THROUGH ASIA 
1 8o 
centre of Asia. And near its western margin the moun- 
tains tower up to an altitude of 4000 feet above the 
surface of the lake. Here there is an enormous field 
for the process of levelling-up to work in. But the 
soundings which I took in the lake proved that it is 
also operative there, for the bottom was covered with 
fine mud. 
The mountain-chains which encircle the depressions of 
Kara-kul and Rang-kul attain to relatively great heights, 
and the passes which cross them are seldom much lower 
than the crests. The pass of Kalta-davan, for instance, 
has the same absolute altitude as Mont Blanc, namely 
15,780 feet, the pass of Kizil-art is 14,015 feet; of Ak- 
baital 15,360 feet; and Chuggatai 15,500 feet. The lake 
of Rang-kul, which lies 12,240 feet above sea-level, marks 
the lowest point of the depression. The area which falls 
between the passes just named amounts to about 2100 
square miles, an area which is approximately equal to that 
of the basin of Is.syk-kul. 
The traveller who journeys from Fergana to East Turke- 
stan cannot help observing that the character of the 
country which stretches from Kizil-art on the north to 
Ak-baital on the south, and is bordered by the Chuggatai 
range on the east, is totally different from the tracts which 
immediately surround it. It is not a highland region ; but 
a high-level plain, bounded on the north and south by 
latitudinal chains, and on the east by a meridional chain. 
Surveying the region from the summit of the Kizil-art 
pass, I was struck by the low angle of inclination and the 
soft rounded forms of the mountain-slopes ; and noticed 
that the hills which diversified it were piled up, as it were, 
on the level ground, instead of striking off as sharply 
defined ranges in definite directions. The entire region 
bears witness to the enormous power of the forces of 
denudation exercised unceasingly over a vast period of 
time. Ddbris and fragments of rock, from the size of 
pebbles to the largest boulders, strew the ground in every 
direction. The lower flanks of the mountains are buried 
under detritus and mounds of disintegrated materials. On 
