52 Tableau of High Asia. [No. 1, 



For the Alps. — The two volumes " Untersuchungen iiber die physi- 

 ealische Geographie und die Geologie der Alpen," published by 

 my brothers Adolp'he and Hermann. 



I. Geographical Configurations. 



1. Plateaux. 



Plateaus, in consequence of their being more or less intersected by 

 deep and broad valleys, or from being covered with ridges, are so 

 variable in their form, that the use of the name, in many instances, 

 appears to be somewhat arbitrary. I prefer not to extend the meaning 

 of the name too far, and in so doing diverge from the practice of 

 earlier travellers, who commonly applied the term to every mountain- 

 ous region of great general elevations — as the natives of the Himalaya 

 have a tendency to do — irrespective of its form. 



In the Himalaya, which is composed in almost every direction of 

 lofty and irregular ridges, and intersected by numerous valleys of 

 inconsiderable width, no plateau of any extent has been discovered as 

 yet, nor is it at all probable that one exists. 



Western Tibet was for a long time supposed to be little else than a 

 country of plateaux — an erroneous impression emanating from the first 

 observers, though Humboldt had early pointed out the error of this 

 belief,* as well as later travellers (the Stracheys, Cunningham, and 

 Thomson). Plateaux certainly do occur in Tibet ; they are, however, 

 much less numerous and considerably smaller than I had been led to 

 expect. In Balti, the plateau Deosai is 14,200 ft. high. 



Between the Karakorum and Kunliin, especially near the western 

 crest of the former, several well-defined plateaux of extraordinary height 

 occur. Some of the highest are called : Dapsang (17,500 ft.), Bullu 

 (16,883 ft.), Aksae Chin (16,620 ft.), and Vohab (16,419 ft ) In 

 summer, no snow covers these plateaux, but also no vegetation : in the 

 far distance there are some isolated, lofty, snowy peaks, besides which 

 the eye discerns nothing but barren rocks, and extensive sterile plains, 

 all well watered by streams, to which the glaciers covering the flanks 

 of the peaks afford an ample and lasting supply. If water was want- 

 ing to these plateaux, they would be a complete desert, as uninhabita- 

 ble to man as to any animal. 



* Ansichten der Natur. Vol. I., p. 104. 



