i8 THE GOBI PROPER. 



As we have before stated, the Siberian character 

 of the country, with its mountains, forests, and abun- 

 dant supply of water irrigation, ceases near Urga, 

 and from hence southwards nature assumes the true 

 Mongohan aspect. After the first day's journey the 

 traveller finds everything changed. 



A boundless steppe, slightly undulating in some 

 parts, in others furrowed with low rocky ridges, fades 

 away in the bluish misty distance of the horizon 

 without any break in its sameness. Here and there 

 may be seen numerous herds and flocks of Mongols 

 grazing, and their encampments frequently stand 

 near the roadside. The road is so good as to be 

 perfectly practicable for a tarantass. 



The Gobi Proper has not yet begun, and the belt of 

 steppe we are describing, with its soil of mingled clay 

 and sand, clothed with excellent grass, serves as a 

 prelude to it. This belt extends from Urga to the 

 south-west along the Kalgan road for about 130 

 miles, and then imperceptibly shades off into the 

 sterile plains of the Gobi Proper. 



Even the Gobi is rather undulating than flat, 

 although you sometimes come on tracts of perfectly 

 level plain, extending unbroken for many miles to- 

 gether. These level tracts are particularly frequent 

 in the central part of the plateau, whereas in the north 

 and south there are plenty of low hills either in 

 detached groups or in prolonged ridges, rising only 

 a few hundred feet above the surrounding plains, 

 and for the most part consisting of bare rocks. Their 

 ravines and valleys are all marked by dry water- 



