The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XII, No. 2 [‎300v] (103/154)

190
THE MONTHLY RECORD.
to the basin of the Warm. On the east side of the mountains rain falls throughout
the year, so that the streams never dry up; but the western side, as is the case
with other mountain groups in this region, is much dryer. The Wami or Makata
plain to the south has quite a different character from the country to the north,
though both often go by the name of steppe. The former is quite level, and is in
great part overflowed during the rains, while the latter the Masai steppe has
an undulating and broken surface largely covered with grass. Another mountain
system is that of Irangi, which formed the primary objective of the expedition.
Its general direction is north-east, and it is drained by tributaries of the Bubu,
which finally loses itself in a salt swamp in the west of Ugogo. The streams have
wide sandy beds, dry at the surface except after rain. Further west we come to
the long line of escarpment which constitutes the western edge of the great East
African°trough. The eastern edge seems to be by no means well marked in these
latitudes, and the character of a trough is not always preserved. Besides Lake
Manyara, a large number of brackish lakes and swamps occur near the foot of the
escarpment; one of them, named Balangidda (about 8 miles by 3$), had not been
visited by any other European. Their depth even in the rainy season seems hardly
ever to exceed 6 feet, whilst in the dry season they leave a crust of salt mixed with
soda. In the centre of Ufiome rises the three-peaked Gijeda-sen, apparently an
extinct volcano; both the mountain itself and the whole volcanic district round
abound in iron. Further south, and closer to the escarpment, lies the old volcano
Gijeda-hanang, or Gurui, which Lieut. Werther ascended. It has a vast crater
in the form of a horseshoe, the sides of which slope very steeply both outwards
and inwards. West of the escarpment lies the high plateau of Turu, Ussure, and
Iramba, in great part covered with bush-forest, and to this succeeds the Wembere
steppe, a longitudinal depression running from south to north and north-east, and
generally bounded by well-marked walls. Besides Lake Nyarasa (the Eiassi of
Baumann) in the north, there is an extensive swamp, filled in the rains, towards
the south. In about 4° S. lat. the steppe sends out a wide bay to the west, while
to the east rise the much-rifted Isanzu mountains. Still another trough occurs
between Lakes Nyarasa and Manyara, or Laua-ya-Mueri. This is the depression
in which lies Lake Hohenlohe, discovered by Lieut. Werther in 1893, and which
proves to be not a circular hollow, as he then thought it. The bordering heights
increase in altitude towards the north-east, those on the eastern edge being the
higher; they have a heavy rainfall, and some primeval forest occurs in clefts on
their sides. In the wooded region between Lakes Hohenlohe and Nyarasa dwell
the Watindiga, a hunting tribe.
Explorations in the Congo Basin.— Although no very important discovery
remains to be made in the Congo basin, minor additions to our knowledge continue
to be made in various parts. The results of some of the latest explorations in the
basin of the Kasai and its affluents are embodied in Sheet ix. of M. Wauters’ map
of the Congo State, given with the Mouvement Geographique for April 24 (No. 17,
1898). A short account of the explorations appears in No. 16 of the same journal.
Early in 1897, M. Stache explored the lower course of the Loange, which joins the
Kasai from the south, a little below the mouth of the Sankuru. Report had it
that the stream was inaccessible owing to its sandbanks and violent current, but
M. Stache found that the difficulties had been much exaggerated. It is a fine
stream with deep water and a mean breadth of 200 to 250 yards, with wider reaches
exceeding 600 yards. It has a very rapid current in places, but is navigable for
large steamers. Its hanks are comparatively high, without forests, but generally
sprinkled with wine-palms. The Kancha, which enters the Kasai some 80 miles
lower down, flows through low plains, and its waters are black, deep, and easily