722 REPORT— 1897. 



2. A Journey in Tripoli. By J. L. Myres, M.A. 



3. On the Direction of Lines of Structure in Eurasia. 

 By Prince Kropotkin. 



The aim of this paper is to put in evidence the importance of certain directions 

 which prevail in the main lines of orientation of plateaus and chains of mountains 

 in Asia and Europe. The very important part played by erosion and denudation 

 in the shaping of the orographical features of the continents is well knovrn ; but 

 even after that agency has been fully taken into account, we find in Eurasia two 

 main directions which are followed by the chains of mountains and the plateaus ; 

 namely, from S.W. to N.E., and from N.W. to S.E., or rather from N.W. by W. 

 to S.E. by E. 



In Asia, the prevalence of these two directions is quite evident. Of the two 

 great plateaus which make the backbone of Asia — the Asia Minor plateau and 

 the great plateau of East Asia — one runs N.W. to S.E., and the other runs S.W. 

 to N.E, The border ridges of these plateaus, as well as the ridges which are 

 situated on the plateaus, and the Alpine tracts which fringe them all follow the 

 one or the other direction. And the better the orography of Central Asia is 

 known the more distinctly these two directions appear on our maps. 



The broad features of the orography of East Asia which were mapped out by 

 the author in 1876 were extended by Petermann to the south-western parts of 

 Central Asia, and were embodied into his map of Asia for Stieler's Atlas. They 

 seem now to be pretty generally accepted. The Stanovoi Khrebet, which ran W. 

 to E.on our older maps, has disappeared; the high plateau with its lower terrace 

 and the Great Khingan bordering that lower terrace, as well as the series of 

 parallel ridges running N.E., parallel to it, which he ventured to indicate then, are 

 by this time figured on most of our maps. It may be said that the investiga- 

 tions which were made within the last twenty-five years further and further 

 confirmed this conception of East Asia's orography. The Nan Shan system, the 

 Altyn-tagh, and the several chains of the Kuen-lun ; the mountain ridges of the 

 Darvaz ; the high chains of the Khan-Ten-a^ri system ; the Great or Ek-tag Altai ; 

 and the mountain ridges on the middle Hoang-ho, which all were traced twenty 

 years ago in all directions, take now on modern maps the orientations S.W. or 

 N.E., or N.AV. to S.E. And we see more and more distinctly appearing on the 

 maps of Asia that immense plateau — extremely similar to the great plateau of 

 Western North America, though directed N.W. instead of N.E. — which divides 

 Asia into two parts, entirely differing from each other in their climate, vegetation, 

 and all general geographical characters ; so much so that the vegetation on the 

 S.E. slope of the great plateau (Amur region) is much more like to the vegetation 

 of British Columbia than to the vegetation of West Siberia. 



Professor Mushketoft"s researches in the Tian Shan have revealed another fact 

 of very great importance : namely, that the upheavals running towards the N.E. 

 are the oldest ones (Archaean or Palseozoic), while those chains of mountains 

 which run S.E. to N.W. are more recent — that is, belong to the Mesozoic times. 



In Europe the same two directions have the same prevalence. Tlie Urals 

 appear now to consist of upheavals, or rather of mountains and plateau slopes 

 running alternately N.E. and N.W. The leading feature of Scandinavia's oro- 

 graphy are : lines of high plateaus running N E. into the peninsula of Kola, and 

 a lower terrace running also N.E., from Scania to Finland. In Russia the 

 dominant feature (altered here and there by erosion) is the central plateau, which 

 runs from the Carpathians to the Middle Urals, all physical and even economical 

 features of the country (fertility of the soil, crops, &c.) being subordinated to this 

 leading feature. In Caucasia and Asia Minor the plateau which stretches from 

 West Armenia to Daghestan (S.W. to N.E.) and the main chain running N.W. 

 to S.E. are the dominant features. 



In Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia the N.W. direction prevails, 

 while the north-eastern prevails in the Alps. In the Pyrenees we find (as in the 



