Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/421

Rh S. by the strait to which it gives its name, and W. by the, and extends from about 34° to 42° 25′ N. ., and from 124° 35′ to 130° 50′ E. . The natives assert that it has a length of 3000 , or about 1000 , and a breadth of 1300 , or about 460 s; but this is undoubtedly an exaggeration, and the total area is probably a little more than 79,400 square s, or about 2½ times the size of.  The eastern coast trends south-west from the confines of n to the neighbourhood of the 39th parallel of, and then, changing its direction to the south-east, it forms an extensive, named Broughton Bay in honour of a of the 18th century. With this exception it presents no remarkable irregularity of line; but even such superficial surveys as have already been effected show that it affords a considerable number of s and s. Of these the most important are Lazaref, Pingai, and. The first, called Virginia Bay on the s, is situated in 39° 25′ N. ., has an area of about 36 square s, is well protected, and furnishes excellent  ground. The second in 36° 36′ is comparatively small, but completely sheltered by a conical. The third in 35° 2′ is large enough to shelter s of all sizes and even  below the rank of s. Throughout its whole extent this eastern shore presents mainly a succession of steep but not very lofty s, sinking at intervals into irregular s, or into stretches of almost level. The south and west coasts, on the other hand, are much more varied with and,  and ; and the  is occupied by a multitude of s and rocks. Of these s the largest is, with a length of 46 s and a breadth of about 20; but of greater importance to the is the  group, on account of the excellent  to which it partly owes its name.

s.—Corea is eminently a ous country, and the general appearance of the surface is compared by a to that of the  under a strong. The principal range winds through the from north to south. From the northern frontier, till it reaches 37° of north, it keeps pretty close to the eastern coast; but from that point it trends westward, and runs obliquely across the southern extremity of the country, leaving the contour of the coast to be defined by a subordinate range. Of individual summits the highest known to ans are Hien-fung and Tao-kwang in the Pepi Shan Mountains, to the north of Broughton Bay; and these attain no greater elevation than 8114 and 6310 respectively. Another of special mark, called Sedlovaya, or the, by the n , is situated in 38° 10′ 30″ N. . The country to the west of the main ridge is occupied by irregular spurs; and throughout its whole extent there is no district that can properly be described as a.

s.—Corea is well furnished with s and streams. In the north the boundary line is mainly marked by two of considerable size, the Ya-lu-kiang and the Mi-kiang. The former, known to the Chinese as the Aye-kiang, and to the Coreans as Am-no-kang, or the river of the Green Duck, receives numerous affluents in the early part of its course, flows first north-west and then south-west, and falls into the by three distinct mouths. Its most important tributary, the Tong-kia-ula, comes from the Shan-alin Mountains in, and forms its junction about 40° 50′ N. . The Mi-kiang, called by the Coreans Tu-man-kang, has a very much shorter course than the Ya-lu-kiang, but owing to the number of its tributaries, it attains no mean proportions before it reaches the in 42° 19′ 5″ N. . and 130° 38′ 51″ E. . At its mouth it is about half a  wide, and at Hung-chung 300 s, with a depth of about 20  in the middle. Its current is about 1½ an. Of the numerous streams that find their way to the none require special mention till we come to the Nak-tong-kang, which rises in the eastern slopes of the main chain, and after flowing almost directly south, reaches the Strait of Corea in 34° 50′ N. . Among those of the western coast three at least are of considerable magnitude the Keum-kang, the Hang-kang, on which, the capital of the , is situated, and the Tai-tang-kang, which flows past the city of.

and .—The of Corea, though much more equable than that of the, is higher in and lower in  than under the same s in. Such advantages as it actually has over the of Northern  are mainly due to the effects of the south-west. In the north the s remain frozen for several months in the year, and even in the furthest south the lies for a considerable period. In 35° the lowest reading of the  observed by the   was 5°.; in 37° or 38° they often found it 13° below zero. The principal articles of are, , , , , , , and ; and of these several afford a good return. The, which was recently introduced, is under a Government , and is only to be found in outlying districts; though its general use might do much to prevent the recurrence of the s with which the country is ever and anon visited. Almost all the s of central are to be obtained; but their quality is greatly deteriorated by the  of the. s and the fruit of the Diospyros Lotus (called kam by the natives) are mentioned as the best.

.—Corea has the reputation of being richly furnished with ;,, , , and are all said to be common. -, however, is strictly prohibited; the permission at one time granted to work the  at Sioun-heng-fu was shortly afterwards withdrawn; the   are neglected, and ese  imported; and the general use of  is confined to certain districts.

.—Of the wild the most remarkable are a small of, the, and the wild ; and of the  the principal are ,  but considerable strength, , and s. The last are a favourite article of. The alone has the right of rearing  and s, which are kept for the purpose of being d in religious ceremonials.

 Divisions and s.—The of Corea is divided into eight s, of which three, Ham-kieng, Kang-wen, and Kieng-sang lie along the eastern side of the, while the others, Pieng-an, Hoang-hai, Kieng-kei, Tsiong-tsieng, and Tsien-la face the. Ham-kieng and Pieng-an are the two that border on. The former contains fourteen walled towns, among which may be mentioned Ham-heng, the provincial capital, Kieng-wen, and Mou-san; and the latter, with its centre at Pieng-iang, possesses an equal number. The chief town of Kang-wen is Wen-tsiou, situated in the heart of the country to the east of the River Hang-kang; that of Kieng-sang is Tai-kou, near a tributary of the Nak-tong-kang; of Hoang-hai, Hai-tsiou on the western coast. Han-iang,, or Seyool, the chief of Kieng-kei, is also the capital of the  and the permanent residence of the ; it is situated on the Hang-kang, and surrounded with high and thick s, 9975 s in circuit. The chief s of the two remaining provinces are respectively Kong-tsiou near the River Keum-kang, and Tien-tsiou, at 