THIB'ET, TIB'ET or TUBET, is the European name of a country in central Asia, bounded on the n. by Mongolia, on the e. by China, and on the s. and w. by Hindustan. The native name is Bod or Bodyul, the land of Bod. It covers an area of from 600,000 to 800,000 sq.m., with the north-eastern part of which we are still almost totally unac quainted. Thapop. is estimated at 6,000,000.
an elevated tract at the western extremity of Thibet, where the Hindu Kush and Pamir highlands meet, the mountain-system of the Kuenlun runs e., and the greater chain of the Himalaya s.e., inclosing in the angle between them the Thibetan table-laud, which extends eastward to the frontier of China. Although Thibet is described as a table-land by geographers, its surface is traversed by mountain-chains, which, near its western and eastern frontiers, interlace and ramify in a complicated manner. On the southern border the height of the plateau through which the Sanpue runs, from a point near its source to H'lassa, was in 1866 carefully ascertained by baro metrical observation. Along the great route from H'lassa to Gartok, in the basin of the Indus, for a distance of 800 Tn., the average elevation was found to be 13,500 feet. Several stages of the journey along the route were above 16,000 ft.; only one sank to 11,000. To the n. and e. of this elevated tract, the plains of Thibet are supposed to de scend to much lower elevations; but accurate observations are still wanting. The Hima laya, 20 summits of which are higher than the loftiest of the Andes, stand out from the plateau, and are only connected with it by ridges of lesser elevation. They project from the highlands like buttresses which rise higher than the walls they support. In the descent from Thibet on the s. is by three gradations. the first of which is very abrupt. The mountain-roads by which Thibet is entered from India, pass through deep ravines cut by the streams in the mountains, and present the wildest and grandest scenes de. scribed by travelers.
The mountains which rise from the table-land divide Thibet into several natural regions. The Karakorum range, which runs parallel to the Himalaya, forms with them a great valley, drained on the w. by the tributaries of the Indus, and on the e. by the Sanpu. To the whole basin of the Indus n. of the Himalaya, the name of little Thibet is sometimes given; but more generally the upper basin is known as Ngari, the middle basin asLadak (q.v.), or middle Thibet; and the lower as Bultistan, or lower Thibet. The countries drained by the Sanpu are described as Thibet proper, which is in turn divided into Dsang, the district of the upper Sanpu, and Wei, surrounding Illassa, the district of the lower Sanpu. Further e. the tract drained by the tributaries of the Yang-tze kiang. in which are Lithang and Bathang, is known as Kham. North of the basin of the Sanpu lies another region, a great elevated desert, called Khor on the w., and Katchi on the e.; and at the north-eastern extremity of Tidbit is a hilly tract, in which the boang-ho takes its rise, and in the center of which is situated the lake Ko-ko-nor. The provisional
name given to the tract is the country of the Ko-ko-nor.
geology of Thibet is little known except on the s. and western frontier. The highest part of the Himalayaconsists of granites and crystalline strata, and in the neighborhood of the lake Man asarowar, of volcanic rocks. On the table-land, the strata belong to the most recent tertiary epoch (the Pleistocene). They lie horizontally as they were deposited, and seem to have been lifted up in one unbroken cake to their present prodigious elevation. Thibet is believed to abound with silver, copper, and tin, but the absence of fuel renders its mineral wealth unavailable. Gold is found in con siderable quantities; and salt, sulphur, borax, and niter abound.
lies between the latitude of Naples and Caii o, and might be supposed to enjoy a similar climate. But its great elevation renders it excessively cold during the winter, when its climate resembles that of the arctic regions more than that of countries in the zone to which it belongs. The mountains and the great plains which lie between Thibet and the sea rob the winds of their moisture, and hence another peculiarity of the climate is its excessive dryness. Timber never rots, but it breaks from brittleness; flesh exposed to the wind does not become putrid, but dries, and can be reduced to a powder. The air loses its conducting power; and persons dressed in sheepskins give out long electric sparks when they approach conducting substances. During the winter, tho winds are excessively high, and the weather-beaten rocks break into a bust, which mixes with the loose alluvial soil, and with it is blown about in blinding clouds. The limit of perpetual snow is from 16,000 to 18.000 feet high on the Thibetan side of the Himalaya. while on the Indian or southern side it is in some places only 13,000—a fact attributed to the dryness and purity of the air above the table-land. The Tibetan glaciers, particu larly in the mountain region of the w., are of enormous extent. Pastures and low bushes make their appearance at 18,544 ft.-2,800 ft. higher than Mont Blanc, and 1279 ft. above the snow-line on the Andes near Quito. Below this level extends a country of bare and scanty pastures. Owing to the great dryness of the air, trees (the cedar and birch) are only met with in a few scattered spots on the hills. In the great plains, the pursuits of the inhabitants are chiefly those of the pastoral tribes of the steppes of Cen tral Asia. In the valleys, however, the soil is more productive; and fruit-trees, the vine, and the European grains are cultivated. The conditions of the climate render irrigation necessary, and the construction and maintenance of terraces along the slopes. This has given rise to a kind of agriculture characteristic of Thibet, which demands skill and con tinuous labor, and which has called into existence an intelligent, strong, and hardy population. Among the productions of Thibet are barley, buckwheat, grapes, and all the European fruits.