^ NORTHERN' AND ^ SOUTHERN' RANGES. 75 



elevation increases till they attain the limits of per- 

 petual snow at the sources of the Etsina-gol ^ and 

 Tolai-gol. Here all these ranges may possibly unite 

 or throw out new branches, but in any case further 

 to the west they again diminish and soon terminate, 

 perhaps merging in the general upheaval of the 

 Gobi. 



The whole of this mountainous system is known 

 to the Chinese under the name of Siue-shan or Nan- 

 shan ; but the several ranges have no special names, 

 and, therefore, for the sake of distinctness I will use 

 the terms ' northern ' and ' sotctkern ' for the ranges 

 on either bank of the Tatung, while that dividing 

 Ala-shan from Kan-su shall be called the ' border 

 range,' without, however, the least intention of 

 applying these names in the future. 



The northern and southern chains bear a close 

 resemblance to each other, and are equally wild and 

 alpine ; they abound in deep narrow gorges, huge 

 cliffs, and precipices. About the middle of the 

 Tatung-gol a few solitary peaks rise to a height of 

 14,000 feet,^ but without attaining the perpetual 

 snow-line. The snowy mountains are, as we have 

 mentioned, further to the west, near the towns of 

 Lang-chau and Kan-chau, and at the sources of the 

 Tatung and Etsina. One snowy peak, however, 

 rises behind Si-ning. 



Although the pass over the northern chain is 



'^ The R. Etsina, with its left tributary the Tolai, flows due north, 

 watering the cultivated land in the vicinity of Kan-chau and Suh-chau, 

 beyond which they enter the desert and discharge into Lake Sogo-nor. 



■^ Mount Gadjur is in the northern range. 



