Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/448

TIBET 386 TIBET in which the Indus and Sanpo take their rise. It is a country of pastures with a few cultivated tracts. In it is the Lake Manasarowar, surface 15,000 feet high, a sheet of water sacred alike to Tibetans and Hindus. (4) West Nari, or Little Tibet, consisting of Ladakh and Balti, now dependencies of Kashmir (Indian empire). (5) Yu-tsang, composed of the provinces of Yu and Tsang. It includes the valley of the Sanpo between the meridians of 87° and 92°, the most pop- ulous and important part of Tibet. The Sanpo becomes navigable at Janglache — elevation 13,600 feet. Yu-tsang is trav- ersed by a well-frequented road from E. to W. The capital of Yu is Lhassa; that of Tsang, Shigatze. (6) Kham, the province drained by the upper courses of the great rivers of China, and Indo- China, which run in deep valleys, making it difficult to cross the country. Two great roads traverse Kham, connecting Lhassa with Darchiendo (Ta-chien-lu), emporium of Chinese trade with Tibet. Climate and Agriculture. — Tibet lies in the latitudes of Delhi, Cairo, Algiers, and Naples, but its inland position and elevation give it a cold, dry, and ex- treme climate. On the table-lands at an elevation of 14,000 feet the thermometer in May sinks to 7° F. below zero, and over the whole country an arctic winter prevails for five or six months. Owing to the dryness of the air, it loses its con- ductivity, and the inhabitants, dressed in sheepskins, give out long electric sparks on approaching conducting substances. Flesh exposed to the air does not putre- fy, but dries and can be reduced to powder. There is a very short but_ ex- cessively hot summer, more especially in the valleys of the Indus and Sanpo, where the high temperature is more op- pressive to Europeans than that of the Indian plains. The N. and W. table- lands are without trees. They abound in steppes, in which pasture herds of wild animals — yaks, horses, asses, goats, antelopes, etc. The pastures of the S. POTALA PALACE AT LHASSA, TIBET The shortest and official road passes through Litang (13,400 feet and Batang (8,150 feet) on the Yangtze river, and Chiamdo, the capital of Kham, on the Mekhong, and over lofty passes into Lhassa. The commercial road crosses the rivers higher up where the watercourses are less difficult and there is an abundance of pasture. Near Darchiendo the country seems to be independent alike of China and Tibet, and farther W. is Darge, a dis- trict described as rich and flourishing. Chiamdo and others parts of Kham are under the direct rule of China. table-lands supply food to the flocks and herds of a large nomad population. Agri- culture is confined chiefly to the valleys of the Indus and Sanpo, the grain chiefly grown being barley; the kitchen herbs and fruits of Europe are also cultivated. Irrigation and terrace cultivation are necessary to secure even scanty crops. Minerals. — The mineral products of Tibet are of high value, and include gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, mercury, co- balt, borax, salt, sulphur, etc., but few mines are yet developed.