TOPOGEAPHY OF SUMATRA 



109 



about £600,000 yearly, consist almost exclusively of coffee shipped for the United 

 States. 



But Padang owes its importance less to the fertility of the surrounding plains 

 than to its favourable position at the converging point of the routes radiating 



Fig. 40.- Padang and Environments. 

 Scale 1 : 85,000. 



''miè/m, 



base or breenwich 



I00°20 



lOO'es' 



0tol6 

 Feet. 



Depth.s. 



16 to 32 32 Feet and 



Feet. upwards. 



^^^^^— ^-i 3.300 Yards. 



towards the thickly peopled and salubrious Menangkabao plateau, which serves 

 as a health-resort for the Grovernment officials. On these Padang uplands, where 

 the Dutch have been firmly established for over half a century, the chief military 

 station is the fortress of Koch, lying some 3,000 feet above sea-level at 



