A Geologic and Physiographic Reconnaissance in 
Central Turkestan. 
Bv Ellsworth Huntington, 
Carnegie Research Assistant. 
ITINERARY. 
The following pages present the results of a journey in Central Asia, among 
the mountains of Russian and Chinese Turkestan, during August and September, 
1903, under the auspices of the Camegie Institution of Washington. The i)uq)ose 
of tlie journey was specifically the detennination of the later geological history 
of the region, and especialh- of the changes in the physical conditions of the country 
with respect to their influence on early lunnau history. In the absence of any gen- 
eral knowledge of the physiography of the region it seemed advisable to undertake 
a reconnaissance in which the more obvious problems were examined, while those 
that required prolonged work in one place were deliberatelv set aside for future 
study. In pursuance of this plan, two months were spent in following the route 
shown on the accompanying sketch map (fig. 120), traveling slowl)- on horseback 
at the rate of scarceh- 25 miles a day, and rareh- staging in one locality over two 
nights. From the town of Przhevalsk, fonnerly known as Kara Kul, at the 
eastern end of Issik Kul or Lake Issik, the road led (July 27) southwestward over 
the lofty Tian Shan plateau to Chadir Kul (August 6), thence southward, still 
among the mountains, to Shor Kul (August 15), and again southwestward across 
the border of the interior basin to Kashgar, the capital of Chinese Turkestan 
(August 21). The return journey led westward across the mountain spur between 
the Tian Shan and Alai ranges, via the Terek pass, 12,700 feet high, to Osli, in the 
Fergana basin of Russian Turkestan (September 5) ; then southwestward to 
Karategin in tlie Alai Mountains (September 18) ; and finally northward again, to 
Marghilan and the railroad (September 25). Although ten passes were crossed at 
a height of over 12,000 feet, the road on the whole was not one of great difl[icult\-, 
and troublesome snow or ice was encountered in only three places. The district 
traversed measured about 350 miles from east to west, and 225 from north to south. 
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