CONTENTS. VII 
A Geological and Physiographic Reconnaissance in Central 
Turkestan. p^^^ 
Itinerary 159 
Plan of report 160 
The Paleozoic series 160 
The Mesozoic-Tertiary series 163 
■ Comparison with American formations 166 
The Tertiary peneplain 167 
The Quaternary uplift 169 
Consequent drainage . . '. '. 169 
Long continuance of processes of deposition and uplift 170 
Physiographic provinces 171 
The Tian Shan Plateau 171 
The Kashgar Basin 175 
Subsidiary basins 176 
Loess 178 
The Alai Mountains 178 
The Alai Valley 179 
The Fergana Basin 181 
The Quaternary period 182 
Glaciation 182 
Distribution of glaciers and amount of erosion 182 
The subdivision of the glacial period in Asia 183 
An older and a younger glacial epoch 184 
Five glacial epochs 186 
Moraines of the Jukuchak Valley 186 
Moraines of the eastern Khoja Ishken Valley 187 
Moraines of the Mudirum Basin igo 
Moraines of the Yak Tash Basin 192 
Moraines of the Kan Su Valley 193 
Moraines of the Taka Valley 196 
Summary of the glacial period 199 
Comparison of the glaciation of Asia with that of America and Europe 200 
Terraces 201 
Lakes 208 
Sunnnary 214 
The Basin of Eastern Persia and Sistan. 
Introduction 219 
Route 220 
Literature 221 
Outline of report 222 
The physiography of Eastern Persia 225 
Climate : The cause of the desolation of Persia 227 
The basin region of Iran 230 
The tvvo basins of Iran 230 
Geological history of the basins 232 
Illustrations of the geological history of northeastern Persia 233 
The mountains of Khorasan 233 
Kopet Dagh 233 
The Meshed Basin 235 
The Kuchan earthquake 236 
The Binalud range and the ncigiiboring basins 237 
The Afghan depression 237 
The Heri Rud Valley 237 
The extinct lake of Zorabad 239 
The Afghan depression south of the Russo-Afghan boundary 240 
