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GENERAL DESCRIPTION

[ch.

in the extreme north. The part of Katha which lies on the right bank of the river consists mostly of hills with intervening valleys, but about Wuntho and northward from Mo-hnyin are fertile plains. Three well-marked mountain ranges traverse it and there are abundant forests. East of the river are strips of plain country; in the basin of the Shweli, the Shan State of Möngmit; and some sixty miles inland among rugged mountains the world-renowned Ruby Mines. Save for level country on the edge of the river, and for the plain of Hkamti Lōng in Putao, the Kachin Hills compose the three northern districts on the borders of China and Tibet. Stupendous mountain peaks and magnificent alpine scenery are characteristic of this remote part of the province.

Tenasserim and Karenni. (2) On the east and southeast lies Tenasserim, added to the Empire after the First Burmese War, nearly a hundred years ago. South-east are the districts of Mergui and Tavoy, a narrow strip of plain land on the sea coast, backed by hills towards the Siamese border; for the most part rugged and mountainous, covered with dense forests. The mineral possibilities of this country are great but lack of communications retards their development. North of Tavoy, Amherst consists of forest-clad mountains with broad alluvial plains between the Taungnyo and Dawna ranges, watered by the Salween, Gyaing, Ataran and Thaungyin rivers. The wonderful scenery is pictured in Crawfurd's vivid sketch of the view from Martaban, opposite the port of Moulmein:

At sunset we reached Martaban, about twenty-seven miles from the mouth of the river (Salween). The prospect which opens itself upon the stranger here is probably one of the most beautiful and imposing that Oriental scenery can present.[1] The waters of three large rivers, the Salween, the Ataran, and the Gyain meet at this spot, and immediately proceed to the sea by two wide channels; so that, in fact, the openings of five distinct rivers, are, as it were, seen in one view, proceeding like
  1. ↑ Sir Richard Temple records a similar a similar impression.
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