Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
considered by A.F. Middendorf as an “
Upsa=Ubsa Nur
” or “
Uvs nuur
” by G. Genning and M.
P. Alekseev, as the Aral sea by G. Michow , L.S. Berg, and K.M. Ber, and as the Teleckoye
lake by A.Ch. Lerberg and D. N. Anucin. To the mentioned conception refer another Russian
scholar, Vadim F. Starkov (1994), who writes about the participation of Gerasimov in
creating the theories, like that of above mentioned professor Baron. Aleksey K. Zaytsev
focuses on
“Teleckoye Lake”
. He explains that Teleckoye Lake is placed on the way of the Ob
river, or rather its tributary called Bija, which joins with the Kotunia river and they create
the Ob river. The note we can consider as the real one if we take into account mentioned
here
“Historisch=Politisch=Geographische Atlas”
(Bd. 1, 1744,; Bd.4, 1746,), where under the
entry we read (in transl. from German):
“Kitaius lacus”,
so is in Latin named a great lake in
the Kingdom of Altin, see “Altin” and then under the entry
“Altin”
we read - so is named
(by somebody) the lake, which is situated in the eastern part of the kingdom of the same
name. The completion of this information we find in another geographical dictionary
(Šchekatov, 1808, č. 6, v. X, columns 164-165), where under the entry of the “lake” we read
that the lake bears as well the name
“Altyn”
or
“Altaj”
18
and is situated in Tomsk Gubernya,
and Kuznieck district. Having so many conceptions, it is necessary to consider their
reliability. Then, we should look at lakes' geographical placement. Every one of the lakes is
situated in the mountain region, close to the Altai mountains. When we look at the
Jenkinson's map, east of Kitaia Lacvs, he depicted high mountain range. As has been
already said, Teleckoe Lake is situated on the way of Bija river - the tributary of the Ob
river, whereas the Zaisan Lake on the Irtysh river the tributary of the Ob river, too. Only
Upsa is not connected with the Ob river. The latter is in most degree in the shape of
“
Kitaia Lacvs”,
because two other have, using the geographical vocabulary, the shape of
finger lakes. There are, however, many indications against these theories on the three
lakes. Mainly because they are situated far away to the east from the territory represented
in the Jenkinson's map, i.e. above 1500 km. from the Aral Sea. The Altai mountains are
situated to the south-eastern direction, but not in northern Siberia. On the other hand, the
Teleckoye lake could be accepted to be “
Kitaia Lacvs
” because of the reasonable argument
which has been already mentioned above and quoted from the geographical Lexicon by
Bruzen de la Martiniere. Simultaneously we know that neither Jenkinson nor Herberstein
entered so far in the Asia interior. They had been not able to get in so high ranges of
mountains and because of wild tribes living east of Bokhara region. Then, to be
remembered, there is yet the possibility that the Lake was retaken from Gerasimov, what
has been already mentioned in Starkov's work (1994) and confirmed by S.H. Baron (see
above).
Then, maybe we should return to the Aral Sea conception. As it was already mentioned
about its shape and the course of river Sur (Syr-Darya) there is
“Amow”
tributary of “
Sur”
river, too. It seems very unlikely if Jenkinson, who travelled across the territory between the
Mare Caspium and Tashkent including Bukhara region, did not notice such a great lake as
the Aral Sea. We are obviously not talking about today's drying up lake.
18
Special work has been devoted to this “country” by two authors: Borodaev, V.B. & Kontev, A.V., Istoričeskij atlas
Altajskogo kraja. Kartografičeskie materialy po istorii Verchnego Priob'ja i Priirtyš'ja (ot antičnosti do načala XXI
veka). Vtoroe izdanie, ispravlennoe i dopolnennoe”. Barnaul, Azbuka 2007 (in the Bibliography here, English title, too).
