Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/20

 8 ASIA thus includes every climate of the globe, and all varieties of soil and production. The coast is deeply indented on every side. On the west it is cut into by the Mediterranean and the Black sea ; on the north by numerous bays and gulfs of the Arctic ocean ; on the east by the Okhotsk sea, the sea of Japan, the Yel- low sea, and the gulf of Tonquin; on the south by the gulfs of Tonquin and Siam, the bay of Bengal, and -the Arabian sea, and its prolongation, the Persian gulf. Its entire coast line is somewhat more than 33,000 m. ; Eeclus puts it at 35,886 in. The great moun- tain ranges, which contain many of the lofti- est summits on the globe, are arranged in the form of knots, from, the central point of which ranges radiate in various directions. There are four grand systems, the Altai, the Hindoo Koosh, the Himalaya, and the Armenian, which divide the whole continent into a series of plains and plateaus of greater or less eleva- tion. The central point of the Altai group is in the geographical centre of the continent, about lat. 50 N., Ion. 90 E. Half way across the continent its median line runs E. and W. upon the parallel of 50 N., splitting into various folds. It sends a branch S. W., which unites with the Belur Tagh and the Hindoo Koosh ; and one N. E., which under the names of the Yablonnoi and Stanovoi runs to the Arctic ocean. The Altai range separates the great northern plain of Siberia from the steppes of Mongolia and Mantchooria. The centre of the Hindoo Koosh range lies in about lat. 35 N., Ion. 73 E. It branches eastward, under the names of the Kuen-lun and Karakorum, into Chinese Tartary, and westward to the 8. shore of the Caspian, where the range receives the name of Elburz and approaches the Arme- nian group. The Hindoo Koosh, with its pro- longations, separates the great desert of Gobi from China and Thibet, and divides the steppes of Turkistan from the plateau of Iran. The Himalaya, from the extreme western point, where the Indus cuts through it, to the eastern extremity, where the hills fail altogether on the right bank of the Brahmapootra, measures 2,000 m. in length, with an average breadth of 180 m. The western Himalaya, around the val- ley of Cashmere, has no peaks exceeding 16,000 or 18,000 ft. in height. In the middle of the range rise the stupendous peaks of Gaurisan- kar or Mt. Everest, 29,002 ft. above the level of the sea, Dhawalagiri, 26,826 ft., and Kinchin- junga, 28,156 ft. Aconcagua in Chili, now held to be the highest peak of the Andes, is 22,422 ft. ; its head is therefore a mile and a quarter below that of Mt. Everest. Northward, under the name of Belur Tagh, the Himalaya range is continued between Independent and Chinese Tartary, where it is joined by theThian- shan mountains, which stretch into the desert of Gobi and the upland plains of Mongolia, and here and there connect with the Altai system. The eastern extremity of the Hima- laya is connected with at least five chains, which radiate fanwise, traversing parts of China and Further India. The Armenian group, of which Ararat is the culminating point, lies in parallel folds at the head of the peninsula of Asia Minor, between the Caspian, the Black sea, and the Mediterranean. It con- nects N. with the Caucasus, a somewhat iso- lated chain between the Caspian and Black seas, and in the west forms the Taurus ; of its southern branches, the one, Libanus, follows the course of the Mediterranean ; the other, running southeastwardly, forms the eastern boundary of the Mesopotamian plain. Besides these main groups are many ranges which claim mention. Among these are the Chang-pe Shan, a coast chain of Mantchooria ; the Khingan Oola, on the E. border of the desert of Gobi ; the Pe- ling, Nan-ling, Yun-ling, and Yun-nan in Chi- na proper ; and the Vindhya and Eastern and Western Ghauts in Hindostan. In 8. W. Asia there is the chain of the Arabian penin- sula, joining on to Libanus. A notable chain branches off in the far northeast, near the arctic circle, traverses the coast of the penin- sula of Kamtchatka, and disappears under the ocean, its summits appearing in the Kurile, Japanese, and Loo Choo islands. It forms the ocean rampart of the continent, enclosing be- tween it and the mainland the seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Apart from the mountain ranges Asia may be considered as consisting of two vast upland plateaus and six great lowland plains. The eastern plateau is a tract nearly as large as the whole of Europe, including the table land of Thibet and the desert of Gobi, ex- tending N. to the Altai, and 8. E. to the gulf of Tonquin. It is separated from Hindostan by the Himalaya range, some of the passes through which are higher than the loftiest peaks of the Alps. Cultivation is here car- ried on as high as 10,000 ft., and pasturage is found 2,000 ft. higher. On the southeast this table land is bounded by the Yun-nan and other almost unknown alpine ranges of China. On the north it is separated by the Altai mountains from the great plain of Siberia. The western plateau, or Iranian table land, has a general elevation of about 5,000 ft., rising sometimes to 7,000, or sinking to 2,000 or 1,200. It may be divided into three parts : Iran proper or Persia, Armenia, with Azer- bijan and Kurdistan, and Asia Minor. Persia has a mean elevation of 3,000 ft. A large part of its surface consists of salt plains covered with sand and gravel. In the Armenian divis- ion, the table land is compressed to half its more eastern width. Asia Minor, the western division, is bounded along the shores of the Black sea by wooded mountains which rise to the height of 6,000 or 7,000 ft. These sections present many diversities of soil and scenery. A considerable part of Persia is barren and arid, but interspersed with beautiful valleys. The coasts of the Persian gulf are generally sandy and sterile. A large portion of Khora- san and the adjoining regions is a desert of