,
: Marcu, 1849. GEOLOGY. VEGETATION. 401
_ gravel beds that occur on the road north to the foot of the
hills, and thence over the tertiary sandstone to Punkabaree.
At the Rukti river, which flows south-west, the road
suddenly rises, and crosses the first considerable hill,
about two miles south of any rock zz situ. This river cuts
a cliff from 60 to 100 feet high, composed of stratified
sand and water-worn gravel: further south, the spur
declines into the plains, its course marked by the Sal that
thrives on its gravelly soil. The road then runs north-
west over a plain to an isolated hill about 200 feet high,
also formed of sand and gravel. We ascended to the top
of this, and found it covered with blocks of gneiss, and
much angular detritus. Hence the road gradually ascends,
and becomes clayey. Argillaceous rocks, and a little
ochreous sandstone appeared in_highly-inclined strata,
dipping north, and covered with great water-worn blocks
of gneiss. Above, a flat terrace, flanked to the eastward
by a low wooded hill, and another rise of sandstone, lead
on to the great Baisarbatti terrace.
Bombax, Lrythrina, and Duabanga | (Lagerstremia
grandiflora), were in full flower, and with the profusion
of Bauhinia, rendered the tree-jungle gay: the two former
are leafless when flowering. The Duabanga is the pride
of these forests. Its trunk, from eight to fifteen feet in
girth, is generally forked from the base, and the long
pendulous branches which clothe the trunk for 100 feet,
are thickly leafy, and terminated by racemes of immense
white flowers, which, especially when in bud, smell most
disagreeably of assafcetida. ‘The magnificent Apocyneous
climber, Beaumontia, was in full bloom, ascending the loftiest
trees, and clothing their trunks with its splendid foliage
and festoons of enormous funnel-shaped white flowers.
_ The report of a bed of iron-stone eight or ten miles west
VOL. I. DD
402 TERAI. Cuap. XVII.
of Punkabaree determined our visiting the spot; and the
locality being in a dense jungle, the elephants were sent
on ahead.
We descended to the terraces flanking the Balasun river,
and struck west along jungle-paths to a loosely-timbered
flat. A sudden descent of 150 feet landed us on a second
terrace. Further on, a third dip of about twenty feet (in
some places obliterated) flanks the bed of the Balasun; the
river itself being split into many channels at this season.
The west bank, which is forty feet high, is of stratified
sand and gravel, with vast slightly-worn blocks of gneiss :
from the top of this we proceeded south-west for three
miles to some Mechi villages, the inhabitants of which
flocked to meet us, brmging milk and refreshments.
The Lohar-ghur, or “iron hill,” les in a dense dry
forest. Its plain-ward flanks are very steep, and covered
with scattered weather-worn masses of ochreous and black
iron-stone, many of which are several yards long: it frac-
tures with fait metallic lustre, and is very earthy in parts :
it does not affect the compass. ‘There are no pebbles of
iron-stone, nor water-worn rocks of any kind found with it.
The sandstones, close by, cropped out in thick beds
(dip north 70°): they are very soft, and beds of laminated
clay, and of a slaty rock, are intercalated with them, also
an excessively tough conglomerate, formed of an indurated
blue or grey paste, with nodules of harder clay. There
are no traces of metal in the rock, and the lumps of ore
are wholly superficial.
Below Punkabaree the Baisarbatti stream cuts through
banks of gravel overlying the sandstone (dip north 65°).
The sandstone is gritty and micaceous, intercalated. with
beds of indurated shale and clay; im which I found the
shaft (apparently) of a bone; there were also beds of the
Marcu, 1849. GEOLOGY. 403
same clay conglomerate which I had seen at Lohar-ghur,
and thin seams of brown lignite, with a rhomboidal
cleavage. In the bed of the stream were carbonaceous
shales, with obscure unpressions of fern leaves, of Zrizygia,
and Vertebraria: both fossils characteristic of the Burdwan
coal-fields (see p. 8), but too imperfect to justify any
conclusion as to the relation between these formations.*
Ascending the stream, these shales are seen za sifu,
overlain by the metamorphic clay-slate of the mountains, and
dipping inwards (northwards) like them. ‘This is at the foot
of the Punkabaree spur, and close to the bungalow, where
a stream and land-slip expose good sections. The carbo-
naceous beds dip north 60° and 70°, and run east.and west ;
much quartz rock is intercalated with them, and soft white
and pink micaceous sandstones. ‘The coal-seams are few
in number, six to twelve inches thick, very confused and
distorted, and full of elliptic nodules, or spheroids of quartzy
slate, covered with concentric scaly layers of coal: they
overlie the sandstones mentioned above. ‘These scanty
notices of superposition being collected in a country clothed
with the densest tropical forest, where a geologist pursues his
fatiguing investigations under disadvantages that can hardly
be realized in England, will I fear long remain unconfirmed.
* These traces of fossils are not sufficient to identify the formation with that of
the Sewalik hills of North-west India; but its contents, together with its strike, dip,
and position relatively to the mountains, and its mineralogical character, incline
me to suppose it may be similar. Its appearance in such small quantities in
Sikkim (where it rises but a few hundred feet above the level of the sea, whereas
in Kumaon it reaches 4000 feet), may be attributed to the greater amount of
wearing which it must have undergone ; the plains from which it rises being 1000
feet lower than those of Kumaon, and the sea having consequently retired later,
exposing the Sikkim sandstone to the effects of denudation for a much longer
period. Hitherto no traces of this rock, or of any belonging to a similar geological
epoch, have been found in the valleys of Sikkim; but when the narrowness of
these is considered, it will not appear strange that such may have been removed
from their surfaces : first, by the action of a tidal ocean; and afterwards, by that
of tropical rains.
404 TERAIL. Cuap. XVII.
I may mention, however, that the appearance of inversion
of the strata at the foot of great mountain-masses has been
observed in the Alleghany chain, and I believe in the Alps.*
A MECH, NATIVE OF THE SIKKIM TERAI,
A poor Mech was fishing in the stream, with a basket
curiously formed of a cylinder of bamboo, cleft all round
in innumerable strips, held together by the joints above and
below ; these strips being stretched out as a balloon in the
* Dr. M‘Lelland informs me that in the Curruckpore hills, south of the Ganges,
the clay-slates are overlain by beds of mica-slate, gneiss, and granite, which pass
into one another.
Marcu, 1849. SEVERE HAILSTORM. 405
middle, and kept apart by a hoop: a small hole is cut in
the cage, and a mouse-trap entrance formed: the cage is
placed in the current with the open end upwards, where the
fish get in, and though little bigger than minnows, cannot
find their way out.
On the 20th we had a change im the weather: a violent
storm from the south-west occurred at noon, with hail of a
strange form, the stones being sections of hollow spheres,
half an mech across and upwards, formed of cones with
truncated apices and convex bases ; these cones were aggre-
gated together with their bases outwards. ‘The large masses
were followed by a shower of the separate conical pieces,
and that by heavy ram. On the mountains this storm was
most severe: the stones lay at Dorjilmg for seven days, con-
gealed into masses of ice several feet long and a foot thick
in sheltered places: at Purneah, fifty miles south, stones
one and two inches across fell, probably as whole spheres.
Ascending to Khersiong, I found the vegetation very
backward by the road-sides. The rain had cleared the
atmosphere, and the view over the plains was brilliant. On
the top of the Khersiong spur a tremendous gale set in
with a cold west wind : the storm cleared off at night, which
at 10 p.m. was beautiful, with forked and sheet lightning
over the plaims far below us. The equinoctial gales had
now fairly set in, with violent south-east gales, heavy thunder,
lightning, and rain.
Whilst at Khersiong I took advantage of the very fair
section afforded by the road from Punkabaree, to examine
the structure of the spur, which seems to be composed of
very highly inclined contorted beds (dip north) of metamor-
phic rocks, gneiss, mica-slate, clay-slate, and quartz ; the
foliation of which beds is parallel to the dip of the strata.
Over all reposes a bed of clay, capped with a layer of vege-
406 TERAL Cuapr. XVII.-
table mould, nowhere so thick and rich as in the more humid
regions of 7000 feet elevation. ‘The rocks appeared in the
following succession in descending. Along the top are
found great blocks of very compact gneiss buried in clay.
Half a mile lower the same rock appears, dipping north-
north-east 50°. Below this, beds of saccharine quartz, with
seams of mica, dip north-north-west 20°. Some of these
quartz beds are folded on themselves, and look like flattened
trunks of trees, being composed,of concentric layers, each
from two to four inches thick: we exposed twenty-seven feet
of one fold running along the side of the road, which was cut
parallel to the strike. Each layer of quartz was separated
from its fellows, by one of mica scales, and was broken up
into cubical fragments, whose surfaces are no doubt cleavage
and joimting planes. I had previously seen, but not under-
stood, such flexures produced by metamorphic action on
masses of quartz when in a pasty state, in the Falkland
Islands, where they have been perfectly well described by
Mr. Darwin ; * in whose views of the formation of these
rocks I entirely concur.
The flexures of the gneiss are incomparably more irregular
and confused than those of the quartz, and often contain
flattened spheres of highly crystalline felspar, that cleave
perpendicularly to the shorter axis. These spheres are dis-
posed in layers parallel to the foliation of the gneiss : and are
the result of a metamorphic action of great intensity, effect-
ing a complete rearrangement and crystallization of the
quartz and mica in parallel planes, whilst the felspar is aggre-
gated in spheres ; just as in the rearrangement of the mimeral
constituents of mica-schists, the alumina is crystallized in
the garnets, and in the clay-slates the iron into pyrites.
* Journal of Geological Society for 1846, p.-267, and “ Voyage of the Beagle.”
Marcu, 1849. GEOLOGY OF PUNKABAREE. 407
The quartz below this dips north-north-west 45° to 50°,
and alternates with a very hard slaty schist, dipping north-west
45°, and still lower is a blue-grey clay-slate, dipping north-
north-west 30°. ‘These rest on beds of slate, folded like the
quartz mentioned above, but with cleavage-planes, forming
lines radiating from the axis of each flexure, and running
through all the concentric folds. Below this are the plum-
bago and clay slates of Punkabaree, which alternate with
_ beds of mica-schist with garnets, and appear to repose
immediately upon the carboniferous strata and sandstone ;
but there is much disturbance at the junction.
On re-ascending from Punkabaree, the rocks gradually
appear more and more dislocated, the clay-slate less so than
the quartz and mica-schist, and that again far less than the
gneiss, which is so shattered and bent, that it is impossible
to say what is zz sifu, and what not. Vast blocks he super-
ficially on the ridges; and the tops of all the outer mountains,
as of Khersiong spur, of Tonglo, Sinchul, and Dorjiling,
appear a pile of such masses. Injected veins of quartz are
rare in the lower beds of schist and clay-slate, whilst the
oneiss is often full of them; and on the inner and loftier
ranges, these quartz veins are replaced by granite with
tourmaline.
Lime is only known as a stalactitic deposit from various
streams, at elevations from 1000 to 7000 feet; one such
stream occurs above Punkabaree, which I have not seen ;
another within the Simchul range, on the great Rungeet
river, above the exit of the Rummai; a third wholly in the
great central Himalayan range, flowimg into the Lachen
river. The total absence of any calcareous rock in Sikkim,
and the appearance of the deposit in isolated streams at
such distant localities, probably indicates a very remote
origin .of the lime-charged waters.
408 TERAI Cuap. XVII.
From Khersiong to Dorjilg, gneiss is the only rock,
and is often decomposed into clay-beds, 20 feet deep, m
which the narrow, often zigzag folia of quartz remain quite
entire and undisturbed, whilst every trace of the foliation
of the softer mineral is lost.
At Pacheem, Dorjiling weather, with fog and drizzle,
commenced, and continued for two days: we reached
Dorjilmg on the 24th of March, and found that the hail
which had fallen on the 20th was still lying in great masses
of crumbling ice in sheltered spots. The fall had done
great damage to the gardens, and Dr. Campbell's tea-plants
were cut to pieces.
POCKET-COMB USED BY THE MECH TRIBES,
END OF VOL. I.
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WUITEFRIARS,
Vart ef Ue Samay camse
Scale of Geographical miles.
n
o ry
== ats a
Chola Peale, 17.319 rt
dist 84 aniles. dixt. of anile
Chinalari Mt, seen over the Chola range,from Tonglo ( 10,078 ft)
(Seo Vol. Tp. 185)
Frew (sce p. 23, 5 h ‘ K aa aa ere 1 <§ - - - ; rs é : ; Kangchan~junga 26 170 £t
‘ Pd j ( i bearing N37 30 E> dist. 25 miles
View in East Nepal, lookimg over the Singalelah MY
(Sce Vol I-p.276)
Moratnes covered rm
arberescent Fanip
Go" W..dist.37 miles, from Tibet , elev: 18,600 Ef
Kangchan - jumga , bearing 5.
x} gms © (See Val Il_p.165.)
Ey Re
Sie SA
A
Lower ov sreat Moraine
aan Ka O GRC =
Riverbed 10,0008 3 \ \ \ ” Critap of part fs)
2}
BREAD,
| THE HIMALAYA & TIBET;
to illustrate
D* J.D. Hooker's Routes.
Drawn by Augustus Petermann, “|
| , Seale of Geographical Miles
Far
|
: |
Course of 3 Explanation .
YANGMA RIVER SCF ncient Morvines
; from
™
: f) The Machoo (Lam eld }
wnSraey” Y | Fiero ha ef Tong
B | ehereea le
rsd Keriges Lame Tega
y said. to be lower than: ema)
fo Aave snowy mountains on West.
SDM.
Ghaream Mt
‘Black: Rock, Wasigh)
¥7.836
1 The ranges E.of Pundim & Woof the Lachen River hare 1
not been visited. nor the B® heads of the OF Rungeet. |
2 Bhomntso ( Tibet | wos well determined. bearings
Sie DP 2 & Cuonalari , but the surunit of
pnkiah waa not recognized from any point near
fhe headle of Lachen and Lachoong- The positions
Of the Snowy Pealw de thereabouts may be Lor 2
miles wrong in position -
3.The position of Tukchawm. aleo requires con~
JSirmation to 2 miles.
4.The route & positions from Tumloong to Ceadam
are but approximates, owing to circumstances over’
Tha courceny W.gf Gemmocht, position of Yala
6. country Wof Gipmocht, etion. of”
Pass, frontier oF Sikkim S.of Chota fe, lower
coures of Testa River are NT
The following powitiona and their elevations are
taken, from Col! Waughs map (As. Journ Nor? B48)
Kanchanjunga Donkiah Tonglo
Juno Gnaream. Dorjiting
Bubra Awola Sinchut
Pundim Kirsom‘Kirmi Tendong
Nursing Melido Mainom.
D.2 Singalelah Gipmochi
D3 Phulloott
All other positions, all rivers, villages ,mountains,
passes &e fiom a rough Survey ky D? Hooker.
Buglish Milos
Approximate determination
9 of the principal
Glaciers of Hinchinghow &
Donkiah M™ and Chomiome,
gas
7 East Nepal
was Jasvied, the weather unfavorable
and opportunitias fer of veritving my positions.
| was seen from a distance only.
3 Whe courses of the rivers Khuva, Tawa & Pangwe,
= oxitions of Sidingbah M? and Ieumbo Pass
n,Yangma, Kambachen. &
are possibly too fear to the N.W.
‘on Choonjerma Fuse was ascertained
é tearing and angular height of Ji ard
f ras the only time a Inown. object was recoo-|
nized during my travels in these after
teaming Sankiatzung. PLAIN Ss} or \i/nora
= A :
"3 MAP > i :
4 of Ba i aie
! STKIKIM 4
AND A Note
9 = — Di Hooker's routes.
i EASTERN NEPAL Goossen murk the positions of
os religious eatablishrnents
" J.D,MOOKER ¥SQ: MD.RN RRS. a Passes over 3 :
§ suxwove HIs ROUTES. The principal mae wi eee
| 8 Camping places
= - 1 = he. ‘either ix ters or Frutas,
» % 30 The Bliss coloring a 3
= - == Saree
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CALIF ACAD ~ SCIENCES LIBRARY
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