{
    "system": "GoGuides Verified Text",
    "api_version": "verified-text-v1",
    "status": "ok",
    "response_type": "verified_text_record",
    "source_key": "britannica_1911",
    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
    "license_code": "public_domain",
    "attribution": null,
    "license_url": null,
    "chunk_id": "1911:geography:867948ffbda3",
    "title": "GEOGRAPHY",
    "section": null,
    "hash_alg": "sha256",
    "hash_sha256": "4e6b5d73e3477aae89bac20e2c78c19757d56b51df3d2823b67a937219defedb",
    "normalizer": {
        "name": "ggnorm",
        "version": "1.0"
    },
    "verified_text": "boundaries. the northern boundary of asia is formed by the arctic ocean; the coast-line falls between 70 deg. and 75 deg. n., and so lies within the arctic circle, having its extreme northern point in cape sivero-vostochnyi (i.e. north-east) or chelyuskin, in 78 deg. n. on the south the coast-line is far more irregular, the arabian sea, the bay of bengal, and the china sea reaching about to the northern tropic at the mouths of the indus, of the ganges and of the canton river; while the great peninsulas of arabia, hindostan and cambodia descend to about 10 deg. n., and the malay peninsula extends within a degree and a half of the equator. on the west the extreme point of asia is found on the shore of the mediterranean, at cape baba, in 26 deg. e., nor far from the dardanelles. thence the boundary passes in the one direction through the mediterranean, and down the red sea to the southern point of arabia, at the strait of bab-el-mandeb, in 45 deg. e.; and in the other through the black sea, and along the range of caucasus, following approximately 40 deg. n. to the caspian, whence it turns to the north on a line not far from the 60th meridian, along the ural mountains, and meets the arctic ocean nearly opposite the island of novaya zemlya. the most easterly point of asia is east cape (vostochnyi, i.e. east, or dezhnev), in 190 deg. e., at the entrance of bering strait. the boundary between this point and the extremity of the malay peninsula follows the coast of the northern pacific and the china sea, on a line deeply broken by the projection of the peninsulas of kamchatka and korea, and the recession of the sea of okhotsk, the yellow sea, and the gulfs of tongking and siam. islands. on the east and south-east of asia are several important groups of islands, the more southern of which link this continent to australia, and to the islands of the pacific. the kurile islands, the japanese group, luchu, formosa and the philippines, may be regarded as unquestionable outliers of asia. between the islands of the malay archipelago from sumatra to new guinea, and the neighbouring asiatic continent, no definite relations appear ever to have existed, and no distinctly marked boundary for asia has been established by the old geographers in this quarter. modern science, however, has indicated a line of physical separation along the channel between borneo and celebes, called the straits of macassar, which follows approximately 120 deg. e., to the west of which the flora and fauna are essentially asiatic in their type, while to the south and east the australian element begins to be distinctly marked, soon to become predominant. to this boundary has been given the name of wallace's line, after the eminent naturalist, a.r. wallace, who first indicated its existence. form of continent. owing to the great extent of asia, it is not easy to obtain a correct conception of the actual form of its outline from ordinary maps, the distortions which accompany projections of large spherical areas on a flat surface being necessarily great and misleading. turning, therefore, to a globe, asia, viewed as a whole, will be seen to have the form of a great isosceles spherical triangle, having its north-eastern apex at east cape (vostochnyi), in bering strait; its two equal sides, in length about a quadrant of the sphere, or 6500 m., extending on the west to the southern point of arabia, and on the east to the extremity of the malay peninsula; and the base between these points occupying about 60 deg. of a great circle, or 4500 m., and being deeply indented by the arabian sea and the bay of bengal on either side of the indian peninsula. a great circle, drawn through east cape and the southern point of arabia, passes nearly along the coast-line of the arctic ocean, over the ural mountains, through the western part of the caspian, and nearly along the boundary between persia and asiatic turkey. asia minor and the north-western half of arabia lie outside such a great circle, which otherwise indicates, with fair accuracy, the north-western boundary of asia. in like manner a great circle drawn through east cape and the extremity of the malay peninsula, passes nearly over the coasts of manchuria, china and cochin-china, and departs comparatively little from the eastern boundary. general physiography. asia is divided laterally along the parallel of 40 deg. north by a depression which, beginning on the east of the desert of gobi, extends westwards through mongolia to chinese turkestan. to the west of kashgar the central depression is limited by the meridional range of sarikol and the great elevation of the pamir, of which the sarikol is the eastern face. the level of this depression (once a vast inland sea) between the mountains which enclose the sources of the hwang-ho and the sarikol range probably never exceeds 2000 ft. above sea, and modern researches tend to prove that in the central portions of the gobi (about lop nor) it may be actually below sea-level. a vast proportion of the continent north of this central line is but a few hundred feet in altitude. shelving gradually upward from the low flats of siberia the general continental level rises to a great central water-parting, or divide, which stretches from the black sea through the elburz and the hindu kush to the tian-shan mountains in the pamir region, and hence to bering strait on the extreme north-east. this great divide is not always marked by well-defined ranges facing steeply either to the north or south. there are considerable spaces where the strike, or axis, of the main ranges is transverse to the water-parting, which is then represented by intermediate highlands forming lacustrine regions with an indefinite watershed. only a part of this great continental divide (including such ranges as the hindu kush, tian-shan, altai or khangai) rises to any great height, a considerable portion of it being below 5000 ft. in altitude. south of the divide the level at once drops to the central depression of gobi, which forms a vast interior, almost waterless space, where the local drainage is lost in deserts or swamps. south of this enclosed depression is another great hydrographic barrier which parts it from the low plains of the amur, of china, siam and india, bordered by the shallows of the yellow sea and the shoals which enclose the islands of japan and formosa, all of them once an integral part of the continent. this second barrier is one of the most mighty upheavals in the world, by reason both of its extent and its altitude. starting from the amur river and reaching along the eastern margin of the gobi desert towards the sources of the hwang-ho, it merges into the altyn-tagh and the kuen-lun, forming the northern face of the vast tibetan highlands which are bounded on the south by the himalaya. the pamir highlands between the base of the tian-shan mountains and the eastern buttresses of the hindu kush unite these two great divides, enclosing the gobi depression on the west; and they would again be united on the east but for the transverse valley of the amur, which parts the khingan mountains from the yablonoi system to the east of lake baikal. if we consider the whole continent to be divided into three sections, viz. a northern section with an average altitude of less than 5000 ft. above sea, where all the main rivers flow northward to the mediterranean, the arctic sea, or the caspian; a central section of depression, where the drainage is lost in swamps or _hamuns_, and of which the average level probably does not exceed 2000 ft. above sea; and a southern section divided between highly elevated table-lands from 15,000 to 16,000 ft. in altitude, and lowlands of the arabian, indian, siamese and chinese peninsulas, with an ocean outlet for its drainage; we find that there is only one direct connexion between northern and southern sections which involves no mountain passes, and no formidable barrier of altitudes. that one is afforded by the narrow valley of the hari rud to the west of herat. from the caspian to karachi it is possible to pass without encountering any orographic obstacle greater than the divide which separates the valley of the hari rud from the helmund _hamun_ basin, which may be represented by an altitude of about 4000 ft. above sea-level. this fact possesses great significance in connexion with the development of asiatic railways. hydrography. if we examine the hydrographic basins of the three divisions of asia thus indicated we find that the northern division, including the drainage falling into the arctic sea, the aralo-caspian depression, or the mediterranean, embraces an area of about 6,394,500 sq. m., as follows:-- sq. m. area of arctic river basins 4,367,000 \" aralo-caspian basin 1,759,000 \" mediterranean 268,500 --------- total 6,394,500 the southern division is nearly equal in extent-- sq. m. pacific drainage 3,641,000 indian ocean 2,873,000 --------- total 6,514,000 the interior or inland basins, including the lacustrine regions south of the arctic watershed, the gobi depression, tibetan plateau, the iranian (or perso-afghan) uplands, the syro-arabian inland basin, and that of asia minor, amount to 3,141,500 sq. m. or about half the extent of the other two. by far the largest asiatic river basin is that of the ob, which exceeds 1,000,000 sq. m. in extent. on the east and south the amur embraces no less than 776,000 sq. m., the yang-tsze-kiang including 685,000, the ganges 409,500, and the indus 370,000 sq. m.[1] the lakes of asia are innumerable, and vary in size from an inland sea (such as lakes baikal and balkash) to a highland loch, or the indefinitely extended swamps of persia. many of them are at high elevations (lake victoria, 13,400 ft., being probably the most elevated), and are undoubted vestiges of an ancient period of glaciation. such lakes, as a rule, show indications of a gradual decrease in size. others are relics of an earlier geological period, when land areas recently upheaved from the sea were spread at low levels with alternate inundations of salt and fresh water. of these lop nor and the helmund _hamuns_ are typical. such lakes (in common with all the plateau _hamuns_ of south-west baluchistan and persia) change their form and extent from season to season, and many of them are impregnated with saline deposits from the underlying strata. the _kavirs_, or salt depressions, of the persian desert are more frequently widespread deposits of mud and salt than water-covered areas. political divisions. although for the purposes of geographical nomenclature, boundaries formed by a coast-line--that is, by depressions of the earth's solid crust _below_ the ocean level--are most easily recognized and are of special convenience; and although such boundaries, from following lines on which the continuity of the land is interrupted, often necessarily indicate important differences in the conditions of adjoining countries, and of their political and physical relations, yet variations of the elevation of the surface _above_ the sea-level frequently produce effects not less marked. the changes of temperature and climate caused by difference of elevation are quite comparable in their magnitude and effect on all organized creatures with those due to differences of latitude; and the relative position of the high and low lands on the earth's surface, by modifying the direction of the winds, the fall of rain, and other atmospheric phenomena, produce effects in no sense less important than those due to the relative distribution of the land and sea. hence the study of the mountain ranges of a continent is, for a proper apprehension of its physical conditions and characteristics, as essential as the examination of its extent and position in relation to the equator and poles, and the configuration of its coasts. himalayan boundary. from such causes the physical conditions of a large part of asia, and the history of its population, have been very greatly influenced by the occurrence of the mass of mountain above described, which includes the himalaya and the whole elevated area having true physical connexion with that range, and occupies an area about 2000 m. in length and varying from 100 to 500 m. in width, between 65 deg. and 100 deg. east and between 28 deg. and 35 deg. north. these mountains, which include the highest peaks in the world, rise, along their entire length, far above the line of perpetual snow, and few of the passes across the main ridges are at a less altitude than 15,000 or 16,000 ft. above the sea. peaks of 20,000 ft. abound along the whole chain, and the points that exceed that elevation are numerous. a mountain range such as this, attaining altitudes at which vegetable life ceases, and the support of animal life is extremely difficult, constitutes an almost impassable barrier against the spread of all forms of living creatures. the mountain mass, moreover, is not less important in causing a complete separation between the atmospheric conditions on its opposite flanks, by reason of the extent to which it penetrates that stratum of the atmosphere which is in contact with the earth's surface and is effective in determining climate. the highest summits create serious obstructions to the movements of nearly three-fourths of the mass of the air resting on this part of the earth, and of nearly the whole of the moisture it contains; the average height of the entire chain is such as to make it an almost absolute barrier to one-half of the air and three-fourths of the moisture; while the lower ranges also produce important atmospheric effects, one-fourth of the air and one-half of the watery vapour it carries with it lying below 9000 ft. this great mass of mountain, constituting as it does a complete natural line of division across a large part of the continent, will form a convenient basis from which to work, in proceeding, as will now be done, to give a general view of the principal countries contained in asia. tibet. the summit of the great mountain mass is occupied by tibet, a country known by its inhabitants under the name of _bod_ or _bodyul_. tibet is a rugged table-land, narrow as compared with its length, broken up by a succession of mountain ranges, which follow as a rule the direction of the length of the table-land, and commonly rise into the regions of perpetual snow; between the flanks of these lie valleys, closely hemmed in, usually narrow, having a very moderate inclination, but at intervals opening out into wide plains, and occupied either by rivers, or frequently by lakes from which there is no outflow and the waters of which are salt. the eastern termination of tibet is in the line of snowy mountains which flanks china on the west, between the 27th and 35th parallels of latitude, and about 103 deg. east. on the west the table-land is prolonged beyond the political limits of tibet, though with much the same physical features, to about 70 deg. east, beyond which it terminates; and the ranges which are covered with perpetual snow as far west as samarkand, thence rapidly diminish in height, and terminate in low hills north of bokhara. the mean elevation of tibet may be taken as 15,000 ft. above the sea. the broad mountainous slope by which it is connected with the lower levels of hindostan contains the ranges known as the himalaya; the name kuen-lun is generally applied to the northern slope that descends to the central plains of the gobi, though these mountains are not locally known under those names, kuen-lun being apparently a chinese designation. the extreme rigour of the climate of tibet, which combines great cold with great drought, makes the country essentially very poor, and the chief portion of it little better than desert. the vegetation is everywhere most scanty, and scarcely anything deserving the name of a tree is to be found unless in the more sheltered spots, and then artificially planted. the population in the lower and warmer valleys live in houses, and follow agriculture; in the higher regions they are nomadic shepherds, thinly scattered over a large area. china. china lies between the eastern flank of the tibetan plateau and the north pacific, having its northern and southern limits about on 40 deg. and 20 deg. n. respectively. the country, though generally broken up with mountains of moderate elevation, possesses none of very great importance apart from those of its western border. it is well watered, populous, and, as a rule, highly cultivated, fertile, and well wooded; the climate is analogous to that of southern europe, with hot summers, and winters everywhere cold and in the north decidedly severe. indo-chinese region. from the eastern extremity of the tibetan mountains, between the 95th and 100th meridians, high ranges extend from about 35 deg. n. in a southerly direction, which, spreading outwards as they go south, reach the sea at various points in cochin-china, the malay peninsula, and the east flank of bengal. between these ranges, which are probably permanently snowy to about 27 deg. n., flow the great rivers of the indo-chinese peninsula, the mekong, the menam, the salween, and the irrawaddy, the valleys of which form the main portions of the states of cochin-china (including tongking and cambodia), of siam (including laos) and of burma. the people of cochin-china are called anam; it is probably from a corruption of their name for the capital of tongking, kechao, that the portuguese cochin has been derived. all these countries are well watered, populous and fertile, with a climate very similar to that of eastern bengal. the geography of the region in which the mountains of cochin-china and siam join tibet is still imperfectly known, but there is no ground left for doubting that the great river of eastern tibet, the tsanpo, supplies the main stream of the brahmaputra. the two great rivers of china, the hwang-ho and the yang-tsze-kiang take their rise from the eastern face of tibet, the former from the north-east angle, the latter from the south-east. the main stream of this last is called dichu in tibet, and its chief feeder is the ya-lung-kiang, which rises not far from the hwang-ho, and is considered the territorial boundary between china and tibet. british india. british india comprises approximately the area between the 95th and 70th meridians, and between the tibetan table-land and the indian ocean. the indian peninsula from 25 deg. n. southwards is a table-land, having its greatest elevation on the west, where the highest points rise to over 8000 ft., though the ordinary altitude of the higher hills hardly exceeds 4000 ft.; the general level of the table-land lies between 3000 ft. as a maximum and 1000 ft. from the delta of the ganges and brahmaputra on the east to that of the indus on the west, and intervening between the table-land of the peninsula and the foot of the himalayan slope of the tibetan plateau, lies the great plain of northern india, which rises at its highest point to about 1000 ft., and includes altogether, with its prolongation up the valley of assam, an area of about 500,000 sq. m., comprising the richest, the most populous and most civilized districts of india. the great plain extends, with an almost unbroken surface, from the most western to the most eastern extremity of british india, and is composed of deposits so finely comminuted, that it is no exaggeration to say that it is possible to go from the bay of bengal up the ganges, through the punjab, and down the indus again to the sea, over a distance of 2000 m. and more, without finding a pebble, however small. the great rivers of northern india--the ganges, the brahmaputra and the indus--all derive their waters from the tibetan mountain mass; and it is a remarkable circumstance that the northern water-parting of india should lie to the north of the himalaya in the regions of central tibet. the population of india is very large, some of its districts being among the most densely peopled in the world. the country is generally well cleared, and forests are, as a rule, found only along the flanks of the mountains, where the fall of rain is most abundant. the more open parts are highly cultivated, and large cities abound. the climate is generally such as to secure the population the necessaries of life without severe labour; the extremes of heat and drought are such as to render the land unsuitable for pasture, and the people everywhere subsist by cultivation of the soil or commerce, and live in settled villages or towns. the island of ceylon is distinguished from the neighbouring parts of british india by little more than its separate administration and the buddhistic religion of its population. the highest point in ceylon rises to about 9000 ft. above the sea, and the mountain slopes are densely covered with forest. the lower levels are in climate and cultivation quite similar to the regions in the same latitude on the malay peninsula. of the islands in the bay of bengal the nicobar and andaman groups are alone worth notice. they are placed on a line joining the north end of sumatra and cape negrais, the south-western extremity of burma. they possibly owe their existence to the volcanic agencies which are known to extend from sumatra across this part of the indian ocean. [illustration: map of asia.] the laccadives and maldives are groups of small coral islands, situated along the 73rd meridian at no great distance from the indian peninsula on which they have a political dependency. the nearer east. the portion of asia west of british india excluding arabia and syria forms another extensive plateau covering an area as large as that of tibet though at a much lower altitude. its southern border runs along the arabian sea, the persian gulf, the tigris and thence westward to the north-east angle of the levant, on the north the high land follows nearly 36 deg. n. to the southern shore of the caspian and thence to the black sea and sea of marmora. afghanistan, baluchistan, iran or persia, armenia and the provinces of asia minor occupy this high region with which they are nearly conterminous. the eastern flank of this table-land follows a line of hills drawn a short distance from the indus between the mouth of that river and the himalaya, about on the 72nd meridian, these hills do not generally exceed 4000 or 5000 ft. in elevation but a few of the summits reach 10,000 ft. or more. the southern and south western face follows the coast closely up the persian gulf from the mouth of the indus, and is formed farther west by the mountain scarp, which, rising in many points to 10,000 ft. flanks the tigris and the mesopotamian plains, and extends along kurdistan and armenia nearly to the 40th meridian, beyond which it turns along the taurus range, and the north eastern angle of the mediterranean. the north eastern portion of the afghan table-land abuts on the himalaya and tibet, with which it forms a continuous mass of mountain between the 71st and 72nd meridians and 34 deg. and 36 deg. n. from the point of intersection of the 71st meridian with the 36th parallel of latitude, an unbroken range of mountain stretches on one side towards the north east, up to the crest of the northern slope of the tibetan plateau, and on the other nearly due west as far as the caspian. the north eastern portion of this range is of great altitude, and separates the headwaters of the oxus, which run off to the aral sea, from those of the indus and its kabul tributary, which, uniting below peshawar are thence discharged southward into the arabian sea. the western part of the range, which received the name of paropamisus mons from the ancients, diminishes in height west of the 65th meridian and constitutes the northern face of the afghan and persian plateau rising abruptly from the plains of the turkoman desert which lies between the oxus and the caspian. these mountains at some points attain a height of 10,000 or 12,000 ft. along the south coast of the caspian this line of elevation is prolonged as the elburz range (not to be confused with the elburz of the caucasus), and has its culminating point in demavend, which rises to 19,400 ft. above the sea thence it extends to the north west to ararat, which rises to upwards of 17,000 ft. from the vicinity of which the euphrates flows off to the south west across the high lands of armenia. below the north east declivity of this range lies georgia, on the other side of which province rises the caucasus, the boundary of asia and europe between the caspian and black seas, the highest points of which reach an elevation of nearly 19,000 ft. west of ararat high hills extend along the black sea between which and the taurus range lies the plateau of asia minor reaching to the aegean sea, the mountains along the black sea, on which are the olympus and ida of the ancients rise to 6000 or 7000 ft., the taurus is more lofty--reaching 8000 and 10,000 ft.--both ranges decline in altitude as they approach the mediterranean. this great plateau extending from the mediterranean to the indus has a length of about 2500 m. from east to west, and a breadth of upwards of 600 m. on the west and nowhere of less than 250 m. it lies generally at altitudes between 2000 ft. and 8000 ft. above the sea level. viewed as a whole the eastern half of this region, comprising persia, afghanistan and baluchistan, is poor and unproductive. the climate is very severe in the winter and extremely hot in summer. the rainfall is very scanty, and running waters are hardly known excepting among the mountains which form the scarps of the elevated country. the population is sparse, frequently nomadic, and addicted to plunder, progress in the arts and habits of civilization is small. the western part of the area falls within the turkish empire. its climate is less hot and and its natural productiveness much greater and its population more settled and on the whole more advanced. arabia. the peninsula of arabia with syria, its continuation to the north-west, has some of the characteristics of the hottest and driest parts persia and baluchistan. excepting the northern part of this tract which is conterminous with the plain of mesopotamia (which at its highest point reaches an elevation of about 700 ft. above the sea) the country is covered with low mountains, rising to 3000 or 4000 ft. in altitude having among them narrow valleys in which the vegetation is scanty with exceptional regions of greater fertility in the neighbourhood of the coasts where the rainfall is greatest. in northern syria the mountains of lebanon rise to about 10,000 ft. and with a more copious water supply the country becomes more productive. the whole tract, excepting south eastern arabia is nominally subject to turkey but the people are to no small extent practically independent living a nomadic pastoral and freebooting life under petty chiefs in the more arid districts, but settled in towns in the more fertile tracts where agriculture becomes more profitable and external commerce is established. trans-caspian region and central asia. the area between the northern border of the persian high lands and the caspian and aral seas is a nearly desert low lying plain, extending to the foot of the north-western extremity of the great tibeto-himalayan mountains and prolonged eastward up the valleys of the oxus (amu darya) and jaxartes (syr-darya), and northward across the country of the kirghiz to the south western border of siberia. it includes bokhara, khiva and turkestan proper in which the uzbeg turks are dominant, and for the most part is inhabited by nomadic tribes, who are marauders, enjoying the reputation of being the worst among a race of professed robbers. the tribes to the north, subject to russia, are naturally more peaceable, and have been brought into some degree of discipline. in this tract the rainfall is nowhere sufficient for the purposes of agriculture, which is only possible by help of irrigation, and the fixed population (which contains a non-turkish element) is comparatively small, and restricted to the towns and the districts near the rivers. the north-western extremity of the elevated tibeto-himalayan mountain plateau is situated about on 73 deg. e. and 39 deg. n. this region is known as pamir, it has all the characteristics of the highest regions of tibet, and so far fitly receives the russian designation of steppe, but it seems to have no special peculiarities, and the reason of its having been so long regarded as a geographical enigma is not obvious. from it the oxus, or amu, flows off to the west, and the jaxartes, or syr, to the north, through the turki state of khokand, while to the east the waters run down past kashgar to the central desert of the gobi, uniting with the streams from the northern slope of the tibetan plateau that traverse the principalities of yarkand and khotan, which are also turki. here the tibetan mountains unite with the line of elevation which stretches across the continent from the pacific, and which separates siberia from the region commonly spoken of under the name of central asia. manchuria. a range of mountains, called stanovor, rising to heights of 4000 or 5000 ft., follows the southern coast of the eastern extremity of asia from kamchatka to the borders of manchuria, as far as the 135th meridian, in lat. 55 deg. n. thence the yablonoi range, continuing in the same direction, divides the waters of the river lena, which flows through siberia into the arctic sea, from those of the river amur, which falls into the north pacific, the basin of this river, with its affluents, constitutes manchuria. from the north of manchuria the khingan range stretches southward to the chinese frontier near peking, east of which the drainage falls into the amur and the yellow sea, while to the west is an almost rainless region, the inclination of which is towards the central area of the continent, mongolia. mongolia. from the western end of the yablonoi range, on the 115th meridian, a mountainous belt extends along a somewhat irregular line to the extremity of pamir, known under various names in its different parts, and broken up into several branches, enclosing among them many isolated drainage areas, from which there is no outflow, and within which numerous lakes are formed. the most important of these ranges is the tian-shan or celestial mountains, which form the northern boundary of the gobi desert, they lie between 40 deg. and 43 deg. n., and between 75 deg. and 95 deg. e., and some of the summits are said to exceed 20,000 ft. in altitude, along the foot of this range are the principal cultivated districts of central asia, and here too are situated the few towns which have sprung up in this barren and thinly peopled region. next may be named the ala-tau, on the prolongation of the tian-shan, flanking the syr on the north, and rising to 14,000 or 15,000 ft. it forms the barrier between the issyk-kul and balkash lakes, the elevation of which is about 5000 ft. last is the altai, near the 50th parallel, rising to 10,000 or 12,000 ft., which separates the waters of the great rivers of western siberia from those that collect into the lakes of north-west mongolia, dzungaria and kalka. a line of elevation is continued west of the altai to the ural mountains, not rising to considerable altitudes; this divides the drainage of south-west siberia from the great plains lying north east of the aral sea. the central area bounded on the north and north-west by the yablonoi mountains and their western extension in the tian-shan, on the south by the northern face of the tibetan plateau and on the east by the khingan range before alluded to, forms the great desert of central asia, known as the gobi. its eastern part is nearly conterminous with south mongolia, its western forms chinese or eastern turkestan. it appears likely that no part of this great central asiatic desert is less than 2000 ft. above the sea level. the elevation of the plain about kashgar and yarkand is from 4000 to 6000 ft. the more northern parts of mongolia are between 4000 and 6000 ft., and no portion of the route across the desert between the chinese frontier and kiakhta is below 3000 ft. the precise positions of the mountain ridges that traverse this central area are not properly known, their elevation is everywhere considerable, and many points are known to exceed 10,000 or 12,000 ft. in mongolia the population is essentially nomadic, its wealth consisting in herds of horned cattle, sheep, horses and camels. the turki tribes, occupying western mongolia, are among the least civilized of human beings, and it is chiefly to their extreme barbarity and cruelty that our ignorance of central asia is due. the climate is very severe, with great extremes of heat and cold. the drought is very great, rain falls rarely and in small quantities. the surface is for the most part a hard stony desert, areas of blown sand occurring but exceptionally. there are few towns or settled villages, except along the slopes of the higher mountains, on which the rain falls more abundantly, or the melting snow supplies streams for irrigation. it is only in such situations that cultivated lands are found, and beyond them trees are hardly to be seen. siberia. the portion of asia which lies between the arctic ocean and the mountainous belt bounding manchuria, mongolia and turkestan on the north is siberia. it includes an immense high and broken plateau which spreads from south-west to north-east, losing in width and altitude as it advances north-east. it is fringed on either side by high border ridges, which subside on the north-west into a stretch of high plains, 1500 to 2000 ft. high, finally dropping to lowlands a few hundred feet above sea-level. the extremes of heat and cold are very great. the rainfall, though not heavy, is sufficient to maintain such vegetation as is compatible with the conditions of temperature, and the surface is often swampy or peaty. the mountain-sides are commonly clothed with pine forests, and the plains with grasses or shrubs. the population is very scanty; the cultivated tracts are comparatively small in extent and restricted to the more settled districts. the towns are entirely russian. the indigenous races are nomadic mongols, of a peaceful character, but in a very backward state of civilization. the ural mountains do not exceed 2000 or 3000 ft. in average altitude, the highest summits not exceeding 6000 ft., and one of the passes being as low as 1400 ft. in the southern half of the range are the chief mining districts of russia. the ob, yenisei and lena, which traverse siberia, are among the largest rivers in the world. malay archipelago. the southern group of the malay archipelago, from sumatra to java and timor, extends in the arc of a circle between 95 deg. and 127 deg. e., and from 5 deg. to 10 deg. s. the central part of the group is a volcanic region, many of the volcanoes being still active, the summits frequently rising to 10,000 ft. or more. sumatra, the largest of the islands, is but thinly peopled; the greater part of the surface is covered with dense forest, the cultivated area being comparatively small, confined to the low lands, and chiefly in the volcanic region near the centre of the island. java is the most thickly peopled, best cultivated and most advanced island of the whole eastern archipelago. it has attained a high degree of wealth and prosperity under the dutch government. the people are peaceful and industrious, and chiefly occupied with agriculture. the highest of the volcanic peaks rises to 12,000 ft. above the sea. the eastern islands of this group are less productive and less advanced. borneo, the most western and the largest of the northern group of islands which extends between 110 deg. and 150 deg. e., as far as new guinea or papua, is but little known. the population is small, rude and uncivilized; and the surface is rough and mountainous and generally covered with forest except near the coast, to the alluvial lands on which settlers have been attracted from various surrounding countries. the highest mountain rises to nearly 14,000 ft., but the ordinary elevations do not exceed 4000 or 5000 ft. of celebes less is known than of borneo, which it resembles in condition and natural characteristics. the highest known peaks rise to 8000 ft., some of them being volcanic. pacific islands. new guinea extends almost to the same meridian as the eastern coast of australia, from the north point of which it is separated by torres straits. very little is known of the interior. the mountains are said to rise to 20,000 ft., having the appearance of being permanently covered with snow; the surface seems generally to be clothed with thick wood. the inhabitants are of the negrito type, with curly or crisp and bushy hair; those of the west coast have come more into communication with the traders of other islands and are fairly civilized. eastward, many of the tribes are barbarous savages. the philippine islands lie between 5 deg. and 20 deg. n., between borneo and southern china. the highest land does not rise to a greater height than 10,250 ft.; the climate is well suited for agriculture, and the islands generally are fertile and fairly cultivated, though not coming up to the standard of java either in wealth or population. formosa, which is situated under the northern tropic, near the coast of china, is traversed by a high range of mountains, reaching nearly 13,000 ft. in elevation. on its western side, which is occupied by an immigrant chinese population, are open and well-cultivated plains; on the east it is mountainous, and occupied by independent indigenous tribes in a less advanced state. the islands of japan, not including sakhalin, of which half is japanese, lie between the 30th and 45th parallels. the whole group is traversed by a line of volcanic mountains, some of which are in activity, the highest point being about 13,000 ft. above the sea. the country is generally well watered, fertile and well cultivated. the japanese people have added to their ancient civilization and their remarkable artistic faculty, an adaptation of western methods, and a capacity for progress in war and commerce, which single them out among eastern races as a great modern world-force.",
    "source_url": "https://archive.org/details/EB1911WMF",
    "observed_at": "2026-02-08 18:42:42",
    "integrity": {
        "hash_check": "match",
        "hash_scope": "full_normalized_text",
        "computed_sha256": "4e6b5d73e3477aae89bac20e2c78c19757d56b51df3d2823b67a937219defedb"
    },
    "machine_use": {
        "read": true,
        "cite": true,
        "decision": "verified_public_domain_text"
    },
    "goguides_data_license": "https://www.goguides.com/data-license",
    "goguides_data_license_version": "2.0",
    "documentation": {
        "white_paper_url": "https://www.goguides.com/white-paper.php",
        "pdf_url": "https://www.goguides.com/whitepapers/goguides-ai-source-clearance-white-paper.pdf"
    }
}