Southern Tibet : vol.3 / Page 290 (Color Image)

0290	Southern Tibet : vol.3

Kara-korum, with the Kara-korum pass continue straight to the east to 85° E. and
calls it »Snowy Range seen by Wellby«. The map is too rough to be taken
seriously.

In another book¹ Graham Sandberg makes some references to our mountain
system. Speaking of Tengri nor he says:² »Glacial drainage must furnish the bulk
of the water-supply of this lake; for all travellers concur in noting the size and
number of glaciers along the northern slopes of the Noijin T'angla.« He quotes
Hooker and Godwin Austen³ and comes to the conclusion that all the loftier
ranges in Tibet are well stocked with enormous glaciers and snow-fields, several
hundred feet thick. Old moraine and other signs of glacial action prove that the
glaciers have formerly been very much larger than now. The present precipitation
could not bring about such accumulations. Thus in »later centuries« the climate must
have undergone a radical change and the present precipitation is infinitely less than
formerly. He then draws the surprising conclusion: »However, so huge were these
glaciers and other reservoirs of congealed water that, long as they have been furnish-
ing the main demands of the great outflowing rivers, they are still large enough to
maintain an adequate supply to them for an indefinite period to come.« The drying
up lakes prove that the glaciers that feed them are dwindling. The fall of rain and
snow in the north and west are insignificant. But in central Tibet a fair quantity
of both occur, giving rise to such great rivers as Yeru Tsangpo and at least two
other outflowing rivers, which thus, as he says, pass regions with abundant rain.
But he admits that even nowadays the annual renewal of névée is an appreciable
factor. »Some fresh snow — though only a moderate quantity — is still added
yearly to snow-field and peak and does not melt. Comparatively scanty moisture
reaches Tibet in modern times.« Great rivers reach India and China from Tibet
and still the amount of snow and rain-fall in Tibet »is certainly, by itself, totally
inadequate to produce such an out-flow«. He correctly points out that the monsoon
makes itself felt to a certain appreciable extent throughout Tibet.

From the considerable volume of the northern tributaries to the Tsangpo Sand-
berg concludes that the northern watershed of this river must be set back many miles
farther north than the actual valley line wherein the channel runs. He says it is a
mistake to believe that »the massive mountain range, practically a continuation of
Mount Kailas, known to geographers as the Gang-dis-ri range (really Gang Tise Ri)
gives birth to these northern tributaries. This range passes eastward from forty to
seventy miles north of the general line of our river, and in the main forms the south-
ern watershed of the great lake plateau.« Now, he says, recent exploration shows
that several of the northern feeders rise still further north than the Gang-dis-range,
and even on the lake-plateau itself. But he omits to tell us which this recent ex-

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

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

Citation Information

OCR Text

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