LB880N8 IN GEOGRAPHY. 



175 



TipriH and Euphrates. The so-called Mesopotamia^ or northern 

 : atlu r barren ; but tho southern or Babylonian plain, 

 tilling to the Fenian Gulf, in much moro productive, and 

 ;i riv supported a much larger population than at present. 



\ -ia are to be found tho loftiest mountains on the surface 

 of the globe, aa well aa vast plateaus and immense deserts. 



tain systems of Asia diverge and extend in all 

 directions from a great mountain mass or knot, which atands 

 in the centre of the continent, and rises above the lofty table- 

 l.ni'l of 1'aiuir to a height of 19,000 feet above tho level of the 

 i. This range, which forms part of the natural boundary lino 

 i. ft ween Turkestan or Independent Tartary, and Chinese Turkes- 

 tan, is called the Uolor-Tagh Mountains. 



From tho northern extremity of this abort but lofty range, 

 the Thian-Shan Mountains run in a north-oast direction between 

 1 nilependent Tartary and Chinese Tartary, sending out a long 

 branch to the east towards Mongolia. The culminating peak of 

 tin-so mountains is Tangri-Khan, 21,000 feet in height. Tho 

 range also contains two lofty volcanoes, Po-shan and Ho-tcheou. 



At tho northern extremity of the main branch of the Thian- 

 Shan Mountains stands the Lake Sir-i-kol, encircled along its 

 northern shore by tho Ala-Tan range. This range is prolonged in 

 a north-easterly direction to tho eastern extremity of Asia, under 

 the names of the Altai, Sayansk, Yablonoi, Stanovoi, and Aldan 

 Mountains. The culminating point of this Icng chain of moun- 

 tains, whose different portions are distinguished by the names 

 that have just been enumerated, is Mount Katunsk, a peak of 

 tho Altai Mountains, which is 12,790 feet above tho sea-level. A 

 branch of the Aldan Mountains extends southwards through the 

 peninsula of Kamtschatka, in which are several lofty volcanoes. 

 The highest of these is Kliutchevskaja, 15,765 feet in height. 

 The remaining mountains of importance in Eussia in Asia are 

 the Orulgan Mountains, on tho east of the river Lena and the 

 Baikal Mountains, to the west of Lake Baikal. 



Returning to the central mountain mass of Asia, the Bolor- 

 Tagh Mountains, we find the Knen-Lun Mountains branching 

 out in an easterly direction from its southern extremity, and 

 separating Chinese Tartary from Thibet. This is succeeded by 

 the Pe-ling range, between the rivers Hoang-ho and Yang-tse- 

 kiaug, in China, which sends out many spurs and branches to 

 the north and south, namely, tho In-shan and Khin-gan Moun- 

 tains, in Mongolia, and tho Yun-ling range, between China and j 

 Thibet, and Nan-ling range, in the south of China. 



Again, going back to the Bolor-Tagh Mountains, we find the 

 Himalaya Mountains trending in a south-east direction from its 

 southern extremity, and separating Hindostan from Thibet. In ' 

 this range are the loftiest peaks on the world's surface, the 

 principal being Dhawalagiri, in Nepaul, 28,080 feet high; Kun- 

 chinjunga, in tho little state of Sikhim, between Nepaul and I 

 Bhotan, 28,150 feet high; and Gaurisankar or Mount Everest, i 

 between Thibet and Nepaul, 29,002 feet high. The Karakorum 

 Mountains, in Thibet, form a sort of offset of tho Himalaya i 

 range to the east, having Dapsang, 28,280 feet high, as the 

 culminating point. In Burmah are the mountains of Aracan, ', 

 while Further India is traversed by ranges running parallel to [ 

 .. the courses of its great rivers, and extending along the whole 

 ', longth of the Malay Peninsula. These last-named ranges are 

 of no great height, Tidi-bang-sa, in the Malay Peninsula, 6,560 

 feet in height, being their culminating point. The Vindhya 

 Mountains traverse the centre of tho peninsula of Hindostan in ' 

 a direction almost east and west, while the sides of the peninsula 

 elope to tho sea in ranges parallel to the coast, and called, from 

 their position, the Eastern and Western Ghauts. 



Once moro reverting to the Bolor-Tagh Mountains, wo see the 

 Hlndoo-Koosh Mountains, branching from the southern extre- 

 mity of this central mass in a south-west direction, dividing 

 ludependent Tartary from Cashmere, in the north of Hindostan, 

 and Afghanistan, and extending far into the interior of this 

 last-named country; the Suliman Mountains, a branch of tho 

 Hindoo-Koosh Mountains, extending first to the east and then 

 to the south, separating Afghanistan and Beloochistan from 

 Hindostan, or tho peninsula of India. 



Extending through the north of Persia, from tho Hindoo- 

 Koosh Mountains towards the west, aro the Poropamisan Moun- 

 tains and Elburz range, the former having its culminating point 

 in Koh-i-baba, 16,000 feet high, and the latter in Mount Dema- 

 vend, about 21,500 feet above the sea-level. Through the 

 western and southern districts of Persia stretch the Zagros 



MonntaiiiH, or mountain* of KurdUtan, in a direction parallel 

 wr.ii the Euphrates and Tigris, and forming the north-out limit 

 of the great plain through which thott river* run. 



Lastly, couHidering the Ural Mountain! and the Caucasus 

 range to be common to Europe and Asia, M they form part 

 of the line of demarcation between these continent*, there are- 

 yet remaining to be named, M Asiatic mountain range*, the 

 mountains of Armenia, culminating in Mount Ararat, 17,112 

 feet in height, and lying south of the Caucasus, between the 

 Black and Caspian Seas; Taurus and Anti-Taurus, in Asis> 

 Minor, culminating in Argish Dagh, 13,197 feet high ; and the 

 Lebanon Mountains, running along the coast of Syria and Pales* 

 tine as far aa the peninsula of Sinai, and culminating in Mount 

 Hermon, which ia in the north of Palestine, and 9,375 feet 

 above the sea-level. 



Of tho mountains in the islands of Asia, the most worthy of 

 notice are Fusi-yama or the mountain Fusi, an active rolcano, 

 in the island of Niphon, Japan, to the west of tho capital, 

 Yeddo or Jeddo; and the mountains in the south of Ceylon, 

 which culminate in the peak of Podrotallagalla, about 8,280 feet 

 above tho level of tho sea. 



The rivers of Asia exceed in magnitude and extent any of the 

 rivers of Europe, and are themselves only surpassed by those of 

 America. These large rivers have their sources in the mountains 

 which border tho immense plateaus already described, and they 

 flow through tho plains northward, eastward, and southward, 

 into the surrounding oceans. In the Altai Mountains rise the 

 large rivers, Obi, Yenisei, and Lena, which, after traversing the 

 plains of Siberia for the respective direct lengths of about 1,800, 

 1,950, and 1,300 miles, fall into the Arctic Ocean. The Obi is 

 said to drain a surface of 925,000 square miles. In tho ir.oan- 

 tains of China, and the Chinese empire, rise the Amour, or 

 Sagalien, which, after a course of about 1,250 miles, falls into 

 the Sea of Okhotsk ; the Hoang-ho, or Yellow Eiver, which, 

 after a course of about 1,150 miles, falls into the Yellow Sea ; 

 the Yang-tze-kiang, or Kiang-ku, which, after a course of about 

 1,800 miles, falls into the same sea; and the Choo-Kiang, or 

 river of Canton, which, after a course of about 580 miles, falls into 

 the Chinese Sea. In the eastern peninsula run the rivers called 

 the Song-ha, the Mo-kiang or Camboja, the Meinam, the Salween 

 or Saluen, and the Irrawaddy ; these fall respectively into tho 

 Gulf of Tonquin, the Chinese Sea, the Gulf of Siam, and (the two 

 last-named) the Gulf of Martaban. Hindostan is watered in tho 

 north-east by the Ganges, which rises in the southern slope of 

 tho Himalaya Mountains, and after. a course of about 1,000 

 miles, falls into the Bay of Bengal ; this river is navigable to about 

 half its distance from its mouth, that is, up to the point where it 

 receives the waters of the Jumna. At Calcutta, where it falls 

 into the sea, it forms a vast delta, called the Sunderbunds, and the 

 navigable branch for large vessels is here called the Hooghly. 

 Near the mouth, this river receives tho waters of the Eiver 

 Sanpoo, or Brahmapootra, which rises in an opposite direction. 

 Hindostan, again, is watered in the north-west by the Indus, a 

 river which gives its name to all India, and which, rising also in 

 the Himalaya Mountains, but on the northern side, at an ele- 

 vation of about 15,000 feet, passes round its western extremity, 

 and then runs a south-westerly course of about 1,950 miles, falling 

 into the Arabian Sea by a delta near Tattah. About 350 miles 

 from its mouth, this river receives the waters of five rivers, the 

 Jelnm, the Chenab, the Eavee, the Beas, and the Sutlej ; hence 

 the name of tho country is the Punjab (that is, the ./ire rivers). 

 This river is navigable for large steamers at the distance just 

 mentioned, and for smaller vessels about 350 miles higher. The 

 Tigris and Euphrates, which rise in Armenia, and flow through 

 the plains of Mesopotamia (the one after a course of nearly 800 

 miles, and tho other after a course of about 900 miles), unite in 

 the river called Shat-el-Arab, and fall into the Persian Gulf at 

 Basra or Basora. In Asia Minor flowa the Kizil-Innak (the 

 ancient Halys), through a course of about 400 miles, and falls 

 into the Black Sea. The Caspian Sea receives the waters of the 

 Eiver Kur, after a course of about 500 miles. Tho sea of Aral 

 receives the waters of tho Amoo-Daria or Jihon (tho ancient 

 Oants), after a course of about 880 miles ; and of tho Syr-Daria 

 (the ancient Jew-arks), after a course of more than 720 miles. 

 Such are the most striking physical peculiarities of the great 

 continent of Asia. 



We append to this lesson a map of India, showing the penin- 

 sulas of Hindostan and Further India or India beyond the 



