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intermixed with small nodules of ironstone : such tracts 

 are always overgrown with bamboo jungle, and are the 

 haunts of' numerous elephants, rhinoceroses, and other wile 

 animals. 



The country between the Atta-yen river and the sea is 

 covered by ridges of sandstone hills about 500 feet high. 

 These hills run in continuous swells as far south as 14 30' 

 N. lat. This tract, whose surface is strongly undulating, is 

 of indifferent fertility, owing to the aridity of the soil, which 

 absorbs the moisture. It is chiefly covered with forests, 

 more or less thick according to the depth of the soil. In 

 many places the rocks approach the surface, and have only 

 a thin layer of earth over them, and in such places there 

 are only a few bushes, and patches of grass which soon dry 

 up after the rains. This tract contains two small rivers, 

 which form harbours. The most northern, called Kal-yen, 

 falls into the sea east of the new town of Amherst, of 

 which it constitutes the harbour. On its bar, which is of 

 soft ooze, there are two fathoms and a half of water at low 

 tide ; but within the bar, and as far as 8 miles up, it is 

 between five and a half and five fathoms deep ; and near 

 its mouth, from 400 to 500 yards wide. It thus forms a 

 spacious harbour, which most merchant ships can enter 

 at low-water neap-tides, and at high-water ships of any 

 burden. Near 15" 12' is the mouth of the Yee river, which 

 forms a wide itstuary, but it is too shallow to admit large 

 Is: smaller ships may sail up to the town of Yee, 

 which is about five or six miles from the river's mouth. 



The country east of the sandstone tract, and surrounding 

 the river Way-nio and extending to the Atta-yen, is the 

 mo>t sterile part of Tenasserim. The vegetation is stunted, 

 and a great part of this tract is covered with bamboo 

 jungle. The soil is an argillaceous transition schist, unmixed 

 with sanely particles, which quickly absorbs all moisture. 



The Region of the Tenasserim River comprehends the 

 Central portion of the country, extending from 15 to 12" 

 .\. lat. The northern districts, as far south as 13 30', pre- 

 sent a very uneven surface. Several ridges of hills traverse 

 the country from north to south : they consist chiefly of 

 granite and gneiss, and rise to a moderate elevation. They 

 arc generally rounded near the tops, and their declivities 

 are rather gentle. The valleys which are inclosed by them 

 are of moderate width, and fertile. The decomposed par- 

 ticles of the adjacent rocks arc washed by the rains from 

 tin- sides of the hills, and deposited at the bottom of the 

 valleys, where they are mixed with a large quantity of de- 

 cayed vegetable matter, which makes a rich soil. Level 

 tracts of a great extent are rare : the largest are near the 

 town of Tavoy and at the foot of the Thown-gee range, 

 where an elevated table-land occurs, called Meta-mio. 

 The soil of these plains consists of clay or loam, with little 

 sand, and it is very fertile. 



The southern districts resemble the northern, except 

 tliat the hilly ranges, which here also ran north and south, 

 occupy a much smaller portion of the surface, the plains 

 being more numerous and of greater extent. The largest 

 are those which occur along the sea-shore, but especially 

 tin- Plain of Ttiiasserim, which is many miles in length 

 and several in width, and extends along the left bank of 

 the river above the town of Tenasserim. It is covered 

 with a deposit of argillaceous marl of great depth and fer- 

 tility. No less fertile is the extensive alluvial tract which 

 surrounds the several branches into which the Tenasserim 

 river divides before it reaches the sea, and which occupies 

 also the greater part of the islands which lie between 

 these branches. A part of this alluvial tract is unfit for 

 cultivation, being inundated at high-water, and covered 

 with mangroves. The whole region is overgrown with 

 forest-trees, with the exception of a few spots which are 

 under cultivation. 



The most important river of this region is the Tenas- 

 serirn. According to Low, it rises near 15" lit/ N'. lat., but 

 other known facts render this improbable, and its sources 

 are laid down in our maps south of 15 N. lat. It flows 

 in a southern direction over nearly three degrees of lati- 

 tude, or more than 200 miles in a straight line. The upper 

 part of its course is interrupted by numerous rapids and 

 falls, which occur even farther down, and as far as 13^ 15', 

 where the last great rapids are. To this place the tides 

 ascend, but the river still has a rapid current, numerous 

 shallows, annually changing banks, and shifting shoals. 

 Dining the dry season it is impracticable for boats drawing 

 more than 17 inches. It becomes deeper at its confluence 



with (he Little Tenasserim, or Khioung-gale, which joins 

 it at its most southern bend, and brings down a large 

 volume of water from the Sam-roi-yot range. Up to this 

 place, where the town of Tenasserim is built, the river is 

 deep enough for vessels of 100 tons. At the same place 

 the Tenasserim turns to the west, having passed between 

 two high hills to the north-west. Soon afterwards it 

 begins to divide into two arms, which in approaching the 

 sea again subdivide, so that, according to the survey of 

 Captain Lloyd, it reaches the sea by six or seven channels. 

 There are sand-bare across these channels, but the bar 

 which is found on the channel south of the town of 

 Mergui has depth enough for vessels of moderate size at 

 high-water, the tide rising between 14 and 15 feet. Below 

 the town of Tenasserim the river still runs above 40 miles 

 in a straight line. Its whole course is about 240 miles. 



The river Tavoy, which originates near 15" N. lat., runs 

 first to the south-west, but turns gradually to the south, 

 so that its lower course is parallel to the shore. The wide 

 a'stnary by which it is connected with the sea reaches to 

 13" 30' N. lat. ; the whole course of the river in a straight 

 line is not less than 100 miles. It is stated that the tide, 

 which rises from 13 to 14 feet, runs up more than 50 miles 

 from the sea, and that to this distance the river may be 

 navigated by boats, though the navigation is rendered 

 difficult by numerous low islands and shoals. The town 

 of Tavoy is about 35 miles from the sea, and so far vessels 

 of 120 tons burden may ascend. There is no bar at the en- 

 trance of the river, but the navigation is intricate, owing 

 to the numerous shoals and low islands, as there are vari- 

 ous channels among them which in some places have only 

 2 or 2^ fathoms, but in most parts the depths are from to 

 12 fathoms. There is good anchorage on the east side of 

 Tavoy Point, which is on the west side of the entrance of 

 the river, in G fathoms, on a soft even bottom, and it is 

 well sheltered, except against southern winds. 



The Southern Region of Tenasserim, or that which lies 

 between 12 and 10" N. lat., is situated on the long isthmus 

 which connects the Malay Peninsula with the main body 

 of Asia, and is known as the Isthmus of Krah, It is the 

 least known part of Tenasserim. Dr. Heifer, who lately 

 investigated its geology and minerals, found it unin- 

 habited, with the exception of a few spots, and from his 

 observations it appears that the whole country is covered 

 with high hills, and contains only a few small valleys. 

 The soil does not appear to be distinguished by fertility, 

 and it may be conjectured, that with the Isthmus of Krah 

 that sterile tract begins which extends over tile whole of 

 the Malay Peninsula to its most southern extremity, and 

 which, though favourable to the growth of fruit-trees, 

 produces only scanty crops of rice and other grain. Tim 

 inhabited places of this tract are almost exclusively 

 confined to the banks of rivers, and do not extend far 

 inland. The rivers, though they have not a long course, 

 are said to be large and navigable to a considerable dis- 

 tance from their mouths. The largest are, from nor*h to 

 south, the Lenya, the Bockpyn, and the I'akchum. The 

 ast-mentioned river, which divides Tenasserim from Siarn, 

 las already been noticed. 



Climate. Like all other intertropical countries, Tenas- 

 serim has only two seasons, the dry and the wet season. 

 They depend on the monsoons, the rains being produced 

 )y the south-west monsoon, whilst the dry season lasts 

 during the north-east monsoon. There appears to be 

 some difference in the wet season between the climate of 

 Maulmain and of Mergui, the only two places in which a 

 'ew meteorological observations have been made, and this 

 difference appears to depend on the circumstance, that: 

 along the southern coast the effects of the south-west 

 uonsoon are diminished by the elevated islands of the 

 Mergui Archipelago, whilst farther north they reach the 

 and in all their force. At Maulmain the rainy season sets in 

 u.'.anls the end of May or the beginning of June, and dur- 

 ng the first three months the rains are heavy and nearly 

 ucessaiit, but they gradually diminish in September, and 

 .mtirely cease in October. This is the hottest part of the 

 ,'ear, but the heat is far from being so oppressive as on 

 :he coast of Coromandel. In May the thermometer 

 averages at 8 o'clock in the morning 78, and at 4 o'clock 

 n the afternoon 82, in June it keeps at 72 at 8 o'clock, 

 ind at 70 at 4 o'clock, and in July and August at 77 at 

 8 o'clock, and at 80 at 4 o'clock. The thermometer has 

 never been observed to rise above 00. The difference 



