KAMCHATKA 17 



Kamchatka, however, is swept by icy winds from 

 every part of the north especially by the north-east 

 gales. Its coast is bathed by the cold sea-currents from 

 Bering Straits, and these give it a climate correspond- 

 ing to that of Lapland, which it resembles in its vegeta- 

 tion. Parallel longitudinal ridges, from which arise very 

 short torrents, form the core of the peninsula. 



The characteristic vegetation is represented by elfin 

 and stunted woods. Impenetrable brushes of gnarled 

 alders and cedars clothe most of the slopes, and pass 

 upwards to dwarf elfin bushes. Between this and the 

 naked ridges stretch ragged carpets of alpine meadows. 

 Birch woods, sometimes very dense, sometimes sparse, 

 rise on the foot slopes and clothe the gentle rises between 

 the lower valleys. It is only along the streams in the 

 sheltered valleys that a really pleasant vegetation is 

 found. There extend prosperous meadows, with patches 

 of tall umbellifers, with groves of poplars, birches, and 

 alders ; and shrubberies of rhododendrons. This open 

 natural park is, however, skirted by swamps, which 

 unite to form the barren, treeless moors of the coast. 

 Wild sheep are to be found here, as in Alaska and 

 Columbia. This inhospitable land, infested in summer 

 with mosquitoes, and lying under snow for nearly two 

 thirds of the year, is suited for little else than sheep 

 and cattle of the hardiest type. Agriculture is, indeed, 

 impossible. 



Indo-China. The lofty parallel ridges, separated by 

 steep and narrow gorges, which form the approach to 

 south-eastern Tibet, diverge, fan-like, in three distinct 

 chains : the eastern chain of Annam, the central Malay 

 chain, which extends near the Equator, and the western- 

 most or Arakan chain : they include the plains of Siam 

 and Burma. Just south of the tropic, their convergence 



1159.1 C 



