376 



ASIATIC MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS. 



CnAPTEn 



xxvni. 



Dreary 

 regions. 



Central 

 mountain 

 systems uf 

 Asia. 



the extvemest Arctic coast. Their soil is composed of 

 earth tliat has been fiozen for thousands of years. In 

 the dreary uniformity of the landscape, and surrounded 

 by reindeer, the eye of the traveller rests with pleasure 

 on the smallest patch of green turf that shows itself on a 

 moist spot.' " 



Returning from the consideration of this portion of the 

 great general laws of the universe, so efficiently explored, 

 Humboldt next passes to the detailed consideration of 

 the great mountain systems of Central Asia, some of the 

 phenomena observed in which have already been referred 

 to. 



The middle and internal part of Asia, which forms 

 neither an immense aggregate of hills nor a continuous 

 platform, is intersected from east to west by four great 

 systems of mountains, which have exercised a decided 

 influence upon the movements of nations. These sys- 

 l.imits of tiie tems are : — 1. The Altaic, which is terminated to the 

 ^'^ ■ west by the mountains of the Kirghiz; 2. Thian Chan ; 

 3. Kwan-lun ; and, 4. The Himalaya chain. Between 

 the Altaic range and Thian Chan are Zungari'i, and the 

 basin of the Ele ; between Thian Chan and Kwan-lun, 

 Little or Upper Bucharia, or Cashgar, Yarkand, Khoten, 

 or Yu-thian, the great desert, Toorfan, Khamil, and 

 Tangout, or the Northern Tangout of the Chinese, 

 which must not be confounded with Thibet or Sefan. 

 Lastly between Kwan-lun and the Himalaya are East- 

 ern and Western Thihit, in which are Lassa and Ladak. 

 Weie the three elevated plains situated between the 

 Altai, Thian Chan, Kwan-lun, and the Himalaya, to be 

 indicated by the position of three Alpine lakes, we might 

 select for this purpose those of Balkachi, Lop, and Tengri, 

 which correspond to the plains of Zunguria, Tangout, and 

 Thibet. 



The mountain system of the Altai surrounds the 

 sources of the Irtisch and Jenisei or Rem. To the east 

 it takes the name of Tangnou ; between the lakes Kos- 

 sogol and Baikal, that of the Sayanian Mountains ; be- 



Altai sj-atcin. 



