110 Major W. E. Gowan— On the ''Pamir." [AuCx., 



small basin of the Kara-kul lake, 13,000 ft, above tbe level of the sea, 

 and shut in on all sides by snowy ranges. On the south the Pamir is 

 bounded by the Hindu- Kush between the Nuksan and Barogil passes, 

 and by the Himalayas between the latter pass and the Mustag range. 

 The western confines of the Pamir are still undefined, as this region 

 has not been explored by Europeans. Reconnaissances of the Pamir 

 undertaken in 1876 shewed that on the east it is locked in by a huge 

 snowy range, which reaches heights of at least 24,000 ft. 



There are no exact data for the determination of the area of the 

 Pamir. Yule believes the length of this plateau from south to north 

 to be 180 miles, and Kortenko gives the same approximate figures. 



There are said to be several lakes on the Pamir : but we have no 

 trustworthy information of all, and the existence of some is open to 

 doubt. Regarding lake Kara-Kul or Pamir Khargoshi the most recent 

 information was collected in 1876. From the mouth of the Kizil-Art 

 gorge on the Alai to the Uz-bal pass the distance is 91 miles, and thence 

 to the Tuzuk pass 80 miles. From the latter to the lake of the Great 

 Pamir (Wood's Sari-Kul) only 67 miles. 



The latest information regarding the lake of the Great Pamir has 

 been supplied by Forsyth's Expedition. It is about 10 miles long and 

 3 broad. Its height is 14,200 ft. Its water was found to be perfectly 

 sweet. The valley in which this lake lies has a width of about 4 miles. 

 The mountains to the north rise to a height of 3000 ft. above the level of 

 the sea, but those to the south exceed them by at least 2000 ft. The 

 same lake, Trotter assures us, is known locally by two names : the more 

 common being Kul-i Pamir- Kalyan, i. e., the Lake of the Great Pamir, 

 and the other Airan-Kul. The name of Sar-i-kul which Wood applies 

 to it is in all probability corrupted; Sar-i-kul signifies the head or 

 beginning of a lake. Other particulars are given by Gordon, another 

 member of Forsyth's Embassy. 



The lake on the Lesser Pamir is called Gaz-kul. Gordon says, " It 

 is about 3 miles long and a little less than a mile broad. Its height is 

 13,000 ft., and the hills on both sides rise some 2000 ft. higher, those to 

 the south being completely covered with deep snow." 



" The Alichor Pamir runs east and west, parallel to the Great and 

 Little Pamirs. According to Wakhi accounts, it is similar in character to 

 them, broad at the eastern and narrow at the western end. It is con- 

 nected with the Great Pamir by the Dasht-i-Khargoshi, a desert which 

 extends across from about 20 miles below the Great Pamir lake. 



The Amu-Daria is formed of two principal rivers, the northern 

 the Surkhab, and the southern the Pianja. The northern tributary, 

 under the name Kizil-Su, takes its rise in 39° 42' north latitude 



