m
JRi v s m ù faSters Who naviga&e ffie-kkd'fjreskofït with munh rbvertence, cafflffg ft
tfe Holy Sëâ^'ànd the mountains al^mt k the'Mo|y MökntóösT and
are highly difpleafed -with any peribn who fpeaks of it with «fefrefpeâ,
©r: .eâilsât .aTi&Yj.®'- .
Selinga. ' ' ; The Selinga "is. a noble .river, further to the fouth, which;'.flcpwa;jæ£fe
the‘lea of Baikal,* after recerviagitfe' Qrchon and other rivers, among
wtóeM 'iis the Tula, or Tola, the. laft ftream that ©eeurfe till the:; wide
défait he pàffed,- which here divides- the -Ruffian empire from China
.proper. The territory adjacent to the Selinga and the Qnon is the moft
intereftiog *n Sffierm/abounding with nevs^ and; töriy; Afiatic botany,
.andzodlogy.
3Lena- i The laft of thefe large rivers is the Lena,;iwIpcK rifeÿ’'feiittaèweS|©£
the fea of Baikal, running; nearly parallel with the Angara, Trom which
it isfepatasted by a chain of hillst The Lena receives the WitinS, and
the Olekma from the Yablonoi mountains ; and, till near Yakutfk, pur-i
■ feres a courfe from the S. W, to the N. E., a difè€tiOn;cÆeôSfidërâble
utility, as afibiding navigation to the remote regions. From Yakutfe
the courfe is nearly due north ; the channel being of great breadth and
fill! of iflands. The current of the Lena is generally‘g^.t^ and the
bottom fandy. Travellers fail from the Lena into thé Aldan, thence
, into the Maia, and the Yudoma, their route to Ochdtfk, and Kami-
chatka, being thus expedited.
Such are the moft important rivers of Afi atic Ruffia, the Volga having
Yaik. been already defcribed in the European divifiott. The Talk ii a; edp-«
fiderable ftream whieh flows into -thfe Calpiant the namd-Whs Recently
«banged for that óf Ural, on account of a daring ihfucrèéïîôn of the
tribes bordering On the Yaik^j? The Terek -alfcjeiPS the ;Cafpian
on the weft, and its chief conference is derived from the_:fertility of
its fheres. The Kuban, or ancient Hypanis, runs in an oppofete di-
redfion into the Euxine, the lôwer fhores being plain, and deftitute of
wood, while near the fourees are large forefts.
,6 Bell,.;. 3-16,. ’ .
* The Selinga might be regarded as. the original Angara, or Yenifei, as the Ob, and Irti/h
allo pafs through lakes.
+ This river alone rifes on the E. of the Ural mountains, and afterwards pierces. the granitic
chain, and paffes W. Dec. Ruff. iv. 309.
Towards
1
Towards the. .other extremity o f Afiatic Ruffiajs the Anadir, which Rivers.
pervades the country of the Techuks.' The long courfe of the Amur
'properly belongs to t,hc Chinefe .dominions. The Argóon may be -■
properly confideied as; the original Amur, while the Onon ,ajfd called
the Schilka, which is regarded as another, fource of that’ great river,
may be coiifidered as entirely Ruffian. The courfe -of the Onon is
about 5;óo miles; jand it receives numerous ftrearns &©m moüntairis on-
the N. and-S.f T
s' In the north of Siberia the moft confiderable l i d is that of Piazinfko. Lakes.
In the* fouth the fea; o f Baikal Ysferdh ƒ but- th^^dkflht^ftr' e)scedding
that of-awyt other like, it/h^-bèen, Jdifcïihêd amor^a^tlle inland feks of
Alia! -• Between the river ©B^and the lhige| lake/kBoiIt-'Lalf
the’length^of the Baikal, or in *- di^idht’ by-ah,'iflknd *
into two. partsV'Callë$J thd lakes o f Ttihany ahd'Sóümn In this' quartet
there ‘ are many fmaller-^lakbs, ,ahd> ët-hers1 to* the mof®'of< £lie/Oafpkn,
ferine of which ate-ffait,-'parÜQuYarly’ that oL-^e^do,-Bear the’ fmal-l
mountain fo ea'll'éd, 'amd.confiderèd as pfoöfsjléf the-northern extenfion
©f that ^feaiuï'The. Altail N ot, or gold'éö lake, iPomefimes' corruptlyJoaSbdl
Elton,%ris'a large falihè'kke'ofrkhe'È. o f Zarifetjiv sThe la'^iVoLAltyn,
already* thentiobed ‘in ,_the ae'GÓunt'ofht-h’V^rivêr ,(DjA isYèalFèièby the
Ruffians Tekfófa?,> and is eqnfidemblyfdle^ted,Sn’:'the morth fidfebf the'
Altaian mountains^ but .from the1 beft maps is'h o t’above 4.0 rnrfes in
length, and dorin breadth.
TheHJralian -haquntains have been already described'iff*th'e' accorfrit Mountains,
o f Euroffekn feuffia. The grandeft chain in'Siherk.is that called the'
mountains ó f -Altai which/ aócördfftg'1 to Pkllas/^of&ffihg the head" of Altai,
the- iTtifti, .-prefents precipitous* and fhowy fuWiPifebeB^een'' that' rivet
andr th e 1 fourees’ of the Ob. '.Thence itiwindsYb^v the Ijïrings of the;;
Yenifei, and the*'föüth. of the fea‘ of Baikal, where it is called the"
mountains ó f Sayahfk. Here Mie Alt'aiai’ffi Gliaih Vends 4n a more
northerly direftion'to the neighbourhood ©f Ochotfk, under the ap-
.» Dec. R. vi. 363. . ■ .
. * He begins with thfe Great BbgüOj'. w bte^as aftèrwafds appears," ÜKtf'centfal fffmmif,-'Kke.
"St. Got^artl in tn'e-Alps. ' The weftetn^^örtórrer>c£rnent. feeiiis.tV'.be ^bo.üt'Log.i-jö^Ë^fróik
London. See Atrbwfmith’s map of Alia, utlmèft, &ci -
VÖL, I I . K pellation