Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. The Steppes of Western Siberia
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
immense lowland steppes of Western Siberia. These
lowlands are in reality a continuation of the Ural-Caspian basin,
together with which, at a comparatively recent period in
the history of the earth, they formed the bottom of a gigantic
northern sea, of which remnants still exist in the shape of
salt lakes and marshes. The western part of this great level
belongs to the river-system of the gigantic Ob. Its declivity
towards the Arctic Ocean is very slight. According to the
few measurements which have been made in connection with
the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway, there are only
a few points higher than 450 feet above the level of the
Arctic Sea at a distance of many hundreds of miles from
the latter; while at most places the height is only about
360 feet. South of the railroad the declivity is likewise
very slight. At the almost imperceptible water-parting
between the Aral Caspian basin and the Arctic Ocean the
greatest height is hardly more than 900 feet above the
level of the sea. East and west through this immense
plain the huge forest belt, varying in width from 1000 to
1300 miles, extends from the Ural mountains to the Pacific
Ocean, bounded to the north by the ever-frozen tundras
and to the south by the steppes.
The western portion of the Trans-Siberian railroad,
traversing the steppes from the Ural mountains to the Ob, has a
length of 880 miles. This endless plain through which the
train carries us, diversified only by salt lakes and marshes,
conveys a most cheerless impression. Here and there,
however, one sees a grove of birches, all the more welcome
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
