CHAPTEK XYI. 



THE TANGANYIKA BASIN. 



fXN the summit of the Kariba chain I posted 

 " sentinels, and we rested for half an hour in 

 the forest before descending. The altitude by 

 boiling-point thermometer was 7,896 feet, but I 

 judged that the actually lowest point of the ridge 

 at this point (a little south of us) was only 7,700 

 feet. 



This was the source of a tiny burn, and it was 

 strange to think that some of its water might find 

 its way through the Victoria Nyanza and past 

 Khartoum and Cairo to the Mediterranean ! 



Many peaks of the chain, both north and south, 

 were much higher, and some may have reached 

 8,500 feet. On a few of the higher ones I noticed 

 bamboos, which were certainly growing at a some- 

 what lower level than they do at Ruwenzori, where 

 I do not think they occur below 8,700 feet ; this 

 is to be expected, as the latitude is fully 3 

 degrees south. I was not surprised, therefore, to 

 find characteristic high-level plants, such as a 



270 



