An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
On arriving at what may be called the mountains, though they are not
separated from the low hills by any distinct boundary, we have a very
elevated region, consisting of one mountain heaped on another, and rising
to a great height, so that, when any fall happens in winter, their tops
are for a short time covered with snow. The inhabited vallies between
these are in general very narrow, and are of very various degrees of
elevation, probably from 3000 to 6000 feet of perpendicular height above
the plains of Puraniya. Of course, they differ very much in their
temperature; so that some of them abound in the ratan and bamboo, both of
enormous dimension, while others produce only oaks and pines. Some ripen
the pine-apple and sugar-cane, while others produce only barley, millet,
and other grains.
Some estimate of the climate of this region may be formed by means of the
accompanying register of the weather kept near Kathmandu, although it is
very imperfect, from that want of convenience which must attend
travellers in so remote a country. The winter we passed in Nepal, was
reckoned uncommonly mild; and in place of the rain, which we had at that
season, in most years snow falls at Kathmandu. A more accurate estimate
of the average heat of the valley may be obtained from that of its
springs, which by repeated trials at a fine spring nearly on a level with
Kathmandu, I found to be 64° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer; but in a spring
near Thankot, the heat in April was 59½°; in one at Chitlong it was a
degree lower; and at Bhimphedi, on the skirts of the lower hills, it was
63°. This cold, so uncommon in the latitude of between 27° 30′, and 26°
41′, must be attributed to the great elevation of the country, for the
neighbourhood of the snowy peaks of Emodus could produce little effect,
as the winds were very seldom from that quarter. We have no data upon
which we can calculate the height of the valley of Nepal with any
considerable accuracy. The nearest approach I can make to it, is by the
difference of the average height of the barometer observed during the
month of February 1802, in the Tariyani, and during the February
following at Kathmandu. The average height at the former place was 29,60
inches, while at the latter it was 25,25 inches. The difference of the
logarithms of these numbers, rejecting the index, and taking only the
four next figures, will give 690 fathoms, 4140 feet, for the height of
Kathmandu above the Tariyani. The observations with the thermometer, for
the proper correction of those made with the barometer, are not complete;
but they are not of great consequence, considering that the fundamental
observations were not simultaneous, and were therefore liable to great
error.
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