15. Lakes. The lakes of Asia are very numerous, especially in Asia Minor, Independent Tartary, and the great Central Basin. To Asia belongs the greatest lake in the world (the Caspian), and the largest fresh-water lake in the Old World (Lake Baikal). Beginning at the N. E. of Ottoman Turkey, and following, as usual, the order of the riverbasins in which they occur, the following are the principal lakes: Kizil Irmak Basin.-Tuz-Gol, or Koch Hissar, a large salt-water lake in the centre of Asia Minor, 45 miles long, 16 miles broad, 3000 feet above the level of the sea, with no visible outlet. Jordan.-Sea of Galilee; Dead Sea, intensely salt, 1312 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. Euphrates.-Lake Van, in Turkish Armenia, salt; no visible outlet. Yang-tse-kiang.-Poyang and Tong-Ting, in China Proper. outlet. Yenisei.-Baikal, in South Siberia, area 14,000 square miles, drained by the Angara. Obi.-Zaisan, drained by the Irtish. Basin of Continental Streams.-The Caspian, area 140,000 square miles, being the largest lake in the world, 84 feet below the level of the sea; Lake Urumiah, W. of the Caspian, very salt; Sea of Aral, 152 miles E. of the Caspian, receives the Amoo from Lake Sir-i-Kol, the highest lake known; and the Sir Daria, one of whose affluents drains Lake Touz in Chinese Tartary; Lake Balkash, 150 miles long and 75 broad, in Independent Tartary; Lop Nor, in the basin of the Yarkand, and Tengri Nor, in Tibet; Zurrah or Hamoon, in Afghanistan. 16. Climate.-Extending from the immediate vicinity of the equator to far within the Arctic circle, Asia exhibits every variety of climate, from the intense heat of the Torrid Zone to the extreme and long-continued cold of the circum-polar regions. Three climatal zones, however, are easily distinguishable. The most northern of these, which includes the great Siberian plain, is characterised by extreme cold for nine months in the year, then giving place to a brief period of excessive heat. The mean temperature of this zone extends from the freezing-point of water to below zero. The coldest portion of this dreary region, and, so far as yet known, of the whole globe, is in the lower basin of the Lena, where Yakutsk, for example, has a mean annual temperature of 13°:5; summer 61°7, and winter -36° 3, or 36° below zero; being a difference of 98° between summer and winter. For the month of January, the mean temperature is -45° 5, while that of July is 68°.8 Fah. In Northern Siberia the ground is perpetually frozen to a geat depth, the superficial stratum alone thawing in summer. The rivers are not clear of ice till June; but as the ice melts in their upper courses earlier than in the lower, extensive areas are for a season under water. (See under "Siberia.") The Middle Zone, which embraces the high table-lands of the interior, is cold and dry, and subject to the influence of piercing winds from the north: here large tracts are seldom visited by rain, especially the great desert of Gobi or Shamo, a large portion of Beloochistan, Persia, Northern Arabia, and Southern Syria, in some of which a drop of rain is never known to fall, and in others only at long intervals, and in very small quantities. The Southern Zone, comprising all the countries south of the table-lands, is characterised by intense summer heat, extreme moisture, and no real winter: here the rain falls with extreme violence at particular seasons of the year; at Calcutta no less than 64 inches fall annually; and at Bombay, 16 inches of rain have been known to fall in a single day. 17. Geology. The geology of Asia has hitherto been very imperfectly explored, but the facts already ascertained warrant the following generalisations: TERTIARY AND ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS COver the plains of Siberia and Independent Tartary, of Hindostan, Further India, and China; the Arabian and Syrian deserts; and the table-land of Persia. SECONDARY STRATA embrace numerous tracts in Asia Minor, Palestine, and Western Syria, the north-western half of Persia, parts of Arabia and Beloochistan, Tibet, Central China, the eastern part of Mantchooria, and several tracts in the basins of the Lena and Oby. PALEOZOIC AND TRANSITION ROCKS occupy extensive tracts lying to the N. of lakes Balkash and Baikal respectively, the Stanovoi and Aldan Mountains, portions of the middle basin of the Yenisei, and a long belt lying S. of the North-east Cape. Numerous large tracts of upper palæozoic also occur in Asia Minor. CRYSTALLINE STRATA prevail in the mountain regions of Central Asia, from Mount Elburz in the W., to the eastern extremity of the Yablonoi Mountains in the E., and from the Altai to the Chinese Sea; Siberia, E. of lon. 165°; many tracts in Asia Minor; together with the southern portions of the three principal peninsulasArabia, India, and Further India. IGNEOUS ROCKS prevail extensively in Asiatic Turkey, Central Hindostan, the mountain chains of Altai, Stanovoi, and Kamtchatka, and the Aleutian, Kurile, Japan, and Formosa Isles. 18. Minerals.-Asia has in all ages been celebrated for the number and variety of its mineral productions. Diamonds and other precious stones abound in India, Burmah, the Ural and Altai Mountains; Coal in Syria, Burmah, Hindostan, China, and Japan; Salt, in Asia Minor. Arabia, Hindostan, China, Siberia, and Central Asia; Petroleum, on the shores of the Caspian; Bitumen, in the Dead Sea; Nitre, in India; Sulphur, in Ladakh; Gold, Iron, Copper, and Platinum, in the Urals; Gold, Silver, Iron, Lead, in the Altai; Mercury, in China, Tibet, and Japan; Tin, in the Eastern Peninsula and Japan; Volcanic products, in the Taurus range and in Japan. 19. Botany. The vegetable products vary exceedingly in the different countries, according to latitude, elevation, and other climatal influences. The entire continent embraces no fewer than eight of the twenty-five botanic regions into which Prof. Schouw divides the vegetation of the globe-viz., the 1st, 2d, 3d, 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, and 13th of his system. (See Art. "Botany," p. 55.) The characteristic vegetation of the first three regions is given at length under "Europe," Art. 18. The sixth, or Japanese region, embraces Japan, Northern China, and the eastern part of Chinese Tartary. Its vegetation occupies a middle position between the floras of Europe and North America, with a considerable affinity to that of India, as shown by its palms and bananas. (See under "China and Japan.") The seventh, or Indian region, which embraces Hindostan, Ceylon, Further India, and the S. of China, and which is unrivalled for the richness of its vegetation, will be described under "Hindostan ;' as also the eighth, or Emodic region, which comprises the mountains of Northern India, between the elevations of 5000 and 12,000 feet. The twelfth region, or Region of Balsam Trees, comprising the S.W. of Arabia, Persia, Beloochistan, and Scinde, will be noticed under the first of those coun tries; as will also the thirteenth region, usually known as the Desert Region, which comprises the remainder of Arabia and the great African desert. 20. Zoology. The Asiatic continent constitutes the second of the six zoological kingdoms into which naturalists have divided the globe. (See p. 58.) It is divided into four zoological provinces-the Northern, Central, Southern, and Transition. The Northern province, or Arctic Asia, extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Altai mountains, and from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean; being bounded on the south by the isother mal curve of 32° Fah., which marks the limit of the permanent frost of the soil. The Central province extends from the Altai to the Himalaya and Hindoo-Koosh Mountains, and from the Caspian Sea to Japan. The Southern province, or Tropical Asia, comprises all the remaining countries of Asia lying east of the table-land of Iran; while the Transition province embraces western Asia south of the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and the Paropamisan Mountains. The fauna of the last-named region is peculiar, and forms a connecting link between the three zoological kingdoms of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The fauna of the Northern province resembles that of northern Europe; while in the Central and Southern provinces are found the elephant, rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, and many other formidable animals, together with the camel, auroch, yak, musk-deer, argal, and Tibet goat. It is probable that all the domestic animals of Europe, with the exception, perhaps, of the sheep, have been originally derived from these two provinces. Ásia has comparatively a less variety of birds and reptiles than of quadrupeds; but the cassowary, bustard, pheasant, domestic fowl, and a number of other gallinaceous birds, are abundant; while, among reptiles, the Indian python, the cobra de capella, and the crocodile, or gavial of the Ganges, are formidable in the extreme. The following tables-the materials of which have been derived, for the most part, from "Johnston's Physical Atlas" - present an accurate synopsis of the fauna of Asia, so far as presently known. The first column gives the name of the order; the second, the total number of species presently known; the third, the total number found in this continent; while the remaining three columns show the number of species found in Northern, Central, and Southern Asia, respectively. 21. Ethnography.-Leaving out of view the Malay peninsula, which more properly belongs to Oceania, the entire Asiatic continent is peopled by two great races of the human family-the Mongolian and the Cau casian. MONGOLIAN RACE.-Asia is peculiarly the home of the Mongol race, and Mongol nations occupy by far the greater portion of its surface. The river Brahmapootra, the Himalayan, Hindoo-Koosh, and Paropamisan ranges of mountains, together with the Caspian Sea, form the great natural barriers that separate this race from the Caucasian. Mongol nations thus occupy the whole of Northern, Central, and Eastern Asia, together with a part of Asia Minor, the inhabitants of which form a connecting link between the Mongolian and Caucasian races. For their physiological, intellectual, and moral characteristics, see above, at page 63. The languages spoken by the Mongol nations all belong to two great classes-the Monosyllabic and the Finno-Tartarian. The former is confined to the southeastern angle of the Continent, and is spoken in China, Further India, Bhotan, and Tibet. The languages comprised under it, besides being monosyllabic, are wholly destitute of inflection; their alphabets are generally symbolic or ideographic (not phonetic); they are inartificial in their structure, and very limited in the range of their literature. The Finno-Tartarian family of tongues, though not altogether peculiar to Mongol nations, occupies the entire remainder of the Mongolian area-viz., Northern and Central Asia-and extends westward into Northern and even Central Europe. Its principal branches are the Turkish, Mongolian, and Tungusian, of Central Asia; the Japanese, Loo-Chooan, and Corean, of Eastern Asia; the Georgian and other languages of the region of the Caucasus; the Samoiede and Finnish, of the north part of both continents; and the Magyar or Hungarian, of Central Europe. All these languages are more or less inflexional and polysyllabic, possess phonetic alphabets, are more refined than the monosyllabic group, while one of them-the Turkish-contains a highly respectable literature. Modern research has established an undoubted affinity between the * According to the "Physical Atlas." + Including Malaya. monosyllabic and Finno-Tartarian families. The religious aspirations of the entire Mongol family have always been obtuse and of a very low order. Shamanism, or demon-worship, and polytheism, at one time widely prevailed; but the nations speaking monosyllabic tongues have now for the most part adopted Buddhism, while the Turanian nations have become Mohammedans. CAUCASIANS Occupy the remainder of Asia-their territory being bounded by the Caspian, Black Sea, the Hindoo-Koosh, and Himalaya on the N.; by the Red Sea and Indian Ocean on the W. and S.; and by the Bay of Bengal and Brahmapootra on the E. The Hindoos, Medo-Persians, and Syro-Arabians, form the three primary divisions of the Caucasian race in Asia. The Hindoos and Medo-Persians appear to have been originally one people, to have spoken the same language, and to have occupied, in common, the plateau of Iran; but at a time anterior to the dawn of history, the Hindoos migrated eastward and settled in the plains of Hindostan, from which they expelled the aboriginal inhabitants, who were probably of Mongolian origin. Their language was the Sanscrit-a tongue of unparalleled copiousness and refinement; and, though it is now a dead language, all the tongues presently spoken in Northern India are immediately derived from it. Brahminism and Buddhism-those two master forms of false religion-originated with this people, and continue to be professed by more than a half of the human race. The Medo-Persian group of nations occupies about a tenth part of the surface of Asia, embracing Persia, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, and the greater part of Turkestan and Armenia. The origin of these nations has never been accurately ascertained. Their very existence had been scarcely known beyond the elevated plateau which, from time immemorial, they appear to have occupied, when all at once they advanced from obscurity to empire. Emerging from their mountainous abodes, they captured Babylon the Great, and founded an empire which, in point of extent, exceeded even that of Rome. Their physical conformation, which is decidedly of the European type, corroborates the testimony afforded by their languages, as to their affinity with the principal nations of Europe. Their languages form an important branch of the great Indo-European family, and embrace the Persian, Pushtoo, Beloochee, Kurdish, Ossitinian, and Armenian. A Shemitic language-the Pehlvi-is supposed to have been predominant at a very remote period in Persia, though it originated in the provinces bordering on Assyria; but under what circumstances it became the general language of Media, is still matter of conjecture. A yet more ancient language is the Persepolitan, a true MedoPersian idiom, vestiges of which are preserved in arrow-headed or cuneiform characters (like those of Assyria), on the monumental inscriptions recently discovered among the ruins of ancient Persian cities. The Zend language, now extinct, was another Medo-Persian tongue, and a sister dialect of the Sanscrit. It seems to have been the language of Zoroaster, and is still partially preserved in the sacerdotal books of the Guebres and Parsees. The earliest religion of the Medo-Persian nations was fire-worship, but they are now, with few exceptions, followers of Mohammed-the Armenians being the only nation of this stock by whom Christianity has been received. The Syro-Arabian or Shemitic nations are chiefly confined to this continent, and especially to its south-western angle-viz., Arabia, Syria, and the basin of the Euphrates and Tigris. In perfection of physical conformation, the Syro-Arabians are regarded by eminent physiologists as equalling, if they do not indeed surpass, all the other branches of the human family. Yet their characteristics are by no means uniform. The Syrians, who still preserve their lineage pure and unmingled among the mountains of Kurdistan, have a fair complexion, with grey eyes, red beard, and a robust frame. The wandering Arab of the Desert is thin and muscular in form, with deep brown skin, and large black eyes; in the valley of the Jordan he has a dark skin, coarse hair, and flattened features, somewhat resembling the Negro type. The Jew is easily distinguished, in whatever country he takes up his abode, by his long oval face, and the peculiar cast of his physiognomy, though his hair is found of all shades, from jet-black to red. The Shemitic languages are remarkably few in number, but, as a compensation for this, they can claim the highest antiquity, and are spread over an immense portion of the surface of the earth. They extend, without interruption, from the Persian Gulf and Lake Urumiah to the Atlantic, and from the Mediterranean and Mount Taurus to an undefined distance into the interior of Africa, where they come in contact with the Hamitic or African family. They are bounded on the east and north by the Indo |