Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 437 (Color Image)

0437	Southern Tibet : vol.4

the shore of the lake and thus be spared from rising ground and high passes. The
contour line of the shore is comfortable, without indentations, with the only exception
of the peninsula of Camp CCCXX. In this respect the southern shore seems to
be much more complicated with deep inlets and projecting capes and rocky penin-
sulas. To judge from a distance, this shore reminded me of Chargut-tso, Pang-
gong-tso and Rakas-tal. So much seemed obvious, that Shemen-tso was one of the
largest lakes of western Tibet. The whole lake was frozen. Only at a first little
cape, there was a hole of a spring. The cape with terraces visible to the right of
Pan. 405 consisted of living limestone and had to be climbed by our tired animals.
East of this cape we stick to one terrace the whole time, with the highest terraces
to our left. The hills retire somewhat from the shore, leaving a narrow stripe of
plain between their gravelly base and the lake. The amount of snow decreases
gradually to the east, and only at lee slopes of terraces and erosion beds traversing
them, the drifted snow is more considerable. Then the material is again hard clay,
absolutely barren. There is no grass during the whole march, only some yapehan
plants. No signs of human life. Of animals, we only saw hares, jack-daws and some
small birds. Occasionally dung of kyangs was seen. From Camp CCCXX, a little
black ridge was seen running out due east in a flat cape. We had this cape in
front of us during the latter part of the march and hoped to find some grass
at its lee side. But only the usual hard plants which are excellent as fuel, were
found. Still we camped here only 2 m. above the lake. The black ridge con-
sisted of darkgreen quartzitic schist. The temperature had been at —22.7° in the
night. At 10.30 o'clock a. m., the S. W. storm began. At 3 o'clock p. m. the whole
landscape disappeared in a haze of dust. Before that happened, I had had time to
draw Pan. 406 A and B, Tab. 72, showing the mountains from north over east and
south to S. W.

On February 6th, we made 12.3 km. E. S. E., still following the shore of
Shemen-tso. Camp CCCXXII was about 8 m. above the lake. The night had been
calm with clouds and a temperature of only —19.5°. In the morning a very thin
sheet of snow covered the ground and soon disappeared. We followed the excellent
marching ground between the terraces consisting of sand or clay and some gravel.
Just east of the camp, we crossed a broad and shallow erosion bed coming from a
larger valley to the north. The lake becomes a little narrower as we proceed, and
the mountains on the southern shore develop their details. The plain of the northern
shore becomes broader. Farther east, the northern hills again approach the shore.
At their base we found a series of small stone cairns on a straight line, built by
Tibetan antelope hunters. In a little rock was a grotto, and from beneath a slab
of schist, the brook from a spring streamed forth in the same way as the source of
the Indus. It carried, at the most, half a cub. m. of water per second and, as it

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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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