Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 467 (Color Image)

0467	Southern Tibet : vol.4

was at —19.6°, unusually high, as the absolute altitude was lower than hitherto. The
W. S. W. was fresh; at 9 o'clock a. m. the sky was overclouded after a clear night.

Just at Camp CCCXL, our narrow valley again goes over into a broad and
open latitudinal valley, which to the north, is bordered by comparatively low hills
between which are nearly plain gaps at two or three places. The country is, there-
fore, very flat, and its character of a plateau-land is obvious. The ground falls to
the E. S. E. and S. E., to a depression, from which the floor of the latitudinal valley
rises again in the same direction. The ground is hard and consists of finest gravel
or coarse sand; sometimes we cross belts of very scarce, coarse gravel. Grass is
growing on the plain, though less abundant, as we proceed S. E. Hares are abundant,
and foxes live in the hills. Kyangs were grazing in enormous numbers, at least
one thousand were seen at a time. Of antelopes, only four individuals could be seen.

At Camp CCCXL, we ascend the left terrace of the brook of the narrow
valley. It is about 8 m. high and not pierced by a single ravine of a tributary,
which is due to the fact that the northern mountains are so far that their water-
courses disappear on their way across the plain. The right terrace, on the other
hand, is pierced by several small tributaries from the southern hills, along the base
of which the principal bed continues to the E. S. E. The ice and snow in its bottom
soon comes to an end. The bed gradually becomes more and more shallow and is
soon lost sight of. At the base of a first projecting promontory from the southern
mountains, the bed of a larger watercourse is crossed, probably the continuation of
the one at Camp CCCXL. At its S. E. side the grass was good, and some other
plants of the highland steppe were also growing there. In the broad valley opening
here from the south, was a large shallow watercourse. A herd of kyangs at this
place numbered 133 individuals and there were four other herds of about the same
numbers. In a small valley farther on, a lonely tent was seen. Camp CCCXLI
was pitched at the foot of a little detached hill in front of the southern mountains.
The living rock of these mountains was grey and reddish white dense limestone.
The panorama drawn from this camp is of interest and may be regarded as very
characteristic of these parts of interior Tibet, from a general morphological point of
view. It is represented as Pan. 424A, B and C, Tab. 77. To the N. 73° W. is the
mouth of the large southern valley where the herds of kyangs had been seen;
N. 54° W. is the first projecting limestone rock which we had passed. N. 40° W.,
the country is very open, and it is not unlikely that a branch of the latitudinal valley
continues in this direction, which may be in connection with the valley of Lemchung-
tso. N. 37° W. a comparatively high cupola-shaped mountain is rising. From N. 25° W.
across north and east, we see the flat ridges and ramifications bordering the latitu-
dinal valley on the north. E. N. E. and E. S. E., the country is very open. From
S. 75° E., S. E., south and S. W., we have the hills on the southern side of the

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