Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 250 (Color Image)

0250	Southern Tibet : vol.4

The last snow-covered mountains are no longer visible. In this respect these central
parts of Tibet are very unlike the eastern regions of the plateau-land I had previously
travelled through and where high mountain groups with eternal snow and glaciers are
occasionally seen. The view to the south from the pass was not easy to make out;
it looked like a series of different ranges stretching east and west, one beyond the other.

On the *Yumrang-lopchangs* Pass, a cairn was erected. The road was quite
distinct, though it seemed not to be very much frequented by travellers. In the
valley going south from the pass, there are, however, many old and new fireplaces,
though there is now not a drop of water nor any ice. At seasons when travellers
pass there must be water from springs which become dry in the autumn. The red
range of limestone and conglomerate that was called *Mukpo-malung* (or *Mogbo*) by
some Tibetans, and has a rather rocky and wild crest, stretches east and west and
is pierced by the valley. The latter opens out into a great tectonic valley running
N. E.—S. W. Its N. E. part seems to be closed by mostly rounded hills, where only
here and there living rock crops out; it forms a self-contained basin or flat depression
bounded to the north by the *Mukpo-malung* Range, and to the south by a double
range of moderate size. The central part of the depression is occupied by a little
salt lake with some open water and surrounded by an extensive bed of calcareous
sinter and greenish white deposits, forming a labyrinth of furrows and ridges of the
same kind as at *Rinek-chutsan* and reminding one of the *yardangs* of the *Lop*
Desert. The lake is oblong from N. 68° E. to S. 68° W. In its N. E. prolongation,
there is another little salt pool, also surrounded by the same white bed of deposits.
The little lake was called *Loma-yäsung*, and its absolute altitude was 4,713 m. The
depression is, therefore, comparatively low and surrounded by mountains on all sides.
From the point where the pass valley goes out into the depression, Pan. 84, Tab. 14,
was sketched showing the series of mountains and hills bounding the depression to
the east; to the S. 27° E. the lake *Loma-yäsung* is visible.

The tectonic valley, the N. E. part of which is formed by this depression, con-
tinues S. S. W., but here becomes much narrower and is occupied by the little brook
called *Niring-tsangpo*, according to the description previously given by the Tibetans.
Between the point where we first reached the brook and the basin of *Loma-yäsung*,
there is, obviously, somewhere a flat threshold.

From the foot of *Mukpo-malung* we marched S. S. W. along the base of a
series of well-marked and steep hills cut through by several small deep-cut trans-
verse valleys with gravelly beds. At the point where we came nearest to the lake
we were about 40 m. above its surface, and could clearly see how all the erosion
furrows gathered at the little lake. When our direction becomes S. W. we have to
our right a series of small rugged rocks and cliffs consisting of much weathered
greyish red quartz-amphibol-diorite-porphyrite.

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