SKICTCH OF TIIK UKCION. 5 
to Issik Kill, where, after a month of joint work, they separated, Mr. Davis returning 
to America via Omsk and St. Petersbnro;, and Mr. Huntinj^ton going on to Kashgar. 
After Taslikent, I visited Marghilan and Andizhan, the end of tlie raihoad. 
Continuing our journey to Osh, at the entrance of the mountain region, we 
organized an expedition to the Pamir, with the courteous aid of its governor, Colonel 
Zaitza. The wa\- to the Pamir covered part of the route and two of the passes, the 
Terek and Taldik, in one of the great currents of ancient trade between China and 
western Asia, and it promised light on the physico-geographical part of our problem. 
After returning from the Pamir we visited tlie ruins of Ak-si, in the northern part of 
Khokand, beyond the vS\r Dar)a, and examined the mined sites of Samarkand, and 
of Paikent in Bokhara and a trenched tumulus at Anau near Askhabad. 
Throughout the journey, both by rail and in the side excursions, we had 
occasion to note the existence and position of a great number of former sites of 
occupation, both towns and tunuili. 
It had been my wish to examine Balkh, the site of ancient Bactra, and other 
ruins of northern Afghanistan, but this was found to be impossible on account of 
the hostile attitude of the Afghans toward even Russians. 
OUTLINE SKETCH OF THE REGION. 
A glance at a map of the Eurasian continent shows that the three seas, the 
Aral, Caspian, and Black, occupy parts of one great basin, bounded on the south 
and east by great mountains, and on the north by the Aral-Arctic divide. 
If the Bosporus were closed and there should exist a continued excess of 
rainfall o\-er evaporation, these seas would merge and the basin would fill till it 
overflowed into the Northern Ocean. The area of tliis Asian Mediterranean woidd 
be detennined by the height of the northern divide, which is as yet unknown. In 
any e\ent, it would be sufficient to submerge a large part of southern Russia and 
much of Russian Turkestiin. 
If, on the other hand, there should be a continued increase of excess of e\-apo- 
ration, the seas would dp*- up ; the whole basin would be transfonned into a \-ast 
desert, on the borders of which the retreating river mouths would be lost in the 
sands. Turkestan, once largely covered by water, is now in a .state approaching 
this condition of aridit\-. The greater basin is broken up into smaller, disconnected 
ones, of which only the Black Sea has an outlet. The Aral stands 159 feet above 
the ocean, the Black Sea practically at ocean level, the Caspian 84 feet below ocean 
le\el. The great \'olga and several small streams reach the Caspian ; east of the 
Caspian only two rivers, the Syr and AmuQaxartes andOxu.s), reach the Aral; and 
they gather water only at their sources in snow-clad mountains ; all other streams 
are consumed by direct evaporation and irrigation and have short courses, ending in 
desert sand. 
According to Schwartz, al)out three-quarters of all this va.st region is desert 
and one-quarter is capable of sujiporting the herds of the nomads. Water can be 
distributed on about 2 per cent of the entire area, on land free from drifted sands. 
