feet high. In the western portion of the range they
do not exceed 1,000 feet, and form the watershed of
several streams running south into the Sari-Su. South
of the Suk-bash-Tau range is the basin of the Balkhash,
that, with the valley of the Ili, has an altitude of less
than 1,000 feet, though on the north of the Ili about
Kopal are mountains attaining to nearly 5,000 feet,
whilst on the south, behind Vierny, the Trans-Ilian
or southern Ala-Tau range far exceeds that height.
The principal rivers in the vice-royalty are the Irtish
and Ishim, flowing into the Obi, and seven rivers, of
which the Ili is the most considerable, flowing into the
Balkhash. Others, notably the Sari-Su, the Chu, and
the Nura, lose themselves in the Steppe, or some of its
small lakes. O f these lakes there are several in the
plains, such as Lake Dengiz, into which flows the Nura,
but none of them are worth naming in comparison
with the Balkhash. In the mountains are lakes Zaisan,
Ala-Kul, and the famous Issik-Kul at an altitude of
5,300 feet above the sea. In the climate of the Steppe
is experienced every degree of temperature between
— 52^42, the greatest cold in February, 1879, at Omsk
in the north, and + 99^5 of heat in the south at Vierny.
The general government or vice-royalty of the
Steppe is divided into the governments or provinces of
Akmolinsk, Semipolatinsk, and Semirechia, of which
the surface consists mainly of mountains, deserts, and
steppes. In the north the steppes afford abundant
pasturage for cattle ; to the west and south of the
Balkhash are a few patches of sandy desert; and
in the south and south-east are the mountains. For
the most part the territory is poorly wooded. A
dendrological map of Akmolinsk and Semipolatinsk
shows a narrow belt of deciduous trees, about 70 miles
TH E S T E P P E A N D TH E P R O V IN C E O F A KM O L IN S K . 45
in width, stretching across the territory west of Omsk,
and a small area of a like character about the town of
Akmolinsk. Likewise to the north of the town of
Semipolatinsk is a forest of conifers about 100 miles
square, and a few small forests of this character are
met with south of Petropavlovsk ; but when comparing
these with the immense belt, 400 miles wide, of coniferous
trees about the affluents of the Obi, or even the
lesser deciduous forests between Tobolsk and Omsk,
the northern part of the general government of the
Steppe may be called bare of trees* The character of
the vegetation of course varies considerably. As we
approached Omsk we were thankful for raspberries,
rather sour currants, and other berries; but at Vierny
we feasted on luscious melons, grapes, and nectarines.
So again, about Omsk, the people ate black rye bread ;
at Vierny it was as easy, or easier, to get wheaten
bread; whilst, further west, rye bread can with difficulty
be procured at all.
The vice-royalty is peopled by a comparatively
small number of Russian soldiers, Cossacks, and
colonists in the towns and along the principal highways
; but all over the province are the nomad Kir-
ghese and K a za k s ; Kara-Kirghese in the mountains,
and Kazaks in the plains, though both are usually
spoken of as Kirghese. The chief towns besides
Omsk— where lives the Governor-General— are Akmolinsk
and Semipolatinsk, capitals of the governments
of the same names, and Vierny, the capital of Semire-
* According to the report of the officers of woods and forests, the
forest area of Akmolinsk extends to 241,577 square miles, and of
Semipolatinsk to 332,880 square miles, to which should be added forests
belonging to stations and military districts; to Akmolinsk 97,085 square
miles, and Semipolatinsk 67,578 square miles', giving a total in the two
northern provinces of the Steppe of 744,746 square miles.