so 



EASTERN GKomuniv, 



also less elevated, seldom rising above 5000 feet, and approaching at 

 some points close to the we*t, at others close to the east coast, that is, 

 to the Gulf of Siani, The average dlttance^feoani the Bay of Bengal 

 varies from 30 to 40 miles, with a coast line of about 500 miles, and 

 a llltel area cf nearly 47,000 square miles. 



The sea-board is even more diversified than that of Araknn, being 

 broken by the estuaries of tlie Sal win, Tenasserim t Tavoy, and sonu? 

 uthi-r euiiidderalde >tre:iiH-; t and thickly studded throughout its entire 

 length by the innumerable islands, rocks, and reefs of the Noscos 

 and Mergui Archipelagoes* These insular groups which skirt the 

 coast for over 300 miles, appear to be the ■scattered fragments of partly 

 submerged mountain ranges, running parallel with the inland range, 

 and, like it, consisting of conglomerates, porphyries, and granite*. 

 Th<- inland range it^'lt" iiiU't lie regard i-d :i- :l tinhlf-i-n uxti'ti-^^nt of 

 the Malayan mountain system, and alao aUmndH in tin, which is now 

 worked, by Chinese miners. Elsewhere strati lied sandstones, inter- 

 spersed with quartz veins, and containing crystals of great beauty, 

 i\r>< a predominant ^culo^iivil feature, repLevd in (he mirth by 

 eitensive tracts of rich al In vial soil, and in the lower hills by 

 lutiTite. Besides tin, other useful metals, such as lead, iron, copper, 

 and antimony occur in the metalliferous districts of Mergui and 

 Tavoy. Caai of an inferior quality has also been discovered in the 

 lower Tenasserim river basin. 



Although rising near the coast, the Tena?«crim rivora acquire a 

 considerable development by flowing, not directly tu the Bay of 

 Bengal, but in long valleys disposed mainly north and south parallel 

 with the backbone of the country. Thus the Atteran flows north t» 

 the Salwin estuary, ami the Tavoy winds smith for abuiit ISO mth>» 

 to its mouth opposite Tavoy Island in the Mergui group, while the 

 Tcnatiserim develops a total length of 300 miles during an erratic 

 ootme, first north-west |*arallcl with the Tavoy estuary, then south 

 to the town of Ten oast-rim, ami again north-west to its delta at 

 Mergui, opposite King Island. The Tenosseriiu is navigable for 

 about 100 miles, and the Tavoy estuary affords good anchorage for 

 shipping. 



Being exposed, like Arulcan, to the full fury of the south-westum 

 monsoons, Tenassertm has an extremely moist climate, with a rain- 

 fall seldom less than 120 inches in the year s an4 often exceeding that 

 amount, But notwithstanding this excessive moisture, the climate 

 is not Unhealthy on the hills, where the temperature ranges from 

 70" to DO" F. ; even on the plains the glass seldom rises higher than 

 98' or 100* F. 



