Untitled

80
Fisr. 11. LAKE PALTI.
Scale 1 : 768,000.
EAST ASIA.
with the level of the lake, this outlet furrowed the rock to within 154 feet of its
present level, after which the outflow ceased, and the lake gradually diminished by
excess of evaporation over the inflow.
THE TSANGBO, OR BRAHMAPUTRA (?).
The pre-eminently Tibetan river the river which traverses the two central
provinces of Tsang and Wei is the Tsangbo (Tsanpu,
Tsambo, Zangbo, Sampo, or
Sambo) ; that is, " the Holy Stream," whose upper course is often called the Yaru-
Like the Indus and Ganges, it has been compared
Tsangbo, or " High Tsangbo."
to a mystic animal, several of its names meaning the " Peacock " or the " Horse "
River, for according to one legend
CofG. 90'50
it flows from the mouth of a war-horse. It rises
in the same low ridge as the
Satlaj,
and its chief head-
streams are the glacial rivulets
descending from the cirques
of the Himalayas. It receives
but slight contribution from
the Karakorum, from which
it is separated by the parallel
Khomorang range. After
assuming the proportions of
a river, it flows through a
gently inclined plain,
in which
its sluggish
waters become
navigable for barges near the
convent of Tadum, where the
pass
over the Mariam-la de-
scends to the valley. No other
river in the world is navigated
at this elevation of nearly
14,000
feet above the sea.
Lower down it is also navigable at several points by means of rafts covered with
li'uthcr, but elsewhere it is entirely obstructed by rapids and sand-banks. Its high
terraces and projecting bluffs have offered facilities for the construction of suspension
bridges, though these frail contrivances are little used by travellers, who prefer to
cross the stream in boats.
, 18 Miles.
During its course through Tibet the Tsangbo receives numerous tributaries on
its right bank from the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayas, on its left from the Gang-
dis-ri, and through some gaps in the border chain even from the upland regions
beyond that range. The Namling, one of these torrents from the north, rising in
the Khalamba-la near Lake Tengri-nor, traverses one of the most remarkable
thermal districts in Tibet. Here are two geysers, which eject at intervals columns
of sulphurous water to a height of 58 feet, and in winter the returning fluid forms