National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

expected a considerable rise to the snouts of the glaciers, but the valley is nearly
horizontal for some 15 miles north-eastwards from the source — otherwise the lake
could not have been formed without the help of a moraine-dam. At Camp 200 the
height was 4,861 m. (15,944 feet), but this place is situated in the hills above the
river, whereas Camp 201 is *au niveau* with the Kubi lake.
The view is brilliant. To the south are the two magnificent glaciers of
Ngoma-dingding and Absi with their lateral and randmoraines and their heaps of
grey terminal moraines. Between them and at their sides the black *propylæa* of the
rocks rise above our heads, and still higher the summits further south like white
tents. It would be hard to imagine more worthy surroundings for the source of the
Brahmaputra. The several panoramas and the photos I took at different places will,
together with my map, give a clearer view of the situation than any description in
words. My object was only to fix definitely the situation of the source, and I had
to leave the detailed glacial exploration to the future.
From Camp 201 in the Shapka region, the highest where nomads are ac-
customed to pitch their tents, we had still 8.5 km. or five miles to the very source,
and this little bit was accomplished on 13th July. The road goes S.W., W., and
W.N.W. To the right or north the hills rise more or less abruptly; they are a
combination of solid material belonging to the ridge we had crossed in Tso-niti-
kargang, and moraines, which have been accumulated against the sides of the hills.
Only the moraines are visible; they rise above each other, sometimes with steep
slopes to both sides; it is a confusion of blocks, gravel and finer material, sometimes
covered and hidden by earth and dust with some sparse vegetation. At a few
places where material had rushed down, the interior of the hills became visible and
the moraine structure clear. No very great blocks are to be seen; the greatest
measured about 8 cub. m., and at the very source was another perhaps somewhat
greater.
At the foot of the moraine hills the bottom of the valley is level as before
and consists chiefly of glacial clay. Tracks of wild yaks and kyangs were not rare.
Several brooks come down from the hills from melting snowfields, forming pools and
swamps, and continuing to the Kubi-tsangpo. These brooks are perfectly clear.
The largest brook, 2 or 3 cub. m., formed a real delta with some ten branches
spread over its fan. Even so late in the summer as in the middle of July the Kubi
gets a considerable supply of water from the melting snow.
A river-branch with half clear greenish water finally forces us to turn W.N.W.;
the colour of this water proves that it comes chiefly from snow; it has cut out a
real valley between the old high moraines to the north, and the present front-
moraines. Some two or three hundred metres below the front, this branch joins the
several brooks which rush out from under the snout. Of the latter, two are particu-
larly large, namely the one along the right or southern side of the valley, and the
one from the middle of the snout. In the brownish grey water of these branches