CLIMBING BELUKHA 216 



Lightning could not have caused such havoc, and 

 traces of ordinary denudation are quite absent. The 

 only explanation which seems probable is, that the 

 mountains, which resemble huge fins, have been 

 pushed up by pressure of the earth's crust, and then, 

 becoming top heavy, have split and crashed down on 

 either side. Glacial action would have polished the 

 base of the mountains very effectively, owing to the 

 softness of the rocks, but there are no signs of glacier 

 scratches higher than the course of the existing 

 glaciers. I feel quite sure, from my study of the 

 Katunskie-Belki, that it would not take a scientific 

 geologist long to prove conclusively that mountains 

 are formed by pressure. 



Of the great mountains in the world, the Himalayas 

 form the largest semi -circle. The ends of the ranges 

 point north, and the range bends like a bow to the 

 south. The Himalayas and the Caucasus form a 

 semi-circle, which stretches across a large portion 

 of our earth's surface. The ranges of the Altau and 

 Altai are branches of the Thian Shan, which joins 

 the Himalayas. The same semi-circular structure 

 is still more apparent in the Katunskie-Belki range. 

 In the Akkem valley, and by the side of the Akkem 

 glacier, there are four or five mountains of rock 

 similar in shape to the seracs of the Glacier de 

 G^ant. The Siberian mountains grow smaller and 

 smaller, until the great Siberian plains reach the 

 Arctic circle. If the earth's mountains are formed by 

 pressure this is as it should be. Mount Everest, 

 which is the highest, has been pushed up highest, 

 because the rock gave the greatest resistance, but 

 the east and west end of the great main range 

 project in a northerly direction. 



I throw out these suggestions in the hope that they 

 may encourage an expedition to the Altai Mountains 

 for the purpose of studying mountain formation and 



