishermen of   renewed explorations in the Lou-lan region,

Lou-lan, and along the same belt passed,   during the winters of 1914 and 1915, cf.

until the beginning of the fourth century   Geograph. Jonrnal,1916, xlviii. pp. 120 sqq.,

A. D., the ancient Chinese highway from   206 sq. ; Geographical Review (New York),

Tun-huang. Its line is marked by the   ix. pp. 11 sqq.

ruins of the Lou-lan Site and those explored   Corrections. A. 4. Chong-köl-satma to

by me to the west and north-east of it (D.3).   be printed black.

The extension of the K uruk-darya delta   C. 4. Symbols for ancient dwellings at

much further to the south, too, is proved for   L. M. Site (Camp xcii) should be printed red.

the same period by the ancient river-bed,   D. 3. ' Lou-lan Site' should be printed

traced along the ruined sites which stretch   red.

from L. R. to L. K. (C, D. 4). 15

Astronomically observed latitudes.

1906-08. Lou-Ian Station, L. A., Camp 124 (Stûpa ruin, near N.E. corner of

NOTES ON SHEET No. 30 (LOP-NOR)

The surveyed area of the sheet shows the terminal course of the Tarim, with the marshes usually known to geographers as Lop-nor, as well as the ground extending southwards to the outermost range of the K'un-lun. Most of the routes were followed on both the second and third expeditions with slight variations.

The delineation of the mountainous

IS Here as in other parts of this ancient delta the direction of the old river-beds has been indicated by rows of symbols for dead trees. These, once growing on the banks of these beds, invariably mark

ground in the south is adjusted to the stations and intersected points of R. B. Lai Singh's triangulation of 1913. As a result of the error already referred to in the Notes on the preceding sheet and fully explained by Major Mason in Appendix A, the positions of the triangulated points from those near Toghrak-chap (B. 3) eastwards have been shown in the map with longitude values

their courses, even where partially filled by drift-sand or cut up by wind-erosion. As the map shows, the general direction of these beds south of the Lon-lan site is approximately from N.W. to S.E.