138 - THE SUMA-HADA RANGE. 



crossed is about seventeen miles, and its general 

 direction south-west and north-east. 



In a narrow rocky belt extending along the south- 

 eastern border of the Shara-hada mountains, bushes 

 are plentiful ; the prevailing kinds being the hazel 

 [Ostryopsis Davidiana), the yellow briar [Rosa pim- 

 pmellifolia\ the wild peach [Prunus sp.^), and the 

 spircea ; the barberry [Berberis sp.), currant {Rides 

 pulcJiellum\ cotoneaster, honeysuckle (Хб7;гг^^гл sp.), 

 and juniper {jfimipcriis communis), are more rare. 

 Here we found, for the first time in Mongolia, a 

 number of insects, and my companion made some 

 important additions to his entomological collection. 



The Suma-hada,^ another and a wilder range, 

 about thirty miles distant, lies parallel with that 

 j'ust mentioned. But even here the precipitous cliffs 

 and deep valleys are only developed on the margin 

 of the range ; the inner slopes being of softer and 

 more gradual outline, with rich pasture and arable 

 land partly cultivated by Chinese. 



The height of the Suma-hada^ above sea-level 

 is greater than that of the Shara-hada, but their ele- 

 vation above the plain is nearly the same. Their 

 cliffs, exclusively composed of granite, are rounded 

 and worn down by glacial action, of which there are 

 unmistakable evidences on the surface. The wilder 



1 There must be some mistake here ; the author probably means 

 plum. — M. 



* The Shara-hada and Suma-hada are probably spurs of the mar- 

 ginal range of the Mongolian plateau, and do not extend far to the 

 north. 



' The height above sea-level, of the foot of the Suma-hada, at its 

 south-eastern extremity, is 5,600 feet. 



