rivers two stream eastwards: the Yellow River (the Hwang-ho),
which falls into the Yellow Sea, and the Blue River (the
Yang-tse-kiang), which empties its waters into the Eastern Sea. The
others run southwards, the Mekong into the China Sea, the Salwin,
Irawaddy, and Brahmaputra into the great inlet of the Indian Ocean which
is called the Bay of Bengal. A large quantity of water runs off along
the outer side of your thumb; this is the Ganges, which comes down from
the upper valleys of the Himalayas. And, far to the west, nearest to the
wrist, you find two rivers with which you are already acquainted: the
Indus, which flows southwards into the Arabian Sea, and the Tarim, which
runs north and east and falls into Lop-nor.

The Himalayas are the loftiest range on earth, and among their crests
rise the highest peaks in the world. Three of them should be remembered,
for they are so well known: Mount Everest, which, with its 29,000 feet,
is the very highest summit in the world; Kinchinjunga (28,200 feet), and
Dhwalagiri (26,800 feet). Mount Godwin-Austen in the Karakorum is only
about 650 feet lower than Mount Everest.

The Himalayas present a grand spectacle when seen from the south. No
other mountain region in the world can vie with it in awe-inspiring
beauty. If we travel by rail from Calcutta up to Sikkim we see the
snow-clad crest of the Himalayas in front and above us, and Kinchinjunga
like a dazzling white pinnacle surmounting the whole. We see the sharply
defined snow limit, and the steep, wooded slopes below. If it is early
in the morning and the weather is fine, the jagged, snowy crest shines
brightly in the sun, while the flanks and valleys are still hidden in
dense shadow. And during the journey to the great heights we shall
notice that the flora changes much in the same way as it does from South
Italy to the North Cape. The last forms of vegetation to contend against
the cold are mosses and lichens. Then we come to the snow limit, where
the mountains and rocks are bare.

North and Central Tibet have a mean elevation of 16,000 feet; that is to
say, one is almost always at a greater height than the summit of Mont
Blanc. Where the plateau country is so exceedingly high the mountain
ranges seem quite insignificant. We have spoken of five great ranges,
but between these He many smaller, all running east and west.

What a fortunate thing it is for the people of Asia that the interior of
the continent rises into the tr