486 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



tion, has published recently a very elaborate 

 plan of ancient Jerusalem, in which he has 

 fixed the location of every point mentioned by 

 sacred or profane writers. 



Dr. Blau gives, in the ZeitscJirift der Erd- 

 kunde, a narrative of a journey across the Pon- 

 tic Alps from Erzeroum to Mourad-tchai, a re- 

 gion hitherto seldom traversed by Europeans ; 

 and the same journal contains the account of 

 the remarkable explorations of MM. "Wetstein 

 and R. Doergens in the interior of Syria. Re- 

 markable physical changes have taken place in 

 the Asiatic Turkish empire during the year past. 

 Mecca has been nearly destroyed by inunda- 

 tions, and the Euphrates has changed its course : 

 quitting its bed near Hilleh, it has taken a more 

 westerly course, and now loses itself in the 

 marshes which extend toward^,he Persian Gulf. 



In Northern and Central Asia the Russians 

 have been the most active and enterprising of 

 explorers, and their savans have led the way 

 for the progress of the Russian flag over vast 

 regions, which for centuries had been the pas- 

 ture grounds of nomadic tribes, or the homes 

 of fierce and intractable Turkish, Tartar, and 

 Toungousian tribes. 



In the Aderbeijan region in Persia, M. Khani- 

 koff, a Russian geographer, has made, in 1861 

 and 1862, extensive explorations. The Ader- 

 beijan is a lofty plateau in the N. W. of Persia, 

 lying between tlie Caspian Sea and Mesopo- 

 tamia. It is shut in on all sides by mountains ; 

 on the east, the Talish range separates it from 

 the basin of the Caspian ; on the west, the chain 

 of Kandilar forms a barrier between it and the 

 plain of Mesopotamia ; on the north, and 

 through the central portion of it, spurs from 

 the Kandilar chain stretch toward the Caspian ; 

 and at the south, the Buzgush mountains join 

 Mount Sehend, 11,392 feet high, to the Kandilar 

 range. The plateau at its lowest point, the 

 shores of the salt lake Urmia or Ooroomiah, is 

 4,062 feet above the sea level, and rises in the 

 lofty peak of Ararat to about 17,500 feet. 

 Mount Savalan, another of its summits, is 

 15,444 feet high. This region is of special in- 

 terest to us as having been for many years the 

 seat of an important mission, that to the Nes- 

 torians, who, to the number of about 150,000, 

 are settled in villages around the lake Ooroo- 

 miah. Professor Ronge, who accompanied a 

 former expedition of M. Khanikoff to Khoras- 

 san, has published since his return the flora 

 of Khorassan. The Count Constantin de Sabir 

 has published, within the past year, a very good 

 resume of the recent discoveries in the basin of 

 the Amoor, especially those of M. Maack, a Rus- 

 sian explorer, and has described the physiog- 

 nomy and habits of the numerous tribes inhabit- 

 ing the region, the Manegres, Ghiliaks, &c. The 

 same eminent geographer has also sketched the 

 recent explorations of Russia in Central Asia, 

 principally in the country of the Seven Rivers 

 and the Transsilian region. He has found there 

 the ancient Soungaria or Dzoungaria, which, in 

 the middle of the last century, submitted to 



China, and ceased to maintain a distinct politi- 

 cal existence; it is no\v divided into two parts, 

 Chinese Soungaria, and Russian Soungaria, 

 or the province of Semi-palatinsk, comprising 

 the districts of Ala-tau, Kopal, and Ayagouz. 

 Among the recent Russian explorers who have 

 visited this region are M. de Semenoff, who 

 has crossed the chains of the Ala-tau or Ala- 

 tag, and the Thian-Shan mountains, and passed 

 through the valleys lying between these ranges, 

 and who has prepared a valuable map of the 

 orographic and hydrographic features of this 

 region ; the SultanValikhanoff, a Kirghiz prince, 

 a descendant of Genghis Khan, who has ex- 

 plored the slopes of the Thian-Shan, and who 

 first ascertained the circumstance of the death 

 of Adolphe Schlagentweit. Captain Golobeff, 

 whose return we noticed in the " Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia" of last year, and M. Veniukoff, have ex- 

 plored and mapped the famous lake Issi-Kol or 

 Warm Lake, which bears also the name of 

 Touz-Kol or Salt Lake, and its shores, and have 

 also added materially to our knowledge of the 

 hydrographic systems of this portion of Central 

 Asia. M. Zakharoflf, the Russian consul at 

 Kouldja, has also published a map of this region 

 compiled from Chinese data. 



M. Kullwein, a Russian savant, who accom- 

 panied Gen. Ignatieff in his last mission to 

 Khiva and Bokhara, has recently published a 

 narrative of his voyage, and has given some 

 important information concerning the Amoo- 

 Daria and Khiva rivers. 



M. Gustave Radde has explored the region 

 north of Mongolia, the country of the Khalkhas, 

 and ascended the mountain Monkoo-Sardik, 

 toward the northern shore of the lake Kosso- 

 Kol or Kosso-Gol ; and since his return has pub- 

 lished an interesting map of this region lying 

 between the lake Kosso-Kol and the island of 

 Saghalien. 



M. de Romanoff has published an account of 

 the recent Russian explorations on the coasts 

 of Japan and Mantchooria, and has described 

 and laid down upon a map the course of the 

 Lower Amoor, and the new Russo-Chinese 

 frontier, established by the treaty of November 

 14, 1860. M. Schwarz, the astronomer of the 

 scientific expedition sent out by the Russian 

 Geographical Society, has published a seven- 

 sheet map of Eastern Siberia. 



During the past year, M. Schmidt, assisted 

 by MM. Brylkine and Glenn, has been engaged 

 in surveying and exploring the island of Sagha- 

 lien ; and Captain Gamoff has been making as- 

 tronomical observations between the sea of 

 Japan and the river Ossoori. 



One of the results of the Anglo-French ex- 

 pedition to China, and the treaty of Tien-tsin, 

 has been a very great number of exploring 

 expeditions into the interior of China, hitherto 

 so resolutely closed against European intrusion. 

 Among those who have made public the results 

 of their tours of exploration are the Count 

 d'Escayrac, M. E. Desbuissons, and M. Chas- 

 sirons, among the Erench writers ; and Captain 



