From the broad uplands of the watershed, from where to the river bed below there is in general a tedious scramble across a confusion of stones and brushwood, the tumbled masses of the rounded slopes are seen to sink into long undulating sweeps. Where the Kushk and Murghab valleys become entangled, a line of sand cliffs disappears in one direction into the haze of the Kara Kum and merges in another with the Karabyl plateau. In the distance the river, spreading itself over a labyrinth of canals, passes through a rapid succession of changing scenes, until, in the broad arid wastes of the Kara Kum, its waters are finally and completely lost. South-west of Bala Murghab the valley narrows to the dimensions and rugged outlines of a defile. Through this the river rolls, tumbling with thunderous clamour, towards Pendjeh oasis, where it acquires a breadth of 1 to 3 miles. At Pul-i-Khisti, identical with Tash Kepri and a little above the Russian settlement of Takhta Bazaar, the stream is joined by the waters of the Kushk rivulet, when it is not consumed in irrigation. From this point the united rivers flow onward to the oases of Yulatan and Merv, passing through a broad flat valley, 2 miles in width, bounded on either side by sandstone heights. In this stage the river is slow running, deep and difficult to cross, and possessing but few fords. Its average breadth varies between 40 and 70 yards and the most prominent feature is its extreme sinuosity. Beyond Bala Murghab the river valley is contained on the left bank by an undulating chain of low hills, high rocky gorges enclosing the right. At this point the sides are steep, with a possible height of 24 feet and a surface growth of shrubs and willows. A narrow, level strip, tufted with scattered grasses, lies between the water’s edge and the hills on the left bank. The river itself flows in a single channel, clinging rather closely to the left of the valley. It possesses a mean breadth of 70 yards and a maximum current of 5 miles. The depth of the ford is between 3 to 4 feet.