ALTAI MOUNTAINS. 



ALTAI MOUNTAINS. 



natives, the wild goat of the Alpa is common in the higher parts. The 

 rivers abound with fish, especially salmon and trout. 



The Russians have introduced agriculture, which has made some 

 progress. Some of the natives, who formerly lived only on the produce 

 of their herds, now cultivate rye, barley, oats, &o. 



The three mountain chains, the Ulangom Obla, the Tangnu Oola, 

 and the mountains of Sayansk, terminate to the east in an immense 

 mountain-system, which, from the sources of the Orkhon in the south 

 to those of the Upper Angara in the north, extends from 48 to 59 

 N. lat. In the middle of it, as before remarked, is imbedded the Lake 

 Baikal, the largest of all mountain lakes, and henoe the whole 

 mountain-system is called the Baikalean Mountains. The southern 

 part of this system about the sources of the Seleuga and the whole 

 course of the Orkhon belongs to the Chinese empire, and is called by 

 it inhabitants (the Kalkas Mongols) Khangai to the west of the 

 Orkhon, and Kentei to the east of that river. The latter is properly 

 only a part of the Khing-han-Obla, a name applied by the Mongols to 

 the high mountains that run to the south of the river Amur. The 

 Russians call the range of mountains which separates this river from 

 the lake of Baikal and its tributaries Yablonnoi Khrebet (Stone 

 Mountains), or the Mountains of Da-uria. 



On the south the Baikalean Mountains join the Great Desert, called 

 Gobi by the Mongols, and Shamo (Sea of Sand) by the Chinese ; or 

 more properly, the mountains are only to be considered as the extreme 

 northern edge of the desert. For though they offer a truly alpine 

 aspect and all the difficulties of mountain-passes to travellers who 

 enter them from the north, no descent is made on the south side. No 

 sooner has the traveller attained the highest part of the mountains 

 than he discovers before him the high table-land, extending as far as 

 the great wall on the north of China. Only on the east, between the 

 tributaries of the Selenga and those of the Amur, they may be called 

 a chain, for here they decline on both sides. Farther to the north 

 they form onu immense mass with the Stannowoi Khrebet and the 

 Aldan Mountains ; and on the north-western side, towards the river 

 Yenisei, they gradually terminate in the low-lands of Siberia, not far 

 from the junction of the Upper Tunguska with that river. 



There are probably few countries, if any, on the globe of equal 

 extent which can vie with this mountain-region in the number of 

 rivers and lakes. It is stated that 177 rivers fall into the lake of 

 Baikal, and on a chart of this lake published by the Russian govern- 

 ment 160 of them are inserted. Besides the rivers falling into the lake, 

 the sources of five large rivers are in this range. The Upper Tunguska 

 rises on the south-west, the Lower Tunguska and Lena on the west, 

 and the Witim. a large tributary of the Lena, on the east of the lake, 

 and all of them at no great distance from it. The sources of the Amur 

 are to the south of those of the Witim. 



Three large rivers {all into the lake, the Upper Angara at the 

 northern extremity, the Bargusiu on the east, and the Selenga on the 

 south : none of them lias a course of less than 300 miles. The Upper 

 Angara runs about 450 miles. Its sources lie to the east of its mouth. 

 About 70 miles from its embouchure it enters a wide and low valley, 

 only a little elevated above the level of the lake, and at a distance of about 

 1 6 miles from it the river divides into three branches. The Bargusin 

 runs from north-east to south-west, nearly parallel to the north-eastern 

 shore of the lake, and rises not far from the sources of the I |'i i 

 Angara and the Witim. In its upper course between high mountains 

 it receives some considerable tributaries ; in its lower course there are 

 extensive levels on ita banks. Towards its mouth it is again narrowed 

 by rocks. Ita length is upwards of 300 miles. The Sdenga in the 

 most important and largest of the tributaries of the lake, and receives 

 the waters from a great extent of country. It rises, according to the 

 Chinese ' Geography,' on the northern range of the Khangai, south of 

 the lake of K ossogol, and has six sources. After running about 1 00 miles 

 these branches unite and form one river, which running to the east for 

 iijiwanls ft" 120 miles receives from the north-west the Ekhe, which 

 rises in the lake of Kosaogol and joins the Selenga after a course of 

 about 1 00 miles. Hence the Selenga runs to the north-east and meets 

 after a course of 120 miles the Orkhon runningfrom the south ; but the 

 .-it continues ita course to the north-east after its junction with 

 that river and even after it has made ita entry into the Russian 

 empire, where it receives the Tshikoi, the Khilok, and the Uda from 

 .'''> miles from ita mouth it enters a large valley, which 

 widens gradually towards the lake, and in which the river divides and 

 forms a large delta. The whole course of the Selenga cannot be less 

 than 700 miles, consequently longer than that of the Rhine j and at 

 Selenginsk, \-jni miles from ita mouth, it was found by Bell twice as 

 wide as the Thames at London. The largest of its tributaries is the 

 Orkhon, whose sources are far to the south, close to the northern edge 

 of the Great Desert ; with many windings, it runs to the north till it 

 reaches the Selenga after a course of upwards of 850 miles. This 

 river is greatly venerated by the Mongols, because on ita banks at 

 Karakorum was the seat of the dynasty of (.leiigis-Khan. The Tsliikoi, 

 the Khilok, and the Uda run, on an average, 200 miles ; the Khilok 

 is the largest of these rivers ; and the Tshikoi forms for a consi. I 

 space the boundary between the Russian and Chinese emj. 



The Lake of Baikal extends between 51 and 56 N. lat., and is out 

 by the meridians of 99" and 106 E. obliquely. "Its length is upwards of 

 850 miles, but its mean breadth only about 36 ; in some places the 



breadth maybe 48 miles. Its surface covers more than 14,800 square 

 miles, or half the extent of Scotland. [BAIKAL.] 



The water of this lake is carried off by one outlet, the Lower 

 Angara, which issues from the lake on the western side not very far 

 from the southern extremity, and after a course of about 45 miles 

 unites with the river Irkut at the town of Irkutzk. Lower down it 

 receives the waters of the Uda, a river descending from the moun- 

 tains called Erghik Targak Taiga, and then ita name is changed into 

 that of the Upper Tunguska. At this junction it changes its course 

 to the north, till again by a great bend it resumes its western course, 

 nearly under the 60th parallel of north latitude, and finally joins the 

 Yenisei. Two or three miles from the lake the Lower Angara enters 

 high and steep mountains, runs in a narrow channel, and forms 

 considerable and long rapids for many miles, which render the navi- 

 gation of this river very difficult. 



The Lower Tunguska, another tributary of the Yenisei, rises to the 

 north-west of the sources of the Lena, on the lower ridges of the 

 mountain-system, where they approach the low-lands of Siberia. The 

 first part of its course is north-east, but it gradually declines to north- 

 north-east and north, and again to north-north-west and north-west, 

 till it joins the Yenisei after running for a great distance due west. 

 It does not receive any considerable river. 



The Lena, rises, like the Lower Tunguska, in the mountains 

 inclosing the Lake of Baikal on ita western side, at about 20 or 24 

 miles distance from the lake, nearly as far from the southern as from 

 the northern extremity. It first directs its course to the north till it 

 reaches the parallel of the sources of the Upper Tunguska, and after- 

 wards to the north-east, in which direction it continues more than 

 one-half of ita course up to the town of Yakutzk, having received on 

 the right bank two of its great tributaries, the Witim and the 

 Olekma, of which the former rises in the Baikalean, and the latter in 

 the Aldan Mountains. Below Yakutzk the Lena makes a great bend, 

 by which ita course is changed from north-east to north-west, and here 

 it is joined by the greatest of ita tributaries, the Aldan, which 

 descends from the Aldan Mountains. Afterwards it turns to the 

 north-north-west, and does not change this direction till it falls into the 

 Northern Ocean. Ita whole course may amount to about 2000 miles. 



The Witim, a tributary of the Lena, rises at a distance of about 80 

 or 40 miles from the eastern shore of the Lake of Baikal. It first 

 runs with many bends to the north-east, nearly parallel to the 

 mountain-chain that extends between it and the Sea of Okhotzk ; it 

 then declines rapidly to the north-west, and in this direction it joins 

 the Lena. The length of its whole course may be between 400 and 

 500 mileb. 



The third river-system, which originates in the Baikalean Mountains, 

 is that of the AMUB. Nearly all the considerable rivers which form 

 it rise in that part of the Baikalean Mountains which by the Russians 

 is called Yablonnoi Khrebet and by the Chinese Khing-han, and in 

 which, though of a moderate mean height, the Tshokondo, an insulated 

 peak, rises above the region of perpetual snow to 7670 feet above the 

 level of the sea. 



The geological formation of this mountain system is much less known 

 than that of the Egtag Altai. The lower ranges near Irkutzk are 

 covered with a soft, fine, granulating sandstone, running from east to 

 west, and dipping somewhat to the north. It rests on a conglomerate 

 (if granite, quartz, and pieces of felspar, united by a fine granulated 

 sandstone, and stratified like the layer above it. But not far from the 

 Lake of Baikal, it is changed into granite, which on the banks of the 

 hike passes into gneiss. The same formation was observed round the 

 lake, granite forming the principal base, but often passing into gneiss ; 

 and in some places chalk-hills rise between the mountains and the 

 bank of the lake (this chalk is commonly of a soft porous nature) 

 and form capes which stretch far into the lake. On the eastern 

 side of the lake the granite and gneiss formation extends to the range 

 of the Aldan Mountains, and the direction of its masses is everywhere 

 from east to west. In passing the Yablonnoi Khrebet Pallas observed 

 on the highest ridge a very fine-grained granite mixed with a small 

 quantity of mica, which decreases towards the east. Gradually the 

 granite passes into white stone, which is replaced by green stone, and 

 the latter by gneiss. But the ranges through which the rivers 

 forming the Amur pass are principally composed of granite and 

 gneiss : the lower part, however, is covered by the slate-formation, 

 and in some places by chalk ; the two latter are even found alternating 

 with one another. On the tops of some mountains jasper has been 

 observed, and a few lower rocks consist of this material. 



Around the Lake of Baikal, especially on its southern shore, there 

 are unequivocal signs that this region once has been agitated by 

 volcanic agency. In some places lava haa been observed, and in the 

 southern and eastern mountains hot and sulphurous springs are of 

 rather frequent occurrence. Besides, this region is subject to 

 earthquakes, and the peculiar motion which the waters of the lake 

 experience is attributed to a similar cause. [BAIKAL.] 



The metallic wealth of the Baikal Mountains is small, and almost 

 limited to some indications of copper and iron ore, which latter is 

 worked in two or three places. In this mountain-region a kind of 

 mica is found which splits into very thin and transparent lamina;, and 

 is used all over Siberia and in some parts of European Russia us 

 window-glass. The best is met with on the banks of the small river 



