324 RESEARCH IN CHINA. 
be noted here and there in atlas sheet a 2, in the contours of gently sloping 
spurs and higher ridges, above 6,000 feet, 1,200 meters. We shall see 
that the Ts’in-ling stage is recognizable throughout most of the moun- 
tainous region southward, to and beyond the Yang-tzi-kiang. 
Summits of the Ts’in-ling-shan.—The pass of Wé6n-kung-miau in the 
main divide of the Ts’in-ling-shan is a broad gap in massive granite at an 
elevation of 7,640 feet, 2,328 meters. It is not so low as some other gaps 
and is not particularly easy to reach from the north on account of the 
canyon above Siau-wang-kién, but it leads to the P’u-ho by a convenient 
and direct route down a tributary valley. The wide summit of the range 
at the pass slopes gently south to a flattish basin a mile long, which was 
swampy at the time of spring thaws. It is aggraded and around its margin 
protrude residual boulders, over which the rivulets discharge in little 
cascades. Under appropriate conditions its form might be due to ice or 
wind scour. There being absolutely no evidence of glaciation in far more 
favorable locations than this, the accumulation of ice is improbable; on 
the other hand, in the absence of vegetation due to aridity, wind would 
be entirely competent to sweep out residual soil and saplite, leaving boulders 
among and over which sediment and humus would accumulate after a 
return of humid conditions. 
From the height of the pass at W6n-kung-miau and from other com- 
manding points we are able to look abroad over the summits of the Ts’in- 
ling-shan in all directions. Unlike many other passes in mountains which 
have been deeply dissected, this one is as high as the general level of the 
principal ranges, and we see that level in looking north, east, south, and 
west. Itis represented in the nearer view and tothe north by cols among 
the pyramidal heights, and in the more distant view, both north and 
south, by long descending ridges. Some 30 miles to the southwest lies the 
Ta-pai-shan, the snowy range which has attracted the attention of many 
travelers. Its altitude is from 11,000 to 12,250 feet, 3,350 to 3,735 meters, 
and the forms of its individual peaks are broadly pyramidal. No traces 
of cirques, which might be significant of glaciation, are to be seen, even 
in its highest valleys. It presents topographic forms essentially identical 
with those of the 9,600-foot, 2,925-meter mountain between Lung-t’an-ssi 
and Mu-tzi-p’ing, which may be seen in Fig. A, Plate XL. 
Although in general upland form the northern and southern slopes of 
the T's’in-ling-shan are similar, yet there are marked contrasts in other 
respects. North of the divide the forests have been cleared and but partly 
replaced by an undergrowth of shrubs and small deciduous trees. South 
of the divide the original coniferous forest clothes the summits and slopes, 
and as, late in April, we descended into the valley of the P’u-ho, we left the 
