Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/69

Rh The district between Kiakhta and Urga may be generally described as hilly, but the elevations are not great, and most of the hills are round. The ranges have an easterly and westerly direction, and are totally devoid of lofty peaks and steep bluffs; the passes are, therefore, not high, and the ascents and descents are gradual.

Three of these ranges following the road to Urga are distinguished from the rest by their greater elevation: one on the north bank of the river Iro; a second, the Manhadai, in the centre; and third, the Mukhur, close to Urga. The only steep and lofty pass across these mountains is the Manhadai, which may be avoided by taking a more circuitous road to the east.

The district we are describing is plentifully watered; its chief rivers are the Iro and Kara-gol, flowing into the Orkhon, a tributary of the Selenga. The soil is mostly black earth or loam, well adapted for tillage; but agriculture has not yet been introduced into this region, and only a few acres, about 100 miles from Kiakhta, have been cultivated by Chinese settlers.

The hilly belt of country between Kiakhta and Urga is well wooded. But the trees, which chiefly grow on the northern slopes of the hills, are far inferior in size, shape, and variety to the Siberian timber. The prevailing kinds are fir, larch, and white birch, interspersed with a few cedars, ash, and black birch. The hill-sides are occasionally dotted with sparse clumps of wild peach and acacia, and the