~.y 
FLORA OF TIBET OR HIGH ASIAe 143 
La (30° 25’), travelling in an easterly direction’to the Mangtza 
Cho at an elevation of 16,540 ft., over a Pass 18,400 ft. high. 
Descending to 17,930 ft. they came upon a large lake, the Horpa 
Cho, the highest they encountered throughout their journey and 
“probably the highest in the world.” This is in about 81°. 
The next lake they struck was Aru Cho, and then taking a south- 
easterly direction to camp forty-six, on the banks of Lake 
Chargat Cho in about 88° and 31°. This is a region of lakes, 
and in spite of opposition the travellers pressed on in the same 
direction as far as Gaga Linchin beyond Garing Cho, 88°25’ and 
31° 30’, altitude 15,560 ft., and their nearest point to Lhasa. On 
October 4th they began to retrace their steps by way of Chargat 
Cho, where they turned northward, and on the 18th they had to 
climb a Pass 18,768 ft. high. The cold was intense, although the 
thermometer only went down to 15° below zero Fahr. They 
continued northward nearly to the thirty-third parallel, and then 
proceeded in a south-easterly direction. On November the 14th 
they camped for the first time during five months below 15,000 ft. 
Their route lay through Chiamdo, about 96° 40' and 31° 10’; 
Batang, Litang, to Tachienlu, Szechuen, in China Proper—about 
102° and30°. Thence to Yatu, and by the Min and Yangtze rivers 
to Shanghai. Thus they traversed Tibet from west to east and 
finished by crossing China. There is scarcely any reference to 
the vegetation in Captain Bower’s narrative, except the absence 
of pasture ; but the following extract contains some interesting 
facts :— 
“The whole of central and northern Tibet and almost the 
whole of Western Tibet is known as the Chang. It consists of 
a high tableland with hills, mostly of a rounded character ; but 
here and there sharply defined snowy ranges are met with. The 
mountains have a general east and west tendency, but no defined 
watershed exists; rivers may be met flowing in almost any 
direction and all terminate in large salt lakes. These lakes 
appear to have been at one time much bigger than they now are, 
as unmistakable signs that they are drying up are to be seen. 
An idea of the physical configuration of the country may be 
gathered from the fact that for five months we never once 
camped at a lower altitude than the summit of Mont Blanc ; and 
all the enormous stretch of country we covered in that time 
contained not a single tree. The greater part of this Chang 1s, 
of course, uninhabitable for the greater part of the year, and most 
