Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume VIII, No. 5 [‎36v] (75/154)

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SOME BOOKS ON EAST AND SOUTH AFRICA.
point to the Lake Gohar, situated in the narrow valley south of
Ushtaran Kuh, in Northern Luristan, and three of the many views of
the Ushtaran Kuh itself. The Tang-Azna, in the country of the Lurs
of Sagwand, is a charming photograph.
SOME BOOKS ON EAST AND SOUTH AFRICA.
The first hook on our list* 1 supplies a welcome exception to the general
applicability of the statement, so often made, that the work of British
explorers falls far short of that of the Germans in permanent scientific
value. In this respect it may rank with the best German publications
that have appeared in recent years. Although primarily a geologist,
Dr. Gregory has given much attention to other branches of natural
science, and his conclusions with regard to the various scientific ques
tions touched upon are the result of long and careful study. The plan
of his book is that followed by many German writers, the account of
the journey itself being followed by chapters dealing with the various
scientific aspects of the country.
The general results of Dr. Gregory’s journey were fully given in
the series of articles published in the Journal in 1894 (vol. iv.). The
most striking features of the country dealt with are the Great Rift
Valley, which gives the book its name, and Mount Kenya, on which
so much new light was thrown by the journey. To non-geologists the
term “ rift valley ” may be apt to suggest an exaggerated idea of depth
and narrowness, the height of the walls being after all very slight
compared with the width of the floor. It would not be easy, however,
to suggest a better. Dr. Gregory followed its eastern side through
two degrees of latitude, besides crossing its floor near Lake Baringo.
The illustration at p. 94 gives a good idea of the level nature of the
floor and the sudden rise of the bounding walls.j" It may be re
marked that the results of Dr. Donaldson Smith’s journey hardly bear
out the idea of its prolongation as a marked line of depression north
east of Lake Rudolf, while it is not quite clear, from the allusion to
Lake Nyasa as in the eastern branch of the valley, whether the author
rejects the notion that the western trough is indicated south of Tan
ganyika by the furrow of the Songwe and Saisi valleys.
The account of Dr. Gregory’s adventures in the romantic region of
snow-fields and glaciers around the central peak of Kenya is of extreme
interest, and will, it is to be hoped, induce others to follow in his
steps. Kenya appeals more to the imagination than Kilimanjaro, whose
* ‘ The Great Rift Valley.’ By J. W. Gregory. London: Murray. 189G.
f The illustration (after Giraud) intended to show the steep sides of the narrow
type of lakes, is accidentally referred to Tanganyika instead of Nyasa. Another slip
is the statement that only one of the lakes has an outlet to the sea.