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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: THE-TOO |
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THYSSAGETAE , an ancient tribe described by Herodotus (iv. 22, 123) as occupying a district to the north-east of Scythia
TIAN-SHAN, or CELESTIAL
General Orographical Description.The Tian-shan consists almost everywhere of " sheaves " of parallel ranges, having their strike predominantly east and west, with deflexions to the W.S.W., west of Khan-tengri and to the E.S.E., east of 92 E., thus describing as it were a wide flattened arc open to the south. The principal constituent ranges are accompanied by another set of ranges which break away from the main axes in a westerly or even in a north-westerly direction. In the east, where the system is narrowest, the predominant feature, at least as far west as 87 E., the longitude of the Bagrash-kul, is the Pe-shan swelling, with its flanking ranges, the Chol-tagh on the north and the Kuruk-tagh on the south. North of the Chol-tagh and west of Barkul and the depression of Otun-koza (alt. 2390 ft.) the principal constituent ranges are the Bogdo-ola, continued west and north-west in the Iren-khabirga, the Talki Mountains and the Boro-khoro, flanking in succession the great depression of Dzungaria
valley of Ferghana against the Aralo-Caspian desert. The other arm of the bifurcation, situated farther south, and beginning at the Terek-tau, is double; it consists of the Alai and Trans-Alai ranges, continued westwards in the Karateghin, Zarafshan, Hissar and Turkestan ranges, though orographically the Trans-Alai ought probably to be described as the border- ridge
Khan-tengri and the Central Tian-shan.The peak of Khan-tengri, which according to Max Friedrichsen's observations is not so high as had generally been supposed, being 22,800 ft. instead of 24,000 ft., stands, not on the main watershed of the central Tian-shan, but on a spur which projects from the watershed towards the south-west. The loftiest summit on the actual watershed, according to G. Merzbacher, is a peak to which he has given the name of Nicholas Mikhailovich; its altitude he puts at 20,670 ft. But the general altitude of the crest of the watershed he estimates at about 16,500 ft., and it is overtopped by peaks (e.g. Dr von Almasy's peak Edward VII.) rising 3000-3500 ft. higher. Closely connected with the Khan-tengri knot are the Khalyk-tau on the east, and on the west three diverging lines of elevation
From Issyk-kul there is a sharp
ridge
elevation
sharp
Eastern and Northern Tian-shan.The mutual relations and exact orographical connexions of several of the ranges east and north of the Khan-tengri group are not yet elucidated. The region east of the Barkul-Hami route was in part explored in the closing years of the 19th century, by P. K. Kozlov, V. A. Obruchev, the brothers G. E. and M. E. Grshimailo, V. I. Roborovsky and Sven Hedin. The system is known there locally as the Barkul Mountains and the r Ellsworth Huntington, in Geog. Journ. (1905), pp. 28 seq. Karlyk-tagh.'which stretch from W.N.W. to E.S.E. Its middle parts are snow-clad, the snow lying down to 12,000 ft. on the north side, while the peaks reach altitudes of 14,000-15,000 ft.; but so far as is known the range is not crossed by any pass except in the east, where there are passes at 960o ft. and 10,600 ft. (Belu-daban). Towards the east, the Karlyk-tagh radiates outwards, at the same time decreasing in altitude, though it rises again in the rocky Emirtagh. From the Karlyk-tagh a stony desert slopes south to the Chol-tagh. The Chol-tagh marks the northern escarpment, as the Kuruk-tagh, farther south, marks the southern escarpment, of the great Pe-shan swelling of the desert of Gobi. These two ranges (described under GOBI) are apparently eastern prolongations, the former of the Khaidyk-tagh or Khaidu-tagh, and the latter of the Kok-teke Mountains, which enclose on north and south respectively the Yulduz valley and the Lake of Bagrash-kul. Thus the Kuruktagh are linked, by the Kok-teke, on to the Khalyk-tau of the Khantengri group. The Khaidyk-tau, which are crossed by the passes of Tash-againyn (7610 ft.) and Kotyl (9900 ft.), are not improbably connected orographically with the Trans-Ili Ala-tau, or its twin parallel range, the Kunghei Ala-tau, in the west, in that they are an eastern prolongation of the latter. The Narat-tau appear to form a diagonal (E.N.E. to W.S.W.) link between the Khaidyktau and the Khalyk-tau and are crossed by passes which V. I. Roborovsky estimates at 10,800 ft. (Sary-tyur) and 11,800 ft. (Mukhurdai). The Jambi pass in this same range lies at an altitude of 11,415 ft. and the Dundeh-keldeh pass at 11,710 ft. At the west end of the Barkul range is the gap of Otunkoza (2390 ft.), by which the Hami-Barkul caravan road crosses into the valley of Dzungaria
On its northern side the valley of Borotala is skirted by the important orographic system of the Dzungarian Ala-tau, the northern-most member of the Tian-shan. Its constituent ranges run from E.N.E. to W.S.W., though some of them have a W.N.W. and E.S.E. strike. The two principal series of parallel ranges possess no common names, but are made up as follows: The northern series (going from east to west) of the Baskan-tau, Sarkan-tau, Karazryk-tau, Bionyntau, and Koranyn-tau, running at an average elevation of ii,000-13,000 ft., and the southern series of the Urtak-saryk, Bejin-tau and Kok-su (Semenov's Labazy chain), at altitudes of 12,000-14,000 ft. Western and Southern Tian-shan.On the north side of the Issykkul, and separated from the Terskei Ala-tau by that lake, are the twin ranges of the Trans-Ili Ala-tau and Kunghei Ala-tau, parallel to one another and also to the lake and to the Terskei Ala-tau. The two chains are connected by the lofty transverse ridge of Almaty, Almata or Almatinka. The more northerly range, the Trans-Ili Ala-tau, swings away to the north-west, and is continued in the echeloned ranges of Kandyk-tau, Kulja-bashi, Khan-tau and the Chu-Ili Mountains, the general altitudes of which lie between 4000 ft. and 9000 ft. These latter ranges separate the Muyunkum desert on the west from the Balkash deserts on the east. The Trans-Ili itself culminates in Mt Talgar at an altitude of 14,990 ft. The Kunghei Ala-tau rises nearly 8000 ft. above the Issyk-kul and lifts its summits higher than 13,000 ft. The passes across the twin i It may however eventually turn out that these ranges, together with the Mechin-ola, farther to the north-east and intimately connected with the Karlyk-tau, belong to the Altai system.ranges lie at 8000-1 i,000 ft. (Almaty pass) in the Trans-Ili Ala-tau and at 900o-10,885 ft. (Kurmenty pass) in the Kunghei Ala-tau. This last is continued without a break past the western end of Issyk-kul, being directly prolonged by the Alexander Mountains, although parted from them by the gorge of Buam or Born, through which the Issyk-kul probably once drained. On neither of these ranges are there any true glaciers. The Alexander Mountains terminate over against the town of Aulie-ata (71 20' E.) at the relatively low altitude of 2460 ft., though farther east they rise to 13,000-14,000 ft., and even reach 15,350 ft. in Mt Semenov. On the north their declivities are steep and rugged. They are crossed by passes at 6550-11, 825ft. (Shamsi). From the middle of the Alexander range, in about i4 E., a chain known as the Talas-tau breaks away from its south flank in a W.S.W. direction, and from near the western extremity of this latter two parallel ranges, the Chotkal or Chatkal (14,000 ft.), and the Ala-tau, break away in a south-westerly direction, and running parallel to one another and to the river Naryn, or upper Syr-darya, terminate at right angles to the middle Syr-darya, after it has made its sweeping turn to the north-west. The Talas-tau, some-times known as the Urtak-tau, while the name of Ala-tau is also extended to cover it, has an average elevation of 14,000-15,000 ft., but lifts its snow-capped summits to 15,750 ft.; it is crossed by passes at 8000-10,650 ft. From near the west end of the Alexander range, in about 71 E., the Kara-tau stretches some 270 M. to the north-west, between the Syr-darya and the Chu. It belongs to the later series of transverse upheavals, and consists almost entirely of sedimentary rocks. It is not clear, however, whether orographically it is connected with the Alexander range or with the Talas-tau. Its average elevation is 5000 ft., but in places it reaches up to 7000-8000 ft. In the same north-westerly to south-easterly direction and belonging to the same series of later transverse upheavals are the Ferghana Mountains, which shut in the plain of Ferghana on the north-east, thus running athwart the radiating ranges of the central Tian-span. The Ferghana Mountains, which are cleft by the Naryn (upper Syr-darya) river, have a mean altitude of io,000 ft., but attain elevations of 12,740 ft. (Suyuk) and are crossed by the Terek pass (distinct from the Terek pass in the Terek Mountains) at an altitude of 9140 ft. On the south the Ferghana valley is fenced in by the lofty range of the Alai, backed by the parallel range of the Trans-Alai. Both ranges abut at their eastern or E.N.E. extremity upon the Pamir plateau, and both extend in their respective continuations a long way out into the desert. The Alai is a well-defined ridge with steep slopes, and both it and the Terek-tau, which prolongs it towards the Kokshal-tau, are flanked next the Ferghana valley by what appear to be the old uplifted strata both of the old Palaeozoic series of metamorphic limestones and of the newer Tertiary series of softer conglomerates and sandstones. The general altitude of both ranges is 16,000-19,000 ft., but the Trans-Alai culminates in peak Kaufmann (23,000 ft.). The Trans-Alai is a true border range, the ascent to it from the Pamir plateau (13,000 ft.) on the south-east being gentle and relatively short, while both it and the Alai tower up steeply to a height of 11,000-14,000 ft. above the valley of the Alai. This valley, which runs up at its eastern end to the Muz-tagh-tau, is about 75 M. long and is continued towards the south-west by the valley of Karateghin. Its breadth varies from 3 to 12 M. and its altitude decreases from 10,500 ft. in the north-east to 8200 ft. in the south-west. It is drained by the Kyzyl-su, which, under the name of Vakhish, finally enters the Amu-darya. The Alai valley is in ill repute because of the enormous masses of snow which fall in it in the winter. Despite that it is an important highway of communication between Bokhara and the Pamirs on the one hand and Kashgar and Ferghana on the other. The principal passes over it into the valley of Ferghana are Taldyk, 11,605 ft.; Jiptyk, 13,605 ft.; Saryk-mogal, 14,110 ft.; Tenghiz-bai, 12,630 ft.; and Kara-kasyk, 14,305 ft. The first-named has been made practicable for artillery and wheeled carriages. The Pamir plateau is reached by means of the Kyzyl-art pass at an altitude of 14,015 ft. The Alai Mountains are continued westwards in the radiating ranges of the Karateghin Mountains, Zarafshan Mountains, the Hissar Mountains and the Turkestan range, which reach altitudes of 18,500-22,000 ft., though peak Baba in the Zarafshan range reaches nearly 20,000 ft. The Trans-Alai are continued in the Peter the Great range, which culminates in the Sandal group at close upon 25,000 ft. (see further BOI HARA). The passes across these ranges are as a rule difficult and lie at altitudes of some 10,000-13,000 ft. The last outlying range of the Tian-shan system in this direction is the Nura-tau, which, like the Kara-tau farther north, belongs to the more recent series of upheavals having a W.N.W to E.S.E. axis. It rises abruptly from the desert and lifts its snowy peaks to altitudes of 15,000-i6,000 ft., separating the river Syr-darya from the river Zarafshan. The passes over it lie at altitudes of 10,000-13.000 ft.Glaciation.In the central and western parts of the Tian-shan there exist numerous indications of former glaciation on an extensive scale, e.g. in the Sary-jas, the Terskei Ala-tau, Khan-tengri, Alai, Trans-Alai, Terek range, Trans-Ili Ala-tau, Kunghei Ala-tau, Kokshal-tau, Dzungarian Ala-tau, Alexander Mountains and Talas-tau. Indeed, the evidences, so far as they have been examined, appear to warrant the conclusion that the region of the western Tian-shan, from Lake Issyk-kul southwards, was in great part the scene of probably five successive glacial periods, each being less severe than the period which immediately preceded it. At the present day four or five large glaciers stream down the shoulders and embed them-selves in the hollow flanks of Khan-tengrithe Semenov at altitudes of 12,410-11,100 ft., the Mushketov at 11,910-10,920 ft., the Inylchik at 11,320-10,890 ft., and the Kaindy at Io,810-Io,o4o ft. The Inylchik glacier is computed to have a length of about 45 M. Glaciers occur also on Manas mount to the south of the town of Aulie-ata. In the Alai region there are other extensive glaciers, e.g. the Fedchenko and Shurovsky glaciers south of peak Kauffmann. Generally speaking, the snow-line runs at 11,500-12,800 ft. above sea-level, and all ranges the peaks of which shoot up above 12,000 ft. are snow-clad, and all ranges which are snow-clad rise to higher altitudes than 11,500 ft. A feature generally characteristic of the Tian-shan as a whole is that the absolute elevation of the ranges increases gradually from north to south, and from the centre decreases towards both the east and the west. At the same time the relative altitudes, or the heights of the mountain ranges above the valleys which flank them, decrease from north to south. For instance, in the Dzungarian Ala-tau, the valleys going south lie successively at altitudes of 4300 ft. in the Borotala, at 5600 ft. in the Urtaksaryk and at 682o beside the Zairam-nor. Again, while the Ili (Kulja) valley lies at 1300 ft., the Issyk-kul has an altitude of 5300 ft., the Koshkar basin, in which the river Chu has its source, reaches 6070 ft., the Son-kul valley 9430 ft., the Ak-sai valley, farther east, 10,000 to 11,150 ft., and the Chatyr-kul on the north side of the Terek Mountains 11,200 ft. In the elevated regions of this part of the system, between the Kokshal-tau and the Pamir plateau, the snow-line runs at a higher level than is usual elsewhere, namely at 12,500 ft. and even at 13,00013,800 ft. on the Kokiya Mountains. Climatic Conditions.As a rule on all the Tian-shan ranges the ascent from the north is steep and from the south relatively gentle. But the deep lateral indentations (e.g. Kulja) provide a more or less easy access up to the loftier tablelands and plateaus of the interior. Broadly speaking, the climate on the north and west of the main ranges is both milder and moister than on the south and east, and accordingly the precipitation in the former is relatively heavier, namely to to 20 in. annually. It used to be supposed that the Tian-shan confronted the basin of the Tarim with a steep, wall
1575-4300 ft. are the zone of cultivation, 4300-8100 ft. the zone of coniferous trees, 8100-9500 ft. alpine pastures, 9500-11,900 ft., the higher alpine regions, and above the last limit is the region of perpetual snow. The south versant, on the other hand, is barren and desolate below the ro,000 ft. limit and above that it is dotted with scanty patches of grass and bush
Routes.The traditional routes between China on the one side and West Turkestan and Persia on the other have from time immemorial crossed the Tian-shan system at some half a dozen points. After traversing the desert of Gobi from Sa-chou to Hami, the great northern route crossed over into the Dzungarian valley either by the Otun-koza depression or by the gap at Urumchi, or else it proceeded over the Muz-art pass on the east side of Khan-tengri or over the Bedel pass in the Kokshal-tau and so down into the valley of Kulja. The shortest route, though not the easiest, between Kashgar and East Turkestan in the east and Ferghana and West Turkestan in the west is over the Terek pass or the pass at the head of the Alai valley, a dangerous route in winter by reason of the vast quantity of snow which usually accumulates there. ' G. Merzbacher, The Central Tian-shan Mountains, pp. 139-140 (London, 1905)." Erforschung des Thianschangebirgssystems, 1867," in Petermanns Mitteilungen, Erganzungshefte 42 and 43 (1875); I. V. Mushketov, " Short Report of a Geological Journey in Turkestan " (in Russian), in Zapiski of Russ. Geog. Soc., 2nd series, vol. xx. (St Petersburg
Petersburg
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