KULMSEE, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of West Prussia, on a lake, 14 m. by rail N. of Thorn and at the junction of railways to Bromberg and Marienburg. Pop. (1900), 8987. It has a fine Roman Catholic cathedral, which was built in the 13th, and restored in the 15th century, and an Evangelical church. Until 1823 the town was the seat of the bishops of Kulm.
KULP, a town of Russian Transcaucasia, in the government of Erivan, 60 m. W.S.W. from the town of Erivan and 2 m. S. of the Aras river. Pop. (1897), 3074. Close by is the Kulp salt mountain, about 1000 ft. high, consisting of beds of clay intermingled with thick deposits of rock salt, which has been worked from time immemorial. Regular galleries are cut in the transparent, horizontal salt layers, from which cubes of about 70 ℔ weight are extracted, to the amount of 27,500 tons every year.
KULU, a subdivision of Kangra district, Punjab, British India, which nominally includes the two Himalayan cantons or waziris of Lahul and Spiti. The tahsil of Kulu has an area of 1054 sq. m., of which only 60 sq. m. are cultivated; pop. (1901), 68,954. The Sainj, which joins the Beas at Largi, divides the tract into two portions, Kulu proper and Soraj. Kulu proper, north of the Sainj, together with inner Soraj, forms a great basin or depression in the midst of the Himalayan system, having the narrow gorge of the Beas at Largi as the only outlet for its waters. North and east the Bara Bangahal and mid-Himalayan ranges rise to a mean elevation of 18,000 ft., while southward the Jalori and Dhaoladhar ridges attain a height of 11,000 ft. The higher villages stand 9000 ft. above the sea; and even the cultivated tracts have probably an average elevation of 5000 ft. The houses consist of four-storeyed châlets in little groups, huddled closely together on the ledges or slopes of the valleys, picturesquely built with projecting eaves and carved wooden verandas. The Beas, which, with its tributaries, drains the entire basin, rises at the crest of the Rohtang pass, 13,326 ft. above the sea, and has an average fall of 125 ft. per mile. Its course presents a succession of magnificent scenery, including cataracts, gorges, precipitous cliffs, and mountains clad with forests of deodar, towering above the tiers of pine on the lower rocky ledges. It is crossed by several suspension bridges. Great mineral wealth exists, but the difficulty of transport and labour prevents its development. Hot springs occur at three localities, much resorted to as places of pilgrimage. The character of the hillmen resembles that of most other mountaineers in its mixture of simplicity, independence and superstition. Tibetan polyandry still prevails in Soraj, but has almost died out elsewhere. The temples are dedicated rather to local deities than to the greater gods of the Hindu pantheon. Kulu is an ancient Rajput principality, which was conquered by Ranjit Singh about 1812. Its hereditary ruler, with the title of rai, is now recognized by the British government as jagirdar of Rupi.
KUM, a small province in Persia, between Teheran on the N. and Kashan on the S. It is divided into seven bulūk (districts): (1) Humeh, with town; (2) Kumrud; (3) Vazkerud; (4) Kinar Rud Khaneh; (5) Kuhistan; (6) Jasb; (7) Ardahal; has a population of 45,000 to 50,000, and pays a yearly revenue of about £8000. The province produces much grain and a fine quality of cotton with a very long staple.
Kum, the capital, in 34° 39´ N. and 50° 55´ E., on the Anarbar river, which rises near Khunsar, has an elevation of 3100 ft. It owes much of its importance to the fact that it contains the tomb of Imam Reza’s sister Fatmeh, who died there A.D. 816, and large numbers of pilgrims visit the city during six or seven months of the year. The fixed population is between 25,000 and 30,000. A carriage road 92 m. in length, constructed in 1890-1893, connects the city with Teheran. It has post and telegraph offices.
See Eastern Persian Irak, R. G. S. suppl. (London, 1896).