Note regarding the Occurrence of Jade in the Karakash Valley, on the Southern Borders of Turkestan

Abstract

The portion of the Kuen-Lun range which extends from Shahidulla eastwards towards Koten, appears to consist entirely of gneiss, syenitic gneiss, and metamorphic rocks, the latter being quartzose, micaceous, and hornblendic schists. On the southern declivity of this range, which runs along the right bank of the Karakash river, are situated the old jade-mines, or rather quarries, formerly worked by the Chinese; they are about seven miles distant from the Khirgiz encampment of Belakchi, which is itself about twelve miles S.E. from Shahidulla. I had the pleasure of visiting the mines in company with Dr. Bellew and Captain Biddulph, a Yarkundee official being our guide. We found the principal jade locality to be about one mile and a half from the river, and at a height of about 500 feet above its level. Just in this portion of the range, a few short spurs spring from the higher hills, all of which, however, as is usual, are thickly covered with débris and sand, the result of disintegration of the original rock; the whole has an appearance as if an extensive slip of the mountain-side had occurred.