Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
have their mouth: so called western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper. This information has been
used again by famous Polish cartographer Bernard Wapowski. He placed the lake in
question in his not surviving map of the Northern Sarmatia. Then, the information has been
taken over again by Wied and placed in his map. Finally, the lake's name has been retaken
by Jenkinson. According to Professor Alexandrowicz (1989) the name of the lake comes from
the city
“Wyšnij Woloček”
(Wyshni Wolochek). In turn in above mentioned map from 1525
(Gerasimow-Jovius-Agnese map) this lake is called
“Palus magna”,
and there meets Volgha,
Dnieper, Dvina, and additionally to Jenkinson's representation - the Neva river. Professor
Samuel H. Baron (1993, p. 58, footnote 10) gives some other conception. He claims that this
mistake comes from Gerasimov and then from Münster's map. This mistake could be also
explained by the translation of the word
“volock”
- in Russian language it means “the
carriage across the river”. Then, it could be understood as the lake, especially that the terrain
on which the lake is situated is full of marshes. The lake could be also identified with
mentioned here Fronovo Lake, which is also mentioned by Jovius (Baron, S.H., 1986) and
was confirmed above by the quotation from the Bruzen de la Martiniere Lexicon on the lake.
The next problematical element worth to be considered here is
“Kitaia Lacvs”
which has been
already discussed several times in many articles, and which representation has been
depicted on numerous maps. The number of conceptions, too, was presented. However, in
spite of so many theories, which based on quite a real research results, it is difficult to resist
an impression that both in shape and in its relation with the river Sur (Sir-Darya today), the
lake can be automatically associated with the Aral Sea. Especially that it does not exist at all
in its proper place in the Jenkinson's genuine map.
Figure 12.
“Kitaia Lacvs” and Ob river in Jenkinson's map
Quite different but interesting is the attitude of the Russian scholars to this open question. In
“Zapiski”
by Herberstein (Gerberstein, S., 1988, footnote 546, 547), there are following
theories presented by different scholars. As far as the Zajsan lake is concerned it has been
