572 STEWART: FLORA OF LADAK, WESTERN TIBET 
elevations of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet. While this is the height 
of the valleys and plateaux, the mountain ranges average from 
17,000 to 21,000 feet and many peaks are 25,000 feet high.” 
In the check list of plants an effort has been made to list those 
reported from the region as given by Neve, using the ‘‘Great” or 
Snowy Range as the boundary on the Indian side, Baltistan on the 
west, the foot of the Karakorams on the north, Tibet on the east 
and also on the southeast. 
One of the most characteristic features of Ladak is the Indus. 
The main caravan routes follow it or its branches and the villages 
are all placed so that they can get a little of its water for the 
fields. In fact, Ladak might be called the part of the drainage 
system of the Indus above 8,500 feet. The next lower part is 
called Skardo or Baltistan. 
Contrary to the popular opinion, Tibet, including Ladak, is a 
very rugged country, rough, rocky and stony with countless 
mountain peaks and sandy desert valleys. The level places are 
either troughs between the mountains or the basins of extinct lakes. 
The further into the country one penetrates the more rounded 
are the hills and the gentler the slopes of the valleys, because of 
the smaller amount of erosion. There are many things that indi- 
cate that the Indus has been doing efficient work in clearing out 
the valleys near Kashmir, such as its deep gorges, the V-shaped 
valleys and the old marks of higher levels. Other great rivers 
are doing the same thing farther east. 
Of the parts of Ladak visited, Rupshu is the least eroded. 
The whole country is above 15,000 feet and is extremely cold, 
barren and desolate. Springs are sometimes a day’s journey 
apart and many valleys seem without any water. Many streams 
dry up before they reach a permanent river and in other places 
are shallow saline lakes, devoid of outlets. Despite its great 
altitude eighty flowering plants were found. There are prac- 
tically no cryptogams. Both the flora and the topography re- 
semble that of Tibet proper. 
At the other extreme, Suru is supplied with much more water. 
The snow line is much lower and there are many streams and 
springs. The valleys in Suru are deep and the flora is more like 
that of Kashmir than that of Tibet. Dras is also more fertile 
than the rest of Ladak. 
