132 Notes on Central Asia. [No. 3, 



in the Celestial mountains, to which Humboldt in his works so often 

 alludes. I started on my journey firmly persuaded that I should find 

 the conjectured volcanoes, or at all events some volcanic forms, and I 

 sought diligently (as Schrenck did on lake Ala-kul) to establish the 

 correctness of Humboldt's surmises, with respect to the existence of 

 volcanic phenomena in Central Asia, by which confirmation I knew a 

 traveller would gain greater credit than by an incomplete refutation 

 of the hypothesis. I was even aware that Humboldt was rather 

 displeased with the researches of Schrenk who clearly showed that the 

 island of Aral- Tube on lake Ala-kul was not of volcanic origin. 

 The opinions entertained by Humboldt on the subject of the existence 

 of volcanoes in Djungaria were favourite ones with him, and I regret 

 that I was not able to confirm his cherished theory. Kullok peak, 

 another of Humboldt's mistaken volcanoes, was found to have no 

 volcanic origin whatever. The hot springs, and the non-congelation 

 of the waters of lake Issyk-Kul, were not accompanied by any 

 volcanic forms in the Tian-Shan, and furthermore all the native 

 accounts of phenomena which from their descriptions might be supposed 

 to be volcanic, proved unfounded, and were at once disposed of on my 

 examination of the localities where they were declared to occur. The 

 result therefore of my researches on this point was that I became 

 convinced of the complete absence of volcanoes, distinct volcanic 

 phenomena, or even volcanic forms throughout the Celestial mountains. 

 It is true that there existed in Djungaria at one period some 

 " Solfaters" or smoking cavities from which there was a discharge and 

 deposit of sulphur, and that some of these fissures, out of which the 

 Chinese obtain sulphur, emit smoke even at the present day. But a 

 careful inspection of one of the extinguished pits satisfied me, that at 

 all events in that case, there was no volcanic affinity. 



In the neighbourhood of the pits which I discovered in the Katu 

 mountains, and in the Hi valley, I could trace no volcanic forms, but 

 ironstone occurred, and owed its formation, as far as I could judge, to 

 the pyrites that were widely spread in the vicinity ; there was at the 

 same time a discharge of sulphur emitted in the form of vapour out of 

 numerous fissures and which left a deposit on the sides. It is to be 

 taken into consideration that I found a coal formation largely developed 

 throughout the Hi basin, and that coal is obtained by the Chinese in 



