488 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



referable to the fact that the south side of the range ascends abruptly from the low level 

 plains of Bengal, while the north side descends into a plain which is itself immensely 

 elevated, and a higher temperature is produced there, elevating the snow-line by the 

 reflection of the solar action from the large and contiguous masses of land. The Py 

 renees, likewise, and the Caucasus, under the same parallel of latitude, exhibit a great 

 discrepancy. Though the general climate of the adjacent country is warmer in the case 

 of the Pyrenees, yet the snow-line on Mont Perdu, according to Raymond, is found at 

 the height of 8700 feet, while on Elbiirz it occurred at the elevation of 10,880 feet, 

 as observed by Englehardt and Dr. Parrot. South of Elbiirz, by only 3 of latitude, 



Mount Ararat. 



Parrot found the snow-line on Ararat at 14,080 feet, which is 5000 feet above its elevation, 

 under the parallel of 40, as registered in the table. 



The Russian traveller, Parrot, justly remarks that the time of the year when the 

 snow limits are observed should be particularly noted, in order to be capable of being 

 determined with tolerable precision. " On that point it may be laid down, in general, 

 that it is only in the end of autumn, before winter has brought much new snow, and 

 when the heat of autumn shall have melted as much as it can of the old, that such 

 observations can lead to a correct result. For mountains such as Ararat, Caucasus, the 

 Alps, the Pyrenees, and, in general, all mountains in middle latitudes, August and 

 September are the only months which can be used for determining the true limits of 

 perpetual snow, because, during these months, although the great heat is for the most 

 part gone by, yet large masses of snow still go on melting away, till the actual setting in 

 of winter in these regions puts a stop to the process." The difference observed in the 

 elevation of the curve of congelation between places under the same parallel of latitude 

 may, in several cases, have been owing to the observations being made at different times 

 of the year. He thus accounts for the height of the snow-line in the instance of Ararat : 



