GEOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY 
i8i 
every hand, in fact, I saw convincing proofs of the destruc- 
tive power of frost and rain and snow. Hard bare rock 
was nowhere visible, except near the crests of the ranges, 
in places where the wind is able to work unchecked. 
The valleys of this high-level plain or plateau are broad 
and almost level. They rise at such a gradual inclination 
towards the outer ring of mountains that they often seem 
to be perfectly horizontal. Each of them is as a rule 
traversed by a little mountain-stream, which is fed partly 
A 'I'KANSITIONAL LANDSCAPE ON 'IHE PAMIRS 
One of our Camps 
by natural springs, partly by the melting snows, and which 
empties itself into one of the two lakes, Kara-kul oi 
Rang-kul. The scenery is frequently grand, but ahvays 
depressingly monotonous, more especially in winter. ^ In 
that season there is not a living creature to give anima 
tion to the desolate wilderness. A powerful field-glass 
will sometimes enable you to see a distant flock of ai ^ ran 
(wild sheep), or kiyick (goats). Of human beings or 
human dwellings there is not a glimpse. Pastures are 
few, and the grass scanty. In a word, the landscape, with 
