Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/743

Rh UFA, a government of south-eastern Russia, on the western slope of the Urals, has Vyatka and Perm on the N., Orenburg on the E. and S., Samara and Kazan on the W., and comprises an area of 47,112 square miles. In virtue alike of its physical characters and of its population, which belongs chiefly to the Ural-Altaic stock, it forms an intermediate link between Europe and Asia, and it was only recently separated from the government of Orenburg, which is now limited to the eastern slopes of the Urals. Several craggy and densely wooded ridges, running from south-west to north-east parallel to the main chain of the southern Urals, occupy its eastern part. They are separated by broad and long longitudinal valleys, and rise to altitudes of from 2500 to 3500 feet above the sea; their highest peaks Iremel (5040 feet), Nurgush, Urenga, and Taganai (3950 feet) are above the limits of tree-vegetation, but in no case reach those of perpetual snow. The high longitudinal valleys of the Urals are the seat of an important mining industry. Southward Ufa extends over the slopes of the Obshchiy Syrt plateau, the angular space between the latter and the Urals being occupied by elevated plains (from 1000 to 1500 feet), deeply grooved by the river valleys and sometimes described as the "Ufa plateau." It slopes gently towards the depression of the Kama; and its undulating surface, especially its broad valleys (500 to 600 feet above the sea), covered as they are with a fertile soil, are being rapidly colonized by Russian settlers. Towards the Kama the fertility of the soil increases, and the black-earth regions of Menzelinsk and Birsk may be described as granaries for that part of Russia.

The geological structure of Ufa is very varied. The main ridge of the Urals consists of gneisses and various crystalline slates resting upon granites and syenites; next comes a broad strip of lime stones and sandstones, the fossil fauna of which is intermediate in its lowest parts between the Upper Silurian and the Lower Devonian. These form the highest ridges of Ufa. Farther west the Devonian deposits are followed by Lower and Upper Carboniferous and "Artinsk schists," which, together with Permian de posits, cover western Ufa. Quaternary deposits are extensively developed in all the valleys, most of which were occupied by lakes during the Lacustrine period. Ufa has not the mineral resources of Perm; only traces of gold have been found in its valleys, and silver ores are absent; but its wealth in iron (Devonian) and copper (Permian) seems likely to have great mining importance in the future. The district of Zlatoust is celebrated for its granite, epidote, nephrite, and a variety of decorative stones and minerals. Coal is spread over a wide area, but only in layers too thin to make working remunerative. Fire-clay, kaolin, and sandstone for making grindstones are obtained to some extent; naphtha, sulphur, and saltpetre have been observed in several places.

Ufa belongs almost entirely to the drainage area of the Byeiaya, a great tributary of the Kama, which rises in Orenburg, flows south and west till it pierces a mountain chain at Bugutchan, and then runs north and north-west, watering the high plains and receiving a number of important tributaries, among which the Sim, the Tanyp, and the Ufa are also navigable. The banks of the Byeiaya are thickly peopled, and it is an important channel for trade; but it sometimes reaches so low an ebb in summer that steamers cannot proceed beyond Birsk. The Kama flows for 120 miles along the western border of the government. Marshes lie along its course, so that its banks are but thinly inhabited. Forests cover nearly half the area, but the plains on the left of the Byeiaya are comparatively thinly wooded. The climate of Ufa is very continental. The average temperature at Ufa is 37 F., and the winter is extremely cold (Janu ary 5 5 F., July 68 F. ); at the Zlatoust observatory (1340 feet) the average temperature is only 32 2 (January 2; July 61 8). Even in the hilly tracts of Zlatoust the annual rainfall is only 19 inches. The rivers are frozen 158 days at Ufa, and 202 about Zlatoust.

The population of Ufa is now rapidly increasing (1,793,260 in 1882, as against 1,291,020 in 1865). Only one-third of the whole is Russian, the remainder being chiefly Bashkirs (50 per cent., including Mescheriaks and Tepters), Tartars (8 4 per cent), Tcheremisses, Tchuvashes, Mordvinians, and Votiaks. In the south the Bashkirs, Tartars, and other Ural-Altaians constitute two-thirds of the population. Among the Russians two distinct elements must be distinguished, some 100,000 peasants, who formerly were mining serfs, and now support themselves chiefly by work in or for the mines, and yearly 620,000 agriculturists, for the most part more recent immigrants. The latter carry on agriculture on an extensive scale, and export "large quantities of corn. The Bashkirs are chiefly cattle-breeders, but of late they have been driven more and more to tillage, owing to the appropriation by speculators of their extensive pasture-lands. Bee-keeping is largely carried on, and hunting is still an important source of income to the Bashkirs. In the north-east the trade in timber and the manufacture of various wooden wares are largely engaged in by the peasantry. The mining industry is advancing, notwithstanding many obstacles (see vol. xxi. p. 85); the iron-works of Zlatoust especially have a wide reputation. Flour-mills, distilleries, and tanneries come next in importance. The exports of corn, linseed, timber, wooden wares, metals, tallow, hides, and cattle are considerable, and trade is active, especially at the fairs of Menzelinsk, Ufa, and Zlatoust.

There are six administrative districts, the chief towns of which (with populations in 1884) are Ufa (25,660), Belebei (4200), Birsk (8000), Menzelinsk (6100), Sterlitamak (8940), and Zlatoust (18,990). The loading places Tchetny and Berozovka on the Kama, and several iron and copper works (Satkinsk, Yurezan, Katav-Ivanovsk, about 6000 inhabitants each) ought also to be mentioned.

 UFA, capital of the above government, is situated at the confluence of the Ufa with the Byetaya, on high crags intersected by ravines, which are covered with gardens and orchards. The better part of the town contains a few stone buildings connected with the administration, two cathedrals, and a few churches; the remainder is a scattered aggregation of small wooden houses. There are two class ical gymnasiums for boys and girls, a theological seminary, and several lower schools. The town has a few good hospitals. The manufactures are insignificant in Ufa itself, but there are several iron and copper works of importance within the district. Owing to the fertility of the neighbouring regions, and the position of the town at the junction of two important rivers, the Ufa merchants carry on a brisk export trade. The population has rapidly increased of late, reaching 25,660 in 1884.

Ufa was founded in 1574, when a fort was built on the Byeiaya, three other forts being erected about the same time at Birsk, Menzelinsk, and Berezovka, to connect Ufa with the Russian settlements on the Kama. The wooden kreml of Ufa, protected by wooden towers and an outer earthen wall, had to sustain the attacks of the revolted Bashkirs and Russian serfs in 1662 and at later dates; and in 1773 Tchika, one of the chiefs of the Pugatcheff revolt, besieged it for four months.

 UGANDA, a country of eastern Central Africa, to the north-west of the Victoria Nyanza. It has an area of about 34,000 square miles, extending from 1 N. lat. to the Kitangule river, and from 31 E. long, to the Nile. The country bordering the lake and to the north-west is mountainous, the mountains being arranged in low parallel chains. The hills, covered with splendid timber and abundant underwood, rise to a height of 400 feet above their valleys, through which sluggish streams flow to the lake. Farther north the country becomes a plain, and the eastern portion of Uganda, between Rubaga and the Nile, consists of undulating country, varied by deep narrow valleys. The geological formation of the country is volcanic or metamorphic; two or three feet of rich black alluvial soil form the upper strata, covering a bed of red sandy clay, often 30 feet thick. In some places porcelain earth is found, as well as large masses of mica. Ironstone is present in considerable quantities, but as yet no other metals have been discovered. The climate is mild, and the temperature remarkably uniform throughout the year; the thermometric range is from 50° to 90° F.; but the mean annual variation is only 20. The annual rainfall is 50 inches, the greatest amount of rain occurring in March, April, May, and Sep tember, October, and November, when rain falls nearly every day, thunderstorms being frequent.

The population of Uganda is about five millions. The men are tall and well-built, and have good features and dark chocolate-coloured skin, with woolly hair. The women in their youth are good-looking. The country is divided into three provinces Uddu in the south, Singo in the west, and Changwe in the east, to which must be added about 400 islands in the lake. The government of the country is feudal, the king being nominally supreme. Succession to the throne is hereditary, but the successor is usually a minor