22 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



" WITH THE TIBET MISSION FOKCE TO LHASSA." 



By Captain A. W. COOK YOUNG, M.B., I.M.S. 



(Bead 28th January, 1905.) 



Geography and Physical Features. Tibet is on the north-east 

 frontier of India, bounded on the south by the Himalaya ranges and 

 the Yun Nan ranges. To the east are the Yun Ling mountains of 

 China. To the north, towards Mongolia and Turkestan, are the Kuan 

 Lun ranges. To the west the tableland narrows considerably and 

 merges into the Pamir tablelands. 



Extreme length from east to west is 1,600 miles. 



Extreme breadth from north to south is 150 miles in the west to 

 an average of 700 miles in the east. The area of Tibet is 700,000 

 square miles. 



There are two parts, viz., the Lake region in the west and north- 

 west and the River region on the east, south and west. The former 

 region is the Northern Plateau, 700 miles broad, very arid, flat valleys, 

 surrounded and traversed by mountain ranges, with salt or alkaline 

 lakes, intersected with streams, soil very boggy saline, dotted with 

 tussocks of grass, average altitude 16,000 feet, no trees, and vegetation 

 very scanty. The tree line ceases at an altitude of about 13,000 feet, 

 and the scrub at a height between 15,000 and 16,000 feet. Above 

 this grass barely grows. Aconite grows freely at the higher elevations 

 and caused the loss of many of our animals from poisoning. The 

 native animals, the ponies and Yaks of Tibet, do not eat aconite. 



The river region is on a lower elevation and consists of narrow 

 valleys surrounded by mountains. Cultivation is excellent, especially 

 from 12,000 feet downwards, while barley and turnips are the only 



