THE RED BASIN OF SZECHUAN 69 



houses dot the land, which everywhere appears prosperous 

 and its inhabitants contented. Drought occasionally brings 

 famine, but, on the whole, the Red Basin suffers much less 

 from this dread calamity than do other and less favoured parts 

 of the eighteen provinces of China. 



The mineral wealth of the Red Basin is not varied, but 

 enormous brine deposits occur scattered over the whole area, 

 and are worked at depths varying from almost surface level to 

 3000 feet. In the eastern parts, Kuichou Fu, Wen-tang-ching, 

 for example, the rivers have scoured the rocks until the brine- 

 deposits are practically exposed. In the west, however, as at 

 Wu-ting-chiao, situated on the left bank of the Min River a few 

 miles below Kiating Fu, the brine is found at about 500 feet 

 down. At Tzu-liu-ching, on the left bank of the To River, 

 where the richest deposits occur, the brine is found at depths 

 from 1000 to 3000 feet. 



Salt is worked in some thirty-nine districts in the Red Basin. 

 It is everywhere a Government monopoly, and its production 

 and subsequent distribution are rigorously controlled. The 

 annual output is estimated at about 300,000 tons. At Tzu-liu- 

 ching most of the brine is evaporated by inflammable gas ; in all 

 other places the brine is evaporated by coal heat. In boring the 

 deep wells, it is uncertain whether brine or gas will be struck, 

 but both are equally valuable. The occurrence of this in- 

 flammable gas indicates the presence of petroleum beds at 

 still greater depth. 



Coal is found in greater or lesser quantities scattered all 

 over the Red Basin, and is always found not very far removed 

 from brine pits. This coal varies from lignite to anthracite. 

 The average quality is poor, but one or two good seams have 

 been found, notably at Lung-wang-tung, a few miles north 

 of Chungking. 



Our early description of the Red Basin needs some ampli- 

 fication to explain the presence of coal and other minerals. 

 Although the sedimentary sandstones are in a state of undis- 

 turbed stratification over a great part of this area, yet there is 

 dissecting this Red Basin a number of linear elevations, in 

 which the underlying limestone is bent up from a great depth. 

 This limestone forms in every case an axial core, lined on either 



