GENERAL GEOGRAPHY. g 



in their upper valleys, it is because the Mekong ranges and the 

 western branch of the Yunnanese arc arc parallel also, but when 

 the Yunnanese ranges curve towards the south, the upper Yangtze 

 leaves its sister rivers, which continue in a southerly direction, 

 and accommodates itself with the folds of the Yunnanese ranges, 

 later it turns towards the north-east with their eastern branches." 

 (Da. p. 303). 



The ranges of central Yunnan thus form a compressed arc turned 

 towards the south. The Ta-liang-shan ranges which form the 

 independent Lolo country in Ssu-ch'uan occupy part of the con- 

 cavity of the arc. They themselves form the extremity of the 

 Yun-ling-shan system. 



The higher peaks of the central ranges are from 9,000 to 14,000 

 feet above the sea, but, as a rule, lower elevations are common. 

 the ranges are not so well accentuated as those further west and 

 the relative heights between the valleys and the crests are less. 

 Plains are of more frequent occurrence and on them many of the 

 cities are situated. The streams of the western portion drain into 

 the Mekong and the Red River, and the watershed between the 

 latter and the Yangtze is followed approximately by the main 

 route to the capital, Yunnan Fu. The tributaries of the Yangtze 

 flow north and have dissected deep gorges for themselves before 

 they enter it at elevations of between 2,500 and 4,000 feet. 



In eastern Yunnan, from the meridian of the lakes to the borders, 

 the eastern curve of the arc is found as a series of more or less regular 

 chains running north-north-east and south-south-west. These 

 ranges tend to become higher as they approach the Yangtze region. 

 Here heights of 8,000 to 11,000 feet are reached. About the lakes 

 G,000 to 8,000 feet ridges prevail, further south towards Tongking 

 they are lower still. The plains in the vicinity of the lakes have 

 an average elevation of 0,000 feet. 



In the extreme east of Yunnan, a series of lower ranges separated 

 by small plateaus, stretch out towards Kuei-chou and Kuang-hsi. 

 The greater part of the drainage eventually goes eastward into the 

 West River of Canton. 



In the south-eastern corner between the Nam Ti and the Clear 

 River, there are said to be no definite orographical directions, and 

 the surface is intensely eroded with a marked karstic effect. 



Characteristic of Yunnan are its fertile plains, small flat- 

 bottomed valleys lying snugly amongst the mountains. It has 



