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'Military Report on Russian Turkistan or Central Asia' [12r] (28/168)
The record is made up of 1 volume (80 folios). It was created in 1905. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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11
place in the past, or the possible bearing of this fact
upon the present and the future. ] t may, however, be
noted that the question of the water supply of Turkistan
is a problem of great gravity and difficulty, which must
be solved, if it be possible to do so, before the somewhat
optimistic views, sometimes expressed as to the future
development of the country, can be realised.
The Caspian Sea has an area of 169.380 square Casp an
miles, and lies between 30° 40' to 47° 20'N. latitude, and Sea.
46° 50' to 55° 10' E. longitude. Its surface is 86* feet
below the level of the ocean. The northern portion does
not exceed a maximum depth of 2i> fathoms, and is
gradually being silted up by the deposits of the Volga,
the Ural, and the Terek. The middle portion of the
sea has an average depth of 50 fathoms, and reaches
a maximum of 421 fathoms. This portion is divided
from the southern and deepest part of the Caspian by
a submarine ridge which is a continuation of the main
Caucasus range and connects it with the Kopet Dagh.
The depth of water over this ridge varies from 30 to 150
fathoms. '1 he southern portion, which lies at the foot
of the high Elburz border ridge of the Persian plateau,
has in its centre a depth of more than 500 fathoms.
The northern portion freezes for 3 or 4 months along
the shores, but ice only appears in the middle portion if
brought by north winds. The ports Petrovsk and
Krasnovod.-k, however, are occasionally closed by drift ice.
The Gulf of Kara-Bughaz on the east coast is a great
expanse of water, with an area of 7,500 square miles,
separated from the Caspian by a narrow sand bar pierced
by a strait 115—170 yards wide only. The average depth
of water does not exceed 34 to 36 feet. Expeditions
to examine the peculiarities of this gulf, in 1895-96,
discovered that its bottom is covered with a layer of
pure Epsom salt, which represents a quite unique
* According to the Aral-Caspian levelling 96-7 feet. Other
triangulations give 84 end 89 feet. It is an open question whether
these differences can be explained by mere errors. A longer
series of observations is required before positive conclusions can
be arrived at. The level has uhdergope several oscillations n
modern tunes.
About this item
- Content
A confidential report on Central Asia, compiled by Captain H H Dowding, Captain of the General Staff, War Office, 1905.
Contained within the report are chapters on the history, geography, administration, communications, resources, ethnography, and military of the region. Also included is a preface by Major-General J M Grierson, General Staff, War Office (folio 3), appendices (folios 63-78), including detailed information on the railways of the region, and a colour map of Central Asia (folio 81).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (80 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains a table of contents (folios 4-6) which refers to the original pagination.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 81; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The file has one foliation anomaly, f 34a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Military Report on Russian Turkistan or Central Asia' [12r] (28/168), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/388, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075142667.0x00001d> [accessed 26 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/388
- Title
- 'Military Report on Russian Turkistan or Central Asia'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:34v, 34ar:34av, 35r:79v, back-i, 81r:81v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence