'Military Report on Russian Turkistan or Central Asia' [‎10v] (25/168)

and forms the watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. between the Syr Daria on the
north and the Zerafshan on the south.
A more southerly branch, or rather the actual pro
longation of the Alai Tagh range, runs from the
Zerafshan glacier in a south-west direction, and divides
the valleys of the Zerafshan and Kashka Daria from that
of the Oxus. This range is known as the Hissar
mountains, and runs westward for about 250 miles to
the town of Khuzar. The average elevation is some
Hi,000 to 18,000 feet, with still greater altitudes towards
its eastern extremity, a large proportion of its peaks
being above the snow line. Numerous spurs and sub
sidiary ranges stretch southward towards the Oxus,
while at Kilif they run right down to the river bank.
This forms the mountainous belt of country, lying
between the Central Asian Railway line and the frontier
of Afghanistan, which is important in connection with
the routes leading southward, referred to later {vide
pp. 39-44).
Immediately to the east of the region just mentioned,
forming the south-eastern corner of Russian Central
Asian dominions, lie the Pamirs, the so-called “ Roof of
the World,” consisting of a series of elevated mountain
valleys running from east to west, contracted at their
western extremities into gorges, where they become
merged in the mountain systems of Roshan, Shighnan,
and Wakhan. The general elevation of the Pamir
valleys is from 12,000 to 14,000 feet, while the inter
vening mountain ranges attain altitudes of 20,000 feet
ana more, culminating in the Mustagh Ata (“Father of
mountains ”) 25,800 feet.
From the northern borders of the Pamirs, and in
prolongation of the general direction of the Alai Tagh
range, the wide and complex Tian Shan mountains trend
to the north-east. The subsidiary ranges and ramifica
tions of this system extend over the northern part of
Ferghana and the greater part of Semirechia.
The main feature of these rugged highlands of
Turkistan is their inaccessibility and high and difficult
passes. Owing to the dryness of the atmosphere the