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Topography of the Province of Sz'chuen.
JUNE,
frequently referred to. Lying on the declivities of the lofty mountains and table land of Tibet, Sz'chuen affords a great range of climate, while in the variety of its productions, the facilities of trade afforded by its numerous rivers, and its extent, it ranks chief
among the pro- vinces. It is bounded on the north by Shensí, and Kinsuh: east by Húpeh and Húnán; south by Kweichaú and Yunnin; and west by Tibet and Koko-nor, from which it is separated by the Yángtsz' kiing and high mountains. Its area is usually reckoned at 166,800 square miles, but its western frontier has been extended to the Great river, and now includes extensive districts occupied by aboriginal tribes. Its superficies exceed those of Kiángsí, Chehkiáng and Fuh- kien united; but though the first in point of size, it is only the ninth in respect of population, and the twelfth on the revenue list. This province is one third larger than the United Kingdom, is almost dou- ble that of Prussia, nearly as large as Spain or Turkey, and does not differ much from Burmah, Beloochistan, or all the Eastern and Mid- dle states of the American Union, excluding Maryland; the Black Sea also covers nearly the same area as Sz'chuen. Its extreme southern point reaches to lat. 26° N., far into Yunnán, and its northern to 34° N., about 600 miles apart; its eastern limit is in long. 110° 17′ E., and its western frontier in 99o E., about 550 miles distant in a straight line.
The climate of Sz'chuen is rather colder than the eastern provinces, owing to its proximity to the mountains, but the level and sheltered plains are warmer than the sea-coasts. It is considered by the Chinese as one of the most salubrious portions of the empire.
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The surface of the country in the west is exceedingly rough, where it is traversed by lofty mountain ranges, between which are narrow valleys, with almost always a rapid river running through them. These chains have received the general names of the Yun-ling Cloudy Mts., and Siueh-shán or Snow Mts., from western geo- graphers, the Chinese writers not applying single names to long ranges. In the north of the province, the Min shán forms the water. shed between the basins of the Yellow and Yángtsz' rivers; the Kán- tsung lingor Sweet-fir ridge, near Sungpwán, is a high peak in this spur of the Yun-ling. West of Kiáling river, not far from Páuning fú is the Kien-mun shán, another eminence in the saine range; and further east, adjoining the province of Húpeh, is the Wú shnor Magic hill. In the extreme southwest, near Patang, is Ningtsing shina lofty height not far from the
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