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PART II, THE HIGHLAND OF PAMIR’) 
CHAPTER 2 
Structure and Geology. 
Pamir, the mighty highland, connecting Hindukush and 
Karakorum in the south with the Alai Mountains and Thian- 
shan in the north, and forming a sort of natural bridge be- 
tween these mountain ranges, falls sharply off on the east 
toward Eastern Turkestan, while toward the west its slope 
is gradual. The water-shed dividing the rivers flowing east 
from those flowing west, lies al about the line Rang Kul— 
Great Kara Kul, so that the larger part of Pamir is watered 
by streams flowing westward. (See the annexed map). 
These conditions, then, determine the eastern border of 
Pamir, fixing it at the line of the Kashgar chain of moun- 
tains, which extend from the north toward the south. The 
western boundary is not so easily fixed. It may perhaps be 
most naturally placed where the Pandsh River flows from 
the north to the south. The northern border is the Alai 
Plaiu, which is watered by the Kisil-Su, and the southern, 
the upper course of the Pandsh and the Hindukush moun- 
tains. 
Between the rivers, which for the most part flow toward 
the west, and of which the most important are the Pandsh, 
the Gund and the Murghab, are high mountain ridges, 
5—6,000 métres above sea level. The greatest altitude is to 
be found in the East, where Mustagh-ata in the Kashgar 
chain reaches a height of 8,000 métres, and in the north- 
!) The land is often called »The Pamirs«. This name indicates that 
there are several »Pamirs«, i. e. flat barren valleys. Hower as the name 
Pamir is ordinarily used, and as it used here, it designates not only the 
valleys but the mountains between them as well, including also the western 
part where no flat valleys exist. Thus, when speaking of »The Pamirs« in 
this treatise we mean the valleys, Pamirs specifically (in the narrow 
meaning of the word »Pamir«), while »Pamir« includes the entire district. 
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