1868.] Notes on the Pangong lake district of Ladalcli. 105 



Rubern, and was a level piece of green grass, with several good 

 streams of water flowing across it, for curious enough the higher 

 ravines of the country have plenty of water, but they are all absorbed 

 a few miles down in the sand and gravel of the broad water ways. 

 The valley was here high, broad, and nearly level, the mountains were 

 of no great elevation above it, not more than 3,000 feet ; the lower 

 slopes falling gradually from them into the valley, which was patched 

 with furze of stunted growth, and plenty of good grass. The morning 

 of the 7th broke clear, sunny, and bright, with a fresh breeze, we 

 started early and gradually ascended the valley to the pass in our 

 front, called the Dingo La (10,270 feet). On the top the ground was 

 nearly level, expanding into wide open ground to the north ; on the 

 left rose a hill about 1,000 feet, which I determined to ascend to 

 obtain a view over the hills and country around. Walking a short 

 distance up this, a small tarn was seen in the centre of the level 

 ground north of the pass, which had once evidently extended over 

 the greater part of its area. Scattered plants of rhubarb are here seen 

 but very tough and acid. The rocks were all of limestone formation, 

 with a strike nearly east and west. I found no fossilsj but it resem- 

 bled in appearance the palaeozoic rocks of Dras, &c. I obtained from 

 the peak a fine view, but could see no more of the eastern end of the 

 Pangong near Noh, on account of a dense haze in that direction. I 

 was much disappointed and could only fix a peak or two looming up 

 through the mist. My own camp and the Tartars had gone on, and 

 I quickly followed them down the valley. This was very characteristic 

 of these regions, spreading out into a broad gravelly plain, on the left 

 side of which was a sharply denned scarp showing its general level had 

 been uniform ; this plain forms the head of one of the branches of the Dal 

 Loomba. We parted with our Champa friends at a place called 

 Chuchan, where they encamped to graze their goats and sheep for a 

 few clays, while we proceeded on along the side of the hills of the 

 right bank rising gradually to a low pass called Sa Lam, and descending 

 on the other side to another broad tributary of the Dal Loomba, which 

 at this spot branched into three broad arms that penetrated into the 

 mountains on the north for some eight miles. The longest of these 

 valleys, had a direction north-west, and up this our road to the Chang 

 Chungmo ran ; no water was here to be found, and it was not until we 



