360 



ALTAIC SYSTEM. 



Himmaleh chain. Between the Altaic range and 

 Teen-shan are Zungaria and the basin of the Ele ; 

 between Teen-shan and Kwan-lun, Little or Upper 

 Bucharia, or Cashgar, Yarkand, Khoten, or Yu-thian, 

 the great desert, Toorfan, Khamil, and TangOut, or 

 the Northern Tangout of the Chinese, which must 

 not be confounded with Thibet or Sefan. Lastly, 

 between Kwan-lun and the Himmaleh are Eastern 

 and Western Thibet, in which are Lassa and Ladak. 

 Were the three elevated plains situated between the 

 Altai, Teen-shan, Kwan-lun, and the Himmaleh to 

 be indicated by the position of three alpine lakes, we 

 might select for this purpose those of Balkachi, Lop, 

 and Tengri, which correspond to the plains of Zun- 

 garia, Tangout, and Thibet. 



1. System of the Altai. — It surrounds the sources 

 of the Irtisch and Jenisei or Rem. To the east it 

 takes the name of Tangnou ; between the lakes Ros- 

 sogol and Baikal, that of the Sayanian Mountains ; be- 

 yond this it takes the name of Upper Kentai, and the 

 Davourian Mountains ; and, lastly, to the north-east 

 it connects itself with the Jablonnoikhrebet chain, 

 Khingkhan, and the Aldan mountains, which advance 

 along the Sea of Ochotzk. The mean latitude of its 

 prolongation from east to west is between 50° and 51° 

 30'. The Altaic range, properly so called, scarcely 

 occupies seven degrees of longitude ; but the north- 

 ern part of the mountains, surrounding the great 

 mass of elevated land in the interior of Asia, and oc- 

 cupying the space comprised between 48° and 51°, 

 is considered as belonging to this system, because 

 simple names are more easily retained by the mem- 

 ory, and because that of Altai is more known to 

 Europeans by its great metallic richness, which 

 amounts annually to 45,907 troy pounds of silver, and 

 1246 troy pounds of gold. The Altaic mountains are 

 not a chain forming the boundary of a country like 

 the Himmaleh, which limit the elevated plain of Thi- 

 bet, and have a rapid slope only on the side next to 



