NORTH-WEST MONGOLIA AND CHINESE D/.INd ARIA. 395 



■season, but in sunnner was shrivelled by heat. There were ovidcnces in 

 the torrent boJs of occasional cloud-bursts, but the whole country was 

 waterless and without sprino-s. 



Ascending the Kundelun River, a ^reat monntain mass was observed 

 ■rising to 13,000 feet with many glaciers and snowfields. This system, 

 which the expedition named the Knndelun monntaius, is probably the one 

 mentioned by Potanin, who visited its eastern side and called them the 

 Turgun mountains. At " Kunde Knreen," the seat of a Mongol prince, 

 altitude 5'JOO feet, the flora was of the plateau-desert type containing 

 Arenar/a capillaris var. nardi/olia and Stijia capillatn. At tJ300 feet Larch 

 forest commenced in sliady places accompanied by Aromtam sp. The forest 

 continued up to 7G00 feet on the shady side of the valleys only. At 7000 feet 

 the Alpine association began to creep in with (yeidiana jirostvata. At this 

 height good grazing-land was found in the bottoms of the valleys, and the 

 ilongol population grazed their flocks here during the latter part of the 

 summer. Between 7500 and 7GO0 feet there is an area of dry peat-beds 

 containing old tufts, upon which grass is now growing. Above this there 

 was an area of bog and swamp. There '\\-ere some indications that the 

 swamps once extended lower down the valley, and that the drier floral 

 association is extending over the area once covered by Alpine meadow. 

 At )^300 feet the expedition came upon the Kundelun glaciers, which descend 

 from the snowfield between 11,000 and 13,000 feet. There were some evi- 

 dences that these glaciers wei-e retreating, for several recently evacuated 

 moraines were to be seen, upon which vegetation of SjiluKjiuim, Allarclia 

 glahra, and Sedum qiiadfipduui were beginning to apjiear. In the little 

 glacial lakes Sjiliuifuuni and Rannacidiis natuns were ol)tained. Vegetation 

 -continued up to 11,000 feet, which can be taken as th<' line of the summer 

 snow. The specimens found at this altitude were AUardia glcdjra and 

 Sedum quadi'ijidnm. 



After leaving the Kundelun mountains the expedition visited the basin of 

 Lake Uriu Nor, and, crossing the Barmen mountains to the south, reached 

 the watershed of the Upper Kobdo River. Round Lake Uriu Nor (height 

 4500 feet) there was a peculiar type of flora, which was found right on the 

 •edge of the lake, growing in the marshes and stagnant pools. It was 

 -represented by A rtemisia Sieversiana, Xepeta hotr/jotdes, Anabasis hrevifolia, 

 and Ranunridiis Ciji/dxdaria. There was evidence that the lake had once 

 ■been at a higher level, for strands of gravel lay at from ten to thirty feet 

 above the present water-level. The lake had no outlet, and therefore 

 ■indicates in its water-level any variation in the climatic conditions of this 

 part of North-West Mongolia. 



On the Barmen mountains, 8200 feet, south of Lake Uriu Nor, Alpine 

 -meadows with Betida nana were discovered. Larch forest was seen in shady 

 places at aliout 7500 feet. This is also the height above which late summer 



