MIDDLE YANG-TZ'i-KIANG GORGES 609 



From the foregoing it is clear that I cannot agree with the views 

 expressed by von Richthofen^ in the following quotations : 



In this way it becomes plain that an immense area, situated to the south 

 of the easterly Kuen-lun, whose basal structure in the parts known to us (and 

 probably in its entirety), consists of the paleozoic formations, and which is folded 

 together according to the sinial trend of the strata, can yet show great variety in its 

 separate parts. 



Although I fully agree with the description of the geological 

 structure given in the next passage, I can by no means agree with 

 the example von Richthofen adduces to illustrate the event of the 

 welding together of the Kuen-lun mountains with the southern 

 system of plication. On p. 638 we read: 



One of .the most remarkable circumstances is the firmly growing together of 

 the sinial zone of pHcation with that of the Kuen-lun in the Tsin-ling-shan. Just 

 as when upon a cloth, folded into parallel folds, were laid a heavy bar at an 

 oblique angle to the direction of those folds, and this bar were moved, at right 

 angles, to its axis toward those folds until they were so bent round as to com- 

 pletely take the direction of the bar, in the same way the stiff stem of the Kuen-lun 

 leans against the sinial folds. While at a distance from the Kuen-lun they strike 

 from SW to NE, they gradually bend round toward the Kuen-lun, to a WSW- 

 ENE trend. At the same time they press so closely, and the strata attain such 

 a steep dip, that they become joined with the principal stem into one solid mass.^ 



From this example of the bar on the folded cloth we might draw 

 the conclusion that von Richthofen assumes that the Kuen-lun 

 mountains are of later formation than the area to the south of it, con- 

 sidered by him as occupied by mountain ranges folded up according 

 to the sinial system. I need not reiterate what I wrote above, for I 



1 China, Vol. II, p. 637: "So erklart es sich, dass ein ausserordentlich ausge- 

 dehntes, im Siiden des ostlichen Kwen-lun gelegenes Gebeit, dessen Grundbau in den 

 uns bekannten Theilen, und wahrscheinlich in seiner Gesammtheit, aus palaozoischen 

 Formationen besteht, und nach der sinischen Streichrichtung zusammen gefaltet ist, 

 doch in seinen einzelnen Strecken grosze Verschiedenheit darbietet." 



2 China, Vol. II, p. 638: "Zu den bemerkenswerthesten Umstanden gehort das 

 feste Verwachsen der sinischen Faltungszonen mit denen des Kwen-lun im Tsin- 

 ling-shan. Wie, wenn man einen schweren Stab auf ein in parallele Falten geworfenes 

 Tuch unter schiefem Winkel zur Richtung dieser Falten legt und ihn gegen dieselben 

 hin rechtwinklig zu seiner Axe fortscheibt, die Falten sich bis zur volligen Anschaarung 

 umbiegen, so schmiegt sich der starre Stamm des Kwen-lun an die sinischen Falten. 

 In gr5sserem Abstand von ihm von SW nach NO gerichtet, biegen sie an ihm zu 

 einen WSW-ONO Streichen um ! Zugleich drangen sie sich so dicht, und die Schich- 

 ten nehmen eine so steile Stellung an, dass sie sich zu einer einzigen starren Masse 

 mit dem Hauptstamm verbinden." 



