Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/798

MONGOLIA. a few hiindrod feet above the general level of the country, and marked here and there with pro- jecting crags and shattered peaks apparently of volcanic origin. Toward the west and southwest are parts over-hlown with loose sands, which fill the bottoms of the smaller valleys, or form fantastic, ever-changing ridges and hillocks, pre- senting a weird and dreary asiiect, and travers- al)le only by camels. Elsewhere, however, espe- cially toward the llurku Hills in the west, and in the northeastern section, are found many wide grassy plains, with patches of scrub and furze, and clumps of parched llowers, merging in the north into the rich pasture land and fairly wooded hill country south and east of the Kenlei con- tinuations of the Vabloiiiii Mountains of Si- beria. (2) A still more elevated plateau from .3000 to 5000 feet above the level of the sea. lying to the northwest of this so-called desert plateau, and bounded toward Sungaria and Si- beria by the Altai and the Sayan Moiuitain^s. This is the region .sometimes called Outer M<m- golia. It is a mountainous country, clad with forests and intersected with numerous streams. The chief mountains are the Tannu. the Tais- khir. the Kara-Adsirga. the ArzyBodgo. the Khangai. and the Chamur. with a general north- west to southeast trend. (1)) The fertile, uiulu- lating. and well-wooded region usually called Eastern or Inner Mongolia, lying to the south and southeast of the Gobi, and intersected by the greater Khingan Mountains and their southwest- ern continuations. It lies along the Manchurian provinces of Kirin and Shing-king. and stretches westward along the (ireat Wall as far as Kwei- hwa-ciring.

Hydroobapiiy. With the exception of the southwest parts of the (iohi Plateau, the country is fairly well watered, and even in those regions uumerou.s rills are encountered, which, however, speedily lose themselves in the sand. Water, however, nujy be found almost everywhere by digging a few feet. I'nfortunately. these regions are so frequently wind-swept that the water holes are soon covered over or hidden by the fine dust with which the winds are laden. The drainage of the country is partly to the north, into Lake Baikal by the Kder. the Orkhon. and other trib- utaries of the .Selcngha, and partly to the north- east and east by the Onon. through the Shilka. and by the Kerulen. thiough the Dalai-nor and the Argun into the Anuir. The extreme eastern part of Mongolia drains partly into the Amur through the Nonni and the Sungari of Man- churia, an<l partly to the sea by the Sliira-niuren, which finds its way into the fiulf of I"e-cbi-li by the Lino. There are several lakes in Kobdo and Uliassutai, some of them brackish, from which some thousands of tons of salt are obtained. The largest is Kosogol (5200 feet above sea-level), near the Russian frontier. On the extreme east, partly in Manchuria, is the Dalai-nor. and there are many lakes of less extent in Southeast Mon- golia.

Okology and Minerals. The country seems to he huilt up of granites, gneisses, and crystal- line schists of .rehiran age. and there are indi- cations of its being rich in minerals. In the Sayan >rountains immense beds and boulders of nephrite have lieen found, and in thi' Kitoi .Mps, near Lake Baikal, are great deposits of serpen- tine and graphite. Silver ores and graphite have also been found on the Mongolian side, and coal, apparently of .lurassic age, has been found in the Tannu Mountains and the Yenisei basin, as well as near Kukuhoto ( Kwei-liwa-eh'ingI, near the great bend of the Yellow Kiver. In the lower or central plateau red and brown con- glomerates, sandstones, and clays are conunon, and both crystalline and mountain limestone abound in the Khingan range.

Soil, Climate, anli Vegetation. Except in the vicinit.v of the lakes and rivers, along the rich alluvial borderlands of the Khingan range, and the loess deposits north of Shansi and Chih- li, the soil is poor and little agriculture is pos- sible. In Southeast Mongolia, where the average summer temperature is 77° F., indigo, cotton, opium, and rice are produced, as well as the usual cereals, while in Central Mongolia only small quantities of wheat, oats, buckwheat, and millet are grown. In the northwest agriculture is attempted only in the vicinity of the lakes and along the lower courses of the rivers. Win- ter lasts for from six to eight months, and in December the mercury falls in some jdaces to 30° F. helow zero. The air is dry; cold northwest winds prevail; northeast winds bring moisture, south and southeast winds dry heat. At Urga. the capital, in latitude 48° 20' X., longitude 107° 30' K.. 000 miles north-northwest of Kalgan. the annual rainfall is only !)',».. inches, and the mean summer temperature Cii" F., and at lliassutai, in the northwest. 5400 feet above sea-level, the .July temperature is (!(i° F. The snowfall is never great.

Fai'NA. The fauna resembles that of Siberia, and is not extensive. It is richest in fur-bearing animals, as hares, fo.xes. sables, and squirrels, and there are deer, marmots, black bears, Kyang or mountain goats, ounces, and wolves. The wolves never run in packs, seldom attack men. and are far from brave. Droves of wild camels, ponies, asses, and mules are found, and their voung arc sometimes captured. Among game birds is the partridge. Exce])t in the settled regions near China, cats and chickens are seldom seen. Xo encampment is complete, however, without a pack of barking, currish dogs. The canud is two- humped, but (Iocs not possess the water cells of the camels of the .Vrabian desert.

. Mongolia has no manufactures. The chief industry is the rearing of Hocks and herds, and the breeding of horses. In the north- west, and to a less extent elsewhere, hunting is engaged in, and furs, skins, deers' horns, etc., form important articles of trade. Felt and cer- tain kinds of woiden goods arc produced, and two kinds of silk are woven in the rich agricul- tural districts occupied by the Cliincsc anil the sedentary Mongols (i.e. the region lielween the desert and the Great Wall), whose trade is with North China. Trade centres chiefly in I'rga, Kobdo. ITiassutai. and Maimaichin. opposite the Russian town of Kiakhta (S40 miles north-north- west of Kalgan (q.v.). also an important trade centre), and Kuku-koto. or Kwei-hwa-eh'ing. x walled Chinese town near the great bend of the Yellow River, and an important point of departure for the trade with East Turkestan and Hi. Other cities are .Tehol (qv.) ; Lama-miao. l.iO miles northeast of Peking; Pa-K'ow. fiO miles east by south of .Tehol; Chi-fung-hien. 1.50 miles northeast of .Ichol : and Hada. situated in latitude 42° 10' X. and longitude 119° E. Trade is carried on mostly by