14G •'^i^T. 2.— B. KOTO: 



plains which are not very wide, so that it is a topographic 

 labyrintli. There are no volcanoes nor severe earthquakes. The 

 people lead a quiet, peaceful life, knowing nothing of the busy 

 struggle of the outer world. The province enjoys the most genial 

 climate of the peninsula, resembhng tJiat of tlie opposite coast 

 of the Japan Sea on the mainland of Japan (the mean annual 

 temperature of Fusan being 14° C, Hamada 14.5°, and Matsuyé 

 14.2°). The province approaches my ideal of paradise. The only 

 thing unseemly is the scarcity of forests, and even this bare physiog- 

 nomy of the land is not due to the fault of Nature, but to the 

 careless hands of the inhabitants. 

 South 'y\\q soutli coast is waslicd bv tlie Avarm Tsushima current, 



Coast 



while the east is swept by the cool back current of the Japan 

 Sea. The fish fauna of the latter is said not to differ much from 

 that of the Vladivostock region. The former coast is subject to 

 a considerable tidal difference of 10-13 feet, while in the latter, 

 being a part of so to say a large lake, the tide is scarcely ob- 

 servable '\ The months of June and July are the rainy seasons. 

 During the rest of the year the sky is serene, and the land is 

 alternately bathed in warm, misty spring, and dry, clear autumn 

 weather. 



Turning now to the interior, the granitic So-paik-san or 

 boundary range with east escarpment raises its rugged crests 

 which are covered with snow from early autumn to late spring, 

 contrasting in this respect with the coastal Kyöng-sang-Do where 

 the snow scarcely lasts a day. The highest point is in the Chi- 

 ri-san massive with an altitude of 1942 m. Beyond the range to 

 the west the land gradually lowers to Chyöl-la-Do. 



1) B. K. •' An Orographic Sketch of Korea." This JiAirnul Vol. XIX. Article 1. p. 27. 



