LAKE DALAI-NOR. 109 



because at a distance of several hundred paces from 

 the shore its depth is not more than two or three 

 feet. It is about forty miles in circumference, and 

 is joined by four small streams : the Shara-gol^ 

 and Gtmgir-gol on the east ; the Holch-gol and 

 Shurga-gol on the west. The lake abounds in fish, 

 of which we caught three kinds, Diplophysa sp., 

 Squalius sp., and Gasterostcits sp.^ In summer the 

 fish enter the mouths of the streams in large num- 

 bers ; and in early spring several hundred Chinese, 

 mostly houseless vagrants, make their appearance 

 on its shores for the purpose of fishing, and remain 

 till late in the autumn. 



On the north and east it is bordered by saline 

 plains, and on the west by rolling steppes ; the hills 

 of Guchin-gurbu closely approach its southern shore. 

 Here stands a small group of hills, at the foot of 

 which is the temple of Darhan-ula and a Chinese 

 village. The inhabitants of the latter trade with the 

 Mongols, who come here in large numbers during 

 the summer for religious worship, and sometimes 

 buy live fish from the fishermen, returning them to 

 the lake in order to atone for their sins. 



Dalai-nor lies at an elevation of 4,200 feet above 

 the sea, its climate is, therefore, as rigorous as the 

 rest of Mongolia. In the middle of April its shores 

 were still frozen, and the ice on the lake itself is 



^ According to the Mongols this river flows out of lake Hanga-nor, 

 about thirteen miles to the east of Dalai-nor ; at its mouth there is a 

 good-sized marsh, the only one at Dalai-nor. 



'^ We could not catch more because the lake was still frozen, and 

 there were very few fish in tlie rivulets. 



