Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 322 (Color Image)

0322	Southern Tibet : vol.4

in a meridional direction. On our road to *Ngangtse-tso*, we had to cross two passes,
*Gyanglam-la* and *Laen-la*, the latter also pronounced *Laê-la*. The customary road
to *Shigatse*, passes just east of the lake. *Ngangtse-tso* was said to be larger than
*Dangra-yum-tso*, information that was not in accordance with what I saw and heard
later on at the *Targo-tsangpo*. They reckoned the *Ngangtse-tso* to be three days
long, and six or seven days around, if travelling with yaks. From west to east
and *vice versa*, one could not see the opposite shore — an obvious exaggeration.

From *Camp XCV*, Pan. 112, Tab. 20, was taken, which is very much like the
one from the second pass, Pan. 111, though both the vertical and the horizontal
angles, of course, have changed a little. In this new perspective, the snow-covered
*Chaga* Peak assumes a more dominating appearance.

On *December 26th* our march was 11 km. S. S. E. Both end-points of the
march had about the same height. *Camp XCV* being 4,828 m., and *Camp XCVI*
4,824 m. high. Two passes were crossed, the *Gyanglam-la*, having an altitude of
4,922 m., and the *Laen-la* of 4,933 m. Near *Camp XCV* we cross a valley from
the west, and a series of small erosion beds. They all join in a watercourse piercing
the small hills to our left. In an open valley, we approach the first pass. Just
before reaching it, Pan. 110, Tab. 19, was sketched, again showing the *Dumbok-tso*,
the *Tso-ri* and some of the surrounding mountains. To the N. 17° E., we now see
the mouth of a valley, through which, in summer, a good deal of water was said
to come down to the lake; this river was called *Damrap-chu*. From *Gyanglam-la*
we had, to the S. S. E., a semi-circular trough surrounded by mountains from which
many watercourses, some of them joining one another, go down to the lake, all
dry now and even without ice. On the plain at the base of these hills, were numerous
herds of kyangs and Gazella-antelopes, as well as hare. Only two tents were passed
in a valley to our right.

With hills on both sides, we follow the erosion valley of the pass down to
the plain, where the height is 4,791 m. At some places this erosion bed is cañon-
shaped, being less than 2 m. broad and 3 m. deep with perpendicular or even over-
hanging sides. The rock is sandstone. At four places we passed living rock. The
first was just north of *Gyanglam-la*, being greenish grey sandstone schist. The
second some kilometers farther on, being white quartzitic sandstone or quartzite with
brown patches, and the third, near *Laen-la*, being greyish green sandy schist. Here
the road turns to the S. W. and we follow a shallow valley to the pass, *Laen-la*,
a flat easy threshold where dark grey hard and calcareous phyllitic argillaceous schist
crops up at both sides of the saddle. One kilometer N. E. of *Laen-la*, Panorama 107,
Tab. 19, was sketched. From here, the *Dumbok-tso* proper cannot be seen, but a
large part of the even white floor of the depression is visible as well as most of
the *Tso-ri*. The *Chaga* Peak has nearly the same pyramidal shape as on the last

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