1868.] Notes on the Pangong lake district of Ladakh. 91 



my survey work from this position, it came on to rain hard, which 

 we sat out on the top ; the shower passed off up the lake, and it had 

 a fine effect on the view in that direction, with the lines of falling 

 rain over the expanse of water, and the misty mountains bounding 

 its sides. The state of the plain which, when dry, is covered with 

 a hard incrustation of lime and a salt, that crackles under the feet, 

 had now by the wet been turned into a sticky loam that adhered to 

 the boots in huge lumps, and remained like a cement upon every 

 thing it came in contact with. One and a half miles beyond IWffu 



XT v 1 OS^ 



JNuggu low spurs abut upon the lake in cliffs of 150 to 200 feet 

 high, and the way leads along the narrow shore at their foot, with 

 very deep water washing the bank. Passing one large bay we round- 

 ed a low narrow point of beach only to find the existence of another 

 bay, called Phursook : this forms the boundary between the Kashmir 

 Rajah's territory and the Chinese district of Rudokh. Phursook 

 formed a circular sheltered little lake in itself, a narrow strait only 

 connects it with the water outside. It was evidently of great depth 

 in places where the hills came down in cliffs upon it, a narrow beach 

 ran along the foot of these formed of talus cemented by lime. The 

 bay formed a perfect harbour, in which a line of battle-ship might 

 have floated, and sailed in and out of. . Were this lake in a less ele- 

 vated region, or on a line of trade, how useful would the water com- 

 munication prove up and clown the extent of its two long portions. 

 The first or lower lake is 40 miles in length ; the second 33, giving 

 a total of 73 miles, exclusive of the upper long portion beyond Tso 

 Nyak, whieh is quite 18 miles. 



I shall not detail each day's march, winding in and out of the bays 

 of this long length of water, but will attempt to give a general de- 

 scription of it, connected with which are several points, both curious 

 and interesting. 



The first that must strike any one of observation is the evidence 

 of this lake having been formerly fresh for its entire length. Myriads 

 of dead fresh-water shells now strew the shore : these, thrown up by 

 the waves in a long white ridge, lie so thick in some of the bays they 

 can be taken up in handsfull. They are principally of Lymncea and 

 Planorbis ; but though I searched diligently, I never found a large 

 bivalve, only one very tiny Pisidium that I found inside one of the 



