1923%20Memoir%20on%20Maps%20of%20Chinese%20Turkistan%20by%20Stein%20s

7 6 SO'L'ES ON 1NI)IVIl)I~hL RTAI' SlIEIS'l'S [Chap. IV
NO'l'lfS ON SIIEET No. 17 (KllCIfAi)
TIle ~11rvevr. rorortlrd it1 this s11t~r.t wcro we Ilave the \\ride alluvial ran whiclr the
olade ill 1'30s ant1 191.5. 'l'ht. rt,lnpnrir- Muz-art ant1 Kuclli rivers Sorni at their
tively close net of ro~rtrr :rro~ultl Kuclli tlel~o~~cl~~~re and mllich is orc~lpicd 1)y the
datca maillly fronl lhc sl'rit~g oi' 111~ latter :reat oasis of Kuchil. That its cllltivatiorr
year \vlletl arcl~:t~ological intercrts krl~t. Itle at estet!tled n.itllin lristorical tinres m~tcll filrt,ller
,vorl; for sevt,ral weeks in tlrt. virir~ity of itltot~lrereed- :undscrltb-coveredbeltsturoundtirat,
great,, al~tl sitrce early 1in11'~ ilrr))orf.ant, ing it. 011 the east, solltlr and west, is clearly
oasis \\'llil~ R1ii11 ;\frhz-gnl assrstetl nle demollstrated by the numerous ruined sites
ill l'laile-table work here, 11. 13. L5l Sia~11 sllt)w11 OII the map (A-D.2).
sllrvcvetl tile eater slol)ra of tile 'l"ivn-sllarl In its aml~le irrigation resources, due to
uortll\vard. 'L'he routes sol~tl~\v:~rtIs lo two rivers issuing near to each ot,her from
Sllahyfir and beyond \\ere tnal)~lctl on the the footlrills, as also in various other aspects,
ocrnsioll of our joint crossin: of the Taltl:l- KIIC~I:~ forms a CII~~OIISI~ closcpetz(lavt to the
ttlaliin in Jnouary-l"ebr~~ary, 1908.
Kllotau oasis iu t,lrc soutlr. If desiccation
!?or the tow11 of KnchR tlrc astronorni- has trot left here qlrite so striking evicle~rre of
cal latitude agrrecl closely \vitli that of Mr. its 1)rogress it1 the shape of sand-bnried
Clementi. Its longit,ude nras detern~ined by ruins, wind-eroded 'Tatis', etc., the explanat:~king
the mean of the values intcrl)olated tion is easily furnished by the broad riverine
bet\veen the accepted posit,ions of Kasllgar belt of the llBritll which adjoins in the
and Korla and bet,\veen Korla atid Telrgri- soutl1.
kllnn, respert~ivcly. Tlris longitutle (82O 53' This secolrd zone wit,ll its jungle and
30") was follncl to agree very clost*ly with inundation tracis effectively protects the
that obtained by plotting the route from the irtigable area frorn etlcl.oaclrnlent by tile
side of Kerixa river vin Perer. ant1 Sllally%r drift-sands of the Taklama1;iln. Tlte latter
and was therefore accel)ted, l2 tl~u~cgll differ- forms the t,llird zone and stretches its duneing
some 15 min~ltes from that sho\vn in covered wastes away to the thin strir~g of
Air. Clenlenti's list. In addition to the oases lining tile extreme edge of the glacis
latitudes recorded below, those observed by of the K'on-Ion on the other side of the
Dr. Hedio along the Titrim river and by T;irin1 Basin. In the strip of Taklamakin
Mr. Clenlenti on the main road were used. groullcl slrown by the solltllern portion of the
A brief descriptive account of the routes sheet (A,B.3), the change in the direction
followed by me in 1908 is to be fo~~nd in of the high dune ridges or 'Dawnns' may be
Desert CrctAny, ii. PI). 875 sqq. Points specially noted. ll'llile in the north they
connected with tlre liistorical topography of run from east to west parallel to the Tirim,
the riverine t,ract between the bluz-art furtller south they bear approximately from
(Inchike; and Tsrim rivers have been dis- N.N.E. to S.S.W., corresponding to the
cussed in Srria~licr, iii. pp. 123G sq. A dirertion of the tct~tlrinal course of the Keriya
record of the observations collected in 1915 river where it dies away in the sands.
concerning tlle present and ancient topo- Correctiofis. B. 1. Cliffs should be
graphy of the Kuchi oasis and its vicinity shown above Dt~ldul-oknr close to the right
must be reserved for tlre report on my third bank of the Rluz-art It., tlre river gorge being
expedition.
practically impassable from belom Kizil-
The area represented in this sheet, apart mingoi down to the caves of Rfing-oi, above
from the portion of the subsidiary basin of KII~I-tnra.
Bai occupying its north-western corner, falls The name Sti-hiJi at the deboucliure of
into three distinct zones. In the north, at the tlre Kuclri river sl~oold be in red, being
foot of the outermost spurs of the T'ien-shen,
Astronovtical(y observer1 latil~~dta.
applied to the ruins on both banks.
1906-08. KuchB City, Camp 309 (near Ya-m&n ; B. 1) ...
1913-15. Ishtala, Camp 318 (hamlet near centre of cultivation; C. 1)
41° 4.2' 65"
41° 51' 18"
l2 The longitnde ndoptcd in our map has since La G;ographie, 1921, xaxv. pp. 494 ~qq. Itshosr tile
received gratifying oonfirmntion by Dr. Loois Vnil- longitnde of Kuchn, deterrnil~cd by three lnunroccol-
lant'a 'Note snr quelqnes points sstronorniqnes d6ter- tstions, as 82' 63',(i nncl its Intitode ns 41°42',6.
mines en Asie Centrnle (Nisaion Pelliot 1906.09)', in