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National Geographic : 1912 Nov
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Photo by A. W. Greely SIBERIAN IMMIGRANTS IN REAR OF OMSK STATION About one-half million immigrants are pouring into Siberia each year gineering of the Siberian Railway, which left to the north Tomsk, the capital of Siberia, now reached by a branch line of 46 miles. Time failed in which to visit this city, the center of the well known mining district of the Altai; to the south, and of the vast and unique hunting grounds to the north, from which come the renowned Russian furs, the martin, ermine, otter, etc. Tomsk prov ince bids fair to be in the near future one of the leading gold-producing centers of the world, as the gold mines of the Altai are now supplemented by extensive and wide-spread placer deposits in the forest regions. As we passed there were seen thou sands of pioneers who had come to Tomsk province to seek their fortunes. Some were joining the bands of trappers, but most were augmenting the hordes of gold-seekers who are fast invading this region. THE SIBERIAN STEPPES To the west the gloomy Taiga grad ually fades away, and one comes into the bright, open steppes or great Siberian plains, which strikingly resemble the prairies of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Extending I,ooo miles north and south, and as far from east to west, the vast watershed of the Obi (nine tenths the area of the Mississippi and Missouri combined watersheds), despite its long winters in the north, is unsur passed in its suitableness for stock-rais ing, dairy farming, and other agricul tural pursuits. Its level and well-watered plains, dotted here and there by light growths of birch, alder, willow, and Si berian cedar, are covered by vigorous growth of nutritious grasses. The soil is fertile, stock of all kinds thrives, trans portation facilities are good, coal is abun dant, modern agricultural methods largely obtain, markets are accessible, and the population is rapidly increasing. THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY OF SIBERIA The capital, Omsk, on the Irtish, a tributary of the Obi, is now the largest (about 1oo,ooo) and commercially the most important city in Siberia. Here centers the river transportation of west ern Siberia, an interior system elsewhere lo87
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