1885.] Major W. E. Gows^n— On the ''Pamirs 109 



longitude east of Greenwich, is a high plateau (from 12,000 to 14,000 ft. 

 high) intersected in various directions by ranges that rise a little above 

 the surrounding valleys. Some of these ranges are partially covered with 

 snow, others are snowless. Their height above the valleys varies from 3000 

 to 4000 ft. Neither valleys nor hollows have any definite direction and in 

 the majority of cases are not wider than IJ to 2 miles . Notwithstand- 

 ing the severity of the climate of the Pamir and the poverty of its flora and 

 fauna, nomads frequent its heights. Such visitors come from Kashgaria, 

 Karategin, Shighnan, and other neighbouring states. But the severity of 

 the climate and the dearth of fodder for the cattle must render a stay in 

 such a country very inexpedient : the summer days are very hot but 

 the nights are cold, whilst the change from the sultriness of the day to 

 the chill of night is extremely rapid. Snow falls to a great depth and lies 

 for a long time even on the southern slopes. Winter-snow begins to 

 fall early in September and remains till May. The winds of the Pamir 

 are constant. 



The limits of the Pamir have not yet been defined with exactitude. 

 Although the Pamir has of late been visited by several expeditions both 

 Russian and English, there yet lies between their explorations an 

 interval of about 67 miles in width, which up till now has been visited 

 by no European and is only known from inquiry. 



The Alai and Trans- Alai ranges form the northern boundary of the 

 Pamir. The Trans- Alai range runs parallel to the course of the Kizil-Su 

 river, in a direction east and west slightly inclined to south. The 

 average height of the peaks of this range is 18,000 ft., but some of its 

 detached summits exceed 20,000 ft. (Kaufmann peak, for instance). 

 The lowest portion of the Trans- Alai lies where the snowless Kizil Art 

 pass is crossed (14,000 ft.). West of this pass the Trans-Alai considerably 

 inclines to the south turning towards the sources of the Muk-Su, of 

 which, under the name of the Hoi range, it forms the left or southern 

 bank. The bed of the same river is closely confined by its crags. Be- 

 tween the Muk-Su and Kizil-Su rivers there is a second-rate range 

 (14,000 ft. high), which is detached from the main or Trans-Alai chain, 

 and serves as the watershed of those rivers. This range is pierced 

 through by the Attin-Dara gorge and by the low Ters-Agar pass 

 (10,300 ft. high). To the south of the Trans-Alai range lies the 



eon has recently put forward a new derivation, viz., that the name of Pamir, or Famir 

 as it is always written by the Arabs, is derived from the Fani, (l>avuoi, who, according 

 to Strabo, founded the first kingdom of Bactria to the east (Strabo, Lib. XI. c. 14), 

 and whose name is also preserved in Fan-Tan, the Fan lake. Famir or Fan-mir 

 would then be a compound like Kash-mir, Aj-mir, Jessel-mir &c., signifying the lake 

 country of the Fani. See Rawlinson's Monograph on the Oxus, page 489, note. 



