Southern Tibet : vol.7 / Page 808 (Color Image)

0808	Southern Tibet : vol.7

the stretching becomes easterly. In the region where the Yurun-kash has its sources
on the northern slopes of this range, CAREY and DALGLEISH, GROMBTCHEVSKIY,
members of PIEVTSOFF's expedition, DE RHINS, DEASY and STEIN have travelled.
In the eastern part of this Southern Kwen-lun Range there are peaks of
6920, 6352, 6410, and 6085 m. Two of them are called Chong-mus-tagh and
Koramlik-tupe. East of this region is terra incognita, and the largest unknown space
still remaining on the map of Tibet, 390 km. in length, where the great plateau
has not been crossed by a single traveller's route. However, I feel persuaded that
the main axis of the Kwen-lun system, or the highest range of the system which
we have called the Southern Kwen-lun, continues through the whole space, and is
in uninterrupted connection with the Arka-tagh. For west of the unknown space
we have the mighty Southern Kwen-lun system, and east of it are the no less powerful
ranges of Arka-tagh, both systems with the same characteristic features; with eternal
snows and glaciers. It may therefore be regarded as extremely unlikely that there
should not be a connection of the same kind between the two. This system of
crustal folds stretching through the whole of Tibet from west to east is one of the
most magnificent orographical features of the whole country, and plays the same part
in the north as the Great Himalaya in the south. As the Yurun-kash and Keriya-
darya have their sources on the northern side of the Southern Kwen-lun, and the
Cherchen-darya, Chulak-akkan and rivers going to Achik-kul and Ayagh-kum-kul
take their origin from the northern slopes of the Arka-tagh, it may be regarded as
nearly certain that the sources of the Tolan-khoja, Bostan-tograk, Mölja, and Kara-muran
are situated on the northern slopes of that part of the range which is still unknown.
The Arka-tagh I found to consist of four parallel ranges with the following
average altitudes from north to south: 5021 m., 5193 m., 5210 m., and 5262 m.
They consequently increase in altitude to the south. Along the southern base of
the system runs the great latitudinal valley which I followed in 1896, and which
probably continues the whole way westwards to Lighten Lake and the Lake of Aksai-
chin, as described in Chapter LX above.
The Southern Kwen-lun is double and it obviously expands on its way east-
wards where four ranges are easily discernible. The great unknown patch in Northern
Tibet is bordered to the east by my route from Kara-muran to Arka-tagh in 1896,
and, north of Lac de l'Antilope, by the routes of DE RHINS and LITTLEDALE. On their
meridional routes the two latter explorers have crossed a series of Arka-tagh passes,
viz., a pass west of Ulug-sai, 5230 m. high, two passes in the Kosh-tagh Range
north of the upper Kara-muran (Mong. muren) having the altitudes of 5250 m. (de
Rhins) and 5370 m. (Littledale). In the next range follows a pass called North
Kara-muren-davan, 5436 m. high, where Littledale notes to the east »Large Snow-
fields and Glaciers», which obviously is the mighty mass of Ulug-mus-tagh, 7360 m.

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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