Spurs from the Caucasus and from the Armenian highlands fill up the broad latitudinal depression between them.
As a rule, the streams flow alternately east and west down the intermont latitudinal valleys, until they break through some transverse glen in the range on the northern side of the valley.
Another law appears to distinguish the hydrography of at any rate the great latitudinal valleys of the Arka-tagh and the Chimen valley (north of the Chimen-tagh): the streams flow close under the foot of the range that shuts in each individual valley on the north.
The latitudinal valley that intervenes between the Akato-tagh and the next great range on the south, the Chimen-tagh, slopes for the most part eastwards, from 12,500 ft.
Nevertheless, owing to the fact that nearly all the longer and more important crossings of Tibet and its northern montane region have been made from north to south, or vice versa, that is, transversely across the ranges, and comparatively few from east to west along the intermont latitudinal valleys, the identifications between ranges in the east and ranges in the west are in more than one instance more or less doubtful.
