Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 252 (Color Image)

0252	Southern Tibet : vol.4

The ground of the valley is a little undulating, hard and comfortable, though
here and there destroyed by rabbits' holes. The tussock-grass is somewhat higher than
before, but more rare than in regions farther north. The mountains to the right side
of the valley are pierced by several transverse gorges with screes of gravel at their
mouths. Kyangs are very numerous; we had never seen so many animals of this
kind gathered on so small an area. At one or two places ice-sheets again appeared
in the bed, and finally we passed a very abundant spring forming a regular brook
of fine clear fresh water which a little lower down flowed between narrow ice-sheets
which by and by grow broader and finally fill the whole bed. Here Camp LXXIV
was pitched. The place, according to the shepherds, was called Bogar-yung; the
name Niring-tsangpo, they had never heard; therefore it is not put on my map.
The flocks of sheep and yaks they were watching belonged to a well-to-do nomad
farther south, whose tents were situated on our road. Pan. 82A and 82B, Tab. 13,
gives an idea of the surrounding mountains. To the N. E. is the valley by which
we had come down, to the east and S. E. the mountains at the left side of the
valley, to the south the continuation of the latter, and to the S. W., west, N. W.
and north the mountains at the right side of the valley. To the south the country
seems to be low and open, though bounded far away by low ridges and ranges
chiefly running east and west.

The next day's march, on November 29th, takes us 12.5 km. south and from
4,643 to 4,503 m. or a fall of 140 m., which gives the relation of 1:89. This is
interesting in so far that Camp LXXV with its height of 4,503 m. is the lowest
camp on the whole crossing through the great Tibetan plateau-land. We had not
been so low as here ever since a point a little above Pobrang, and even in the
deep-cut valley of the Chang-chenmo we had been at a somewhat higher altitude
than at Camp LXXV. South of Camp LXXV we again began to rise gradually,
and we had to proceed the whole way to the central parts of Transhimalaya, at
Bup-chu, between Chesang-la and Dangbo-la, and between Camps CXX and CXXI,
before we again descended to such a low level. Even the valley of Bogtsang-
tsangpo is no exception to this rule, for the lake Dagtse-tso into which this river
flows, has a height of 4,544 m. During my earlier journeys on the plateau-land of
Chang-tang proper I had never found any point at such a low altitude as 4,503 m.
Therefore, the region around Camp LXXV must be regarded as a quite exceptionally
low depression. On the other hand, it must be remembered that 4,503 m. is always
a rather considerable height in itself, and that a difference of 200 or 300 m. more
or less is not very much. From Camps LXXIII and LXXIV, one sees and feels,
of course, that the country is falling in the direction of the road. Otherwise, the
features of the landscape are about the same as elsewhere. One difference is, it is
true, that here a regular river with well-eroded terraces is directed to the depression.

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