312 The American Geologist. May. 1901. 
Neither is there any sign of glaciation along- the border of the 
MongoHan plateau, where the general elevation, is 5,000 ft. but 
the whole region is covered with loess. This has usually ac- 
ciimulated like immense snow-drifts on the southeastern, or lee 
side of the mountains, and in it houses and villages are exca- 
vated. In the mountainous region, strata of gravel and pebbles 
are so frequent in the loess that it is necessary to invoke both 
wind and water in order to explain fully the origin of the de- 
posit. At the present time the loess in the interior is being 
washed away by the streams much faster than it is being de- 
posited by fhe wind. The journey across Manchuria from 
Port Arthur along the Loo-Ho and Sungari rivers was through 
valleys choked with alluvium, and there was no evidence that 
the drainage of the Amur had ever been reversed by ice, like 
that of the St. Lawrence ; nor was there any other evidence 
of glaciation. The lower course of the Amur indicates sub- 
sidence. Again, there are no signs of glaciation on the Vitim 
plateau. 
"Lake Baikal appears to be of recent origin ; it is 4,500 feet 
deep, and has not been filled by the great quantities of sedi- 
ment brought down by the Selenga and other rivers. Although 
glaciers could frequently be seen on the mountains which 
border the Central Asiatic plateau on the northwest, there was 
no evidence that the glaciers had ever deployed on the plain. 
The loess region of Turkestan, and indeed the whole area from 
the sea of Aral to the Black sea, appears to have been recently 
elevated, in some places as much as 3,000 feet. Desiccation 
took place at the same time, so that the larger lakes are only 
brackish or still fresh. Direct evidence of this in the form of 
deposits is given. The author thinks it likely that the absence 
of glaciation in northern Asia may have been due to the rain- 
lessness of the region, and that, while America was elevated, 
Asia was depressed during the Glacial epoch." 
In connection with the discussion of this paper. Prof. 
Wright disclaimed any intention to imply an eolian origin for 
the loess of the Mississippi valley, but attributed its deposition 
there to annual river floods, mostly of short duration, followed 
generally during a greater part of each year by aerial ex- 
posure of the flood plain, permitting it to be occupied by veg- 
•etation and land shells. w. v. 
