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A Description of the Glaciers of the Pinclur and Kuphinee 

 Fivers in the Kumaon-Himalaya. By Lieut. R. Strachey, 

 Bengal Engineers. 



The existence of glaciers in the Himalayas being appa- 

 rently still considered a matter of doubt by the natural philoso- 

 phers of Europe, J have thought that some account of two most 

 decided glaciers, wliich I have just visited (May 1847), in these 

 mountains, in about lat. 30° 20', may not be uninteresting. \ 

 As there is probably nothing specially worthy of note in 

 these individual glaciers, I wish to explain, that, my object 

 being to shew that these phenomena exist in the Himalaya, 

 under forms apparently identical with those observed in the 

 Alps, it has been necessary that I should enter into details, 

 which, under other circumstances, would have been super- 

 fluous. As these are the first glaciers that I have ever seen, 

 it is right to add, that I am only acquainted with those of 

 the Alps through the medium of Professor Forbes's accounts ; 

 and that, as I lay no claim to originalit}', I have not scrupled 

 to adopt freely the ideas, and perhaps expressions, of a per- 

 son so infinitely better acquainted with these phenomena 

 tlian I can be. To guard against mistakes, I would also men- 

 tion, that the glaciers were selected for examination only ou 

 account of their accessibility, and that, consequently, no in- 

 ferences should be drawn from them of the general extent of 

 glaciers in the Himalaya. 



The Pindur River is the most easterly tributary of the 

 Bhagiruttee, or that stream of the Ganges that issues into 

 the plains of India at Hurdwar. It rises from the south side 

 of one of the great snowy ranges of the Himalaya which con- 

 tains tlie cluster of peaks of which Nunda Devce* is the 



* The heights of thesu peaks are as follow : — 



jS'o. 10. 15,805 English feet. 



11. 20,758 „ 



12. 23,531 



13. 22,385 



14. 25,7a 



15. 22,491 



— Vide Asiatic Researches, vol. xiii., p. 306. 

 " Nunda Dcvec'" is the " Joitahir" of the mops. " Jowahir," or more correctly 



