----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Can anybody out there confirm or refute a small (and trivial) bit of information that I picked up somewhere along the line? Years ago, I remember reading (or perhaps I was told) that somewhere in the former Soviet Union there exists a place known as the "Manych depression" (pronounced "Manic Depression). It was suggested that this is a topographic hollow or valley of some significance. But I have not found it on any map or atlas. I would love to know if the Manych Depression really exists, or is it a mere figment of some Cold-War propaganda exercise? Darius Bartlett