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A manual of the geology of India.
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A MANUAL
OF
THE GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
PART II ! EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
CONTEi^TS.
PART II.
CHAPTER XIX.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SIND. — (w. T. B.)
Sub-division of the Extra-Peninsular
area 445
I. SnTD :■'— Physical geography of West-
ern Sind 446
Rock formations . . . . • . 447
Cretaceous beds 448
PalsBontology 449
Deccantrap. ; . . . . 450'
Ranikot group 451
Pafeeontology 452
Cretaceous and lower tertiary rocts of
Baluchistan 453
Khirthar group 456
Palseontology 458
PAOB
Nari group 459
Palseontology 461
Gaj group 463
PalSBontology 465
Manchhar group ....'. 466
Relations to Makran group . . . .4^0
Paleontology of Manchhar group . 471
.Post-tertiary beds . . .' ■. 473
Additional notes on Sind tertiary series 473
Absence of general breaks below
plioceUe 474
Grreat post-pliocene disturbance . . 474
Alternation of marine and freshwater
beds . ■ . ... . . .475
CHAPTER XX.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
THE PUNJAB HILLS WEST OP THE JHBLTJM. — (w. T. B.)
Physical geography .... 477
Geological data 479
General geological features . . . 480
Bock-groups of Salt Hange . . . 481
Bock -groups of Hazira and the North-
■ ern Punjab 483
Abnormal boundary pf upper tertiaries . 483
' Azoic and Palaeozoic rocks of Salt •
Range, &c ' . . 485
Salt marl 486
Purple sandstone ..... 488
fACtS
Sjlurian (?)
. 488
Magnesiah sandstone .
. 489
Speckled sandstone
. 489
Carboniferous . ...
V 489
Mesogoic rocks of Salt Range, &c. :
Ceratite'beds . .
. 493
Pseudomorphio salt-crystal zone .
. 494
Jurassic or variegated group
. 495
Cretaceous (neocomian) .. .' .
. 496
01iv£ group .,
. 496
IT
CONTENTS,
CHAPTER XXI.
EXTRA-PENINSULAB AREA.
THE PUNJAB HILLS WEST Or THE JHBLUM — CmUntced.-
-(W. T. B.)
Palaeozoic and mesozoic rocks of North-
ern Punjab
498
Crystalline and metamorphic
498
Schistose series
499
Attock slates
499
Carholiiferous and infra-triassic .
501
Trias (including Rhsetic)
501
Jurassic : Spiti shales ....
502
Grieumal sandstone ....
503
Cretaceous
503
Tertiary beds of Punjab generally
504
Thickness of tertiary series .
504
Distribution of eocene beds .
505
Marl and Bhdgti hills ....
505
Suleman range near Dera Ghazi Khdn .
505
Chiehali Hills and Salt Range .
S06
Koh^t district . . . . ; 507
Salt and gypsum 508
Clays, limestones, and sandstones above
the salt : 509
Northern Potwar and Murree Hills . 509
Hill nummulitic limestone of Northern
Punjab 511
Upper tertiaries, Siwaliks, &c. . . 512
Distribution- 513
Palseontology- 514
Post-pliocene deposits of Northern
Punjab 515
Erratics 515
Indus floods 516
FossU shells 516
CHAPTEE XXII.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SUB-HIMALAYAS. (h. B. M.)
Scanty materials 517
Provisional limits of Himalayan region 518
Map .519
General features 519
Three main divisions .... 519
The stjb-himalatas.— Provisional
conclusions 520
General features 521
Early views on Sub-Himalayas .. . 521
General range, of these deposits . . 522
Classification 523
Petrology 524
Chiefly of freshwater origin
Structural conditions ....
Faults
Flexures • • . . .
Middle and terminal Sub-Himalayan
regions ....
The Simla region ....
Order of description ....
The Sibm6b aeea
525
526
526
528
528
529
530
530
TkUTt
Unity of the formation . . . 530
Subathu, Dagshai, and Kasauli groups . 530
Relation to the older rocks . . . 532
Section at Subathu .... 533
Limits of the Sirmur area . . . 534
Easternmost outlier of the nummulitic
group ...... 534
(SlWAMK SEBIES : NXhAN ABBA . . 535
The Nahan-Swalik boundary , . . 537
The Nahan-Sirmlir boundary . . 539
The Jumna- Ganhes aeba . . . 541
Cordposition in relation to the great
rivers 541
Identification of beds in the two zones . 541
Suggested connection of the two zones
in this area 542
The Gahevstal and Kumaun aeea . 543
NepIij abea ; 543
SiKKIM AND BHtJTAN AEEAS . . 545
Uppee Absau aeea .... 545
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIII,
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SUB-HIMALAYAS — Continued. — (h, b. m.)
TebMINAI. SUB-filMALAYAS : EXNaSA.
ABEA 547
General structure .... 548
The Ghambar-Basauli fault . . 548
The Eosari and Badsar-Nurplir faults 549
Extinction of the . Nahan-Siwalik
boundary 550
The Sutlej at Bubhor . . . .551
^Extinction of the Nahan-Sirmur bound-
ary 652
Difficulties of classification in the
Eangra area. 554
Bubhor and Bel£spur sections compared 555
Doubtful beds in the Sirmur zone . 556
Want of fossils 557
The base of the Dhauladhar range . 557
The Mandi rock-salt . . - . . 558
North-western termination of the
Eangra area 559
Special feature 560
SirmuT zone at the Rivi . . . 560
Western expansion of Sirmur zone . 661
Inliers 562
Characters of the Sub&thu group . 662
Belation of tertiary to palsBOZoi« rocks 563
Comparison with sections of Simla
. region 664
Doubtful newer rocks of the Sirmur
zone 564
Other general features of Sirmdr zone 566
The Siwalik-iSirmtir bound&ry . . 567
The Basauli-Naushera fault _ . .567
Biassi conglomerates .... 668
The outer Siwalik zone . . . 668
Sttumabt 569
1. Special Himalayan disturbance
altogether post -eocene . . . 569
2. Eocene Himalayan land . . 669
3. Doubtful extension over the Lower
Himalayan area .... 669
4. Actual Himalayan border defined
' in middle tertiary times . , 570
6. Its partial extension to the north-
west 670
6. Himalayan river-gorges in Siwalik
times same as now . . . 570
7. Extreme slowness of disturbing
action 670.
8. Elevation preceded compression . 671
CHAPTER XXIV.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SIWALIK FAUNA. (w. T.. B.)
The later tertiary vertebrate fauna . 572
Siwalik mollusca .... 676
Homotaxis of mammalia . , . 576
' Reptilian •evidence .... 580
Siwalik fauna probably pliocene . . 680
Stratigraphical evidence of age of Siwa-
liks 581
Survival of miocene forms in Siwalik
beds 682
Pliocene fauna of Pikermi in Attica . 683
Migration ...... 584
Effects of change of climate . . 685
Comparative poverty of recent mam-
malian faunas 586
Relations of Siwalik to PerimJsland
fauna ...... 588
Comparison with Irawadi fattna . . 588
Comparison of Siwalik and recent
faunas . • , . . . • 689
VI
■CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XXV.
EXTEA-PENINSULAR AREA.
LOWEE HIMALAYAS. (h. B. M.)
Limits
General features .
The terminal area
Classification of rooks
Correlation of groups
The gneissic series
The 6la.te series .
The Inf ra-Blaini roots
The Blaini group .
Itifra-Krdl group .
The Krdl group .
The relations of the slate and gneissic
series ....-•
Special metmorphism and disturbance .
(Simla slates)
fASB
592
593
594
595
595
596
598
.599
599
. 600
601
601
605
Trappean rocks .
.606
The Chor mountain
.607
South-east of Simla
. 608
Kumaun and Garhwal ,
. 609
Nepal . . . .
. 611
The SibVim area .
. 612
The Darjiling gneiss .
. 614
The Baling series
. 614
The Damuda series
. . .615
Relations of the three series in Sikkim 615
The Bhutan border : Buxa series . . 618
The Dikrang section .
. 620
Summary .'
. 620
CHAPTER XXVI.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
CENTRAL (tIBETAN) HIMALAYAS! (h. B. M.)
Data available .....
Classification of rocks ....
General structure and distribution
The main gneissic axis
The Lad&k axis . ,
The Hundes and Zanskar Synclinal
The Karakoram synclinal and Kuenluu
axis . . . . .
The Kashmir synclinal
Position of the tertiary formations
Gneiss of two ages
The central gneiss ....
Mineral character
Sti;atigraphieal relation . . .'
Relations defined only in the middle
Himalayas . .
PAG-B
PASE
622
The granitic axis ....
629
623
Terminal extensions of the central
624
'gneiss . . . .
680
624
The Zfinskar gneissic range .
630
625
The Pir Panjal gneissic chain
631
625
The Dhauladhar gneissic range .
632
The newer gneiss ....
633
626
The chief sedimentary basins
633
626
The formations of the Zanskar area
635
626
PalsBozoic series
638
626
South-west boundary ....
639
627
South-east boundary ....
639
627
The Rupshu metamorphics .
640
628
North boundary with tertiary rocks .
640
The secondary series ....
641
628
The tertiary series ....
643
CONTENTS.
Vll
CHAPTER XXVII.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
CENTRAL (tibbtan) HIMALAYAS — Continued. — (h. b. m.)
The Hundes or Ngari-Khorsum area .
Stratigraphicol series of Niti in Hun-
des ' .
The tertiary eruptive rocks of Hundes .
The sedimentary tertiary rocks of
Hundes .
The Karakoram area
The Ladak gneiss
The eastern section of the
hasin
The Earakoram section
The Kuenlun range
The Sukef pass section
The Tangi pass section
The Pamir section
The Kashmir-Pangi area
Triassic rocks of Kashmir
Earakoram
PAOB
PAGH
646
Carhoniferous rocks of Kashmir .
660
Silurian rocks of Eashmir •
662
647
The Pangi basin ...
664
650
The Fir Panjal Cham . . . .
665
One-sidedness of mountain structure .
667
651
Post-tertiary and recent formations .
667
652
Sub-Hjmalayan high-level gravels
668
652
Glacial evidence in Tibet
669
The Hundes lake-basin
670
653
Lingzhithang and Kuenlun lake-basins
671
654
Tso Moriri and other basins
671
.655
Alluvial deposits of Tibet .
672
656
The Kashmir basin . . . .
672
656
The Nepal valley ; . . .
674
657
Other lakes . . ...
675
658
Drainage lines
675
659
Summary
679
CHAPTER XXVIII.
EXTRA-PENINSULAB AREA.
THE ASSAM RANGE. — (H. B. M.)
Area to be described .... 682 '
Formations present .... 684
General structure .... 684
The Sylhet trap . . ' . . . 686
The cretaceous series : Khasi area . 687
Cretaceous series : Garo area . . 690
Cretaceous series : Mikir area . . 692
Nummulitic series : Khasi area . . . 693
Pi.SS
Nummulitic series : Giro area . . 695
Eastern extension of the nummulitics . 696
The upper tertiaries .... 696
The Assam coal-fields .... 699
General structure .... 700
The Disang group . . . .701
The coal measures , , . . 701
Tipam and Dehing groups . . . 702
• CHAPTER XXIX.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
BURMA.— ^W. T.B.)
Area and. physical geography
Geological data ...
PAGB
704
706
Rock -groups
Metamorphic rocks
PASS
706
707
VUl
CONTBNTS.
PA 03
Mergni group 708
Haulmain group 709
Axial (triassic) group .... 710
Mai-iJ[cretaceous) group . . .711
Supposed cretaceous coal in Tenas-
eerim 712
Negrais rocks 713
Serpentine . . . .. • • 714
Nummulitic group . . . .715
Arakan . . ■ • « • ■ 717
Coal-bearing rocks of Tenaaserim . 718
■ Pegu group 719
Newer tertiary beds in Arakan . . 721
Pliocene fossil-wood group .
Tertiaries of Upper Burma .
Extinct volcano of Puppa . /
Tracbyte in South-Western Pegu
Post-tertiary deposits : laterite
Older alluvial sands and gravels
Delta of Irawadl .
Littoral concrete of Arakan coast
Mud volcanoes of Bamii, &c.
Islands in the Bay of Bengal
Andaman Islands
Nicobar Islands .
Barren Island and Narcoudam
PABB
721
724
725
725
726
726
727
729
729
732
.732
734
735
Eitra-Peninsular, ] SUB-DIVISION of the extra -peninsular area, 4,45
CHAPTER XIX.
EXTRA-PENINSULAE AREA.
SIND.
Sub-division of the extra-peninsular area : — I, Sind— Physical geography of Western Sind
— Rock formations — Cretaceous beds — Deccan trap — Ranikot group — Palasonto-
logy — Cretaceous and lower tei-tiary beds of Baluchistan — Khirthar group — Palte-
ontology — Nari group — PaliEontology — G^j group — PalEeontology — Manchhar
group — Relations to Makr^n group of Baluchistan — Palceontology of Manchhar group
— Post-tertiary beds — Additional notes on Sind tertiary series — Absence of general
breaks below pliocene — Great post-pliocene disturbance — Alternation of marine and
fresh-water beds.
Sub-division of the extra-peninsular area. — The distinctions
in geological characters between the peninsular and extra-peninsular
areas o£ India have already been explained, and the reasons for treating
the two regions separately have been sufficiently stated in the intro-
ductory chapter ; whilst the descriptions of the tertiary, and still more
of the post-tertiaiy, formations of the Peninsula furnish a natural passage
to the extra-peninsular area. This is geologically an intrinsic portion
of the Asiatic continent, whilst peninsular India is not.
Imperfect as is our knowledge of the geology of the Indian Penin-
sula, our acquaintance with the geological structure of the mountain ranges
west of the Indus, of the Himalayas, and of the countries east and north-
east of the Bay of Bengal, is even more fragmentary. Occasionally wide
areas intervene, such as Nepal and the outer hills of the Afghan high-
lands, from which Europeans are rigidly excluded, and, even when no
political difficulties exist, the physical impediments to surveying are of
the most serious description. Many parts of the mountainous barrier
which almost surrounds India are, from their great elevation and rigor-
ous climate, only habitable for a short period of the year, and even
then their exploration is a matter of difficulty ; population is sparse, and
roads either difficult or wanting throughout the whole tract. To the
eastward, in the damper regions of Assam, Sylhet, and Burma, the dense-
ness of the forest throughout nearly the whole of the country, and the
impenetrable undergrowth of creepers, canes, bamboos, and shrubs, render
the examination of the rocks toilsome, tedious, and unsatisfactory. To
crown the whole, throughout extra-peninsular India, with the exception
of Sind and the Panjab, the geology is greatly obscured by the disturbance
and, in many parts, the inetamorphism which the rocks have undergone.
446 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIND. [ Chap. XIX.
Owing to these various di-awbacks, it is not practicable to treat the
geology of extra-peninsular India as has been done in the case of the
peninsular area, and to describe eacb formation throughout the whole
region by itself. Having to deal with fragmentary and isolated observa-
tions, varying greatly in their amount of detail, it appears best to take
each geological tract separately ; and this arrangement is facilitated by
the fact that there is a wide distinction between different parts of tbe
region, both in the formations represented, and in the physical features of
the geology, such as the directions of the mountain chains. 'Hie plan
that will be adopted in describing tbe extra-peninsular tracts will be to
commence at the west with Sind, as the rocks of that province are not
only closely connected with the tertiary formations of Cutch and Katty-
war, described in the f ourteentb chapter, but are also of importance as
affording a better series of the tertiary beds, so widely developed in
extra-peninsular India, than is known elsewhere in Southern or South-
Eastern Asia.
The following regions will therefore be separately described : —
I. Sind.
II. Panjab hills west of the Jhelum.
III. Himalayas.
IV. Assam, Sylhet, Chittagong, &c.
V. Burma.
I. Sind :— Physical geography of Western Sind.— The greater
part of the province of Sind is included in the Indo-Gangetic plain,
already described in Chapter XVII; Eastern Sind, beyond the limits of
the Indus alluvium, consists chiefly of sand-hills, and the rock area of
the province is almost limited to the ranges of hills on tbe western or
Baluchistan frontier, and a few isolated ridges in tbe alluvium ; the most
important exposures amongst the latter being those near Sukkur (Sakhar)
and Rohri (Roree).
The, province is commonly divided into Upper and Lower Sind, the
former lying north, the latter south of Sehwan. Upper Sind consists of
a broad alluvial plain on both sides of the river, interrupted near Suk-
kur and Rohri by the ridges of limestone already mentioned, and bounded
to the westward by a north and south mountain chain, known as the
Khirthar,^ forming the boundary between Sind and Baluchistan, and
rising in places to 6,000, and even in one spot to 7,000, feet above the
sea. Lower Sind, west of the Indus, consists of a series of parallel
north and south ridges of no great height, seldom exceeding 2,000 feet
above the sea, but much loftier to the north than to the south where
they almost disappear in an undulating plain near the coast. Many of
' This range in all the older maps is united with other hiUs on the western border of Sind
and the whole is called the HAla range. No such range is recognised in the country. There
is a Hdla pass, not in the Khirthar range, but in another much smaller ridge south of Sehwan
Extra-Peninsular. ]
EOCK FORMATIONS,
447
these ridges are simple anticlinalsj the axes being formed o£ the massive
nummulitic limestone of which the highest portion of the Khirthar also
consists. The Khirthar range terminates in Lower Sind some distance
south of Sehwan j other ridges, however, both east and west of this main
range, extend farther to the south. East of the Indus there is an
isolated low range of limestone hills, on the northern extremity of which
stands the town of Hyderabad, and there is another similar rise at Tatta.
The hills of Baluchistdn, west of Sind, are very imperfectly known ;
for some distance from the Sind frontier they form ranges running north
and south parallel to the Khirthar, but farther west they assume an
east and west -direction. They are principally composed of tertiary rocks,
like the hills of Sind, but at Kelat itself, and in a few other localities,
older formations have been discovered,^ and some apparently extensive
igneous rocks also occm*.
Rock formations. — The rocks found in Sind,^ as already noticed,
belong chiefly to the tertiary epoch, but in one locality some cretaceous
beds crop out from beneath the higher formations. The following is a
list of the different groups, exclusive of the alluvium : —
Name.
1. Manchhab
2. Gaj
3. Nasi
4. Khibthab
Sub-diTisions,
r upper
• lower
f tipper
' I lower
f upper
C. lower
Eanikot
Teaps .
'J. Cebtacbous
f^a. Cardita
Seaumonti
beds
]b. Sandstones
f c, Hippuritic
limestone
•I
Approximate
thickneBS.
5,000
, 3,000 to 5,000
1,000 to 1,500
4,000 to 6,000
100 to 1,500
500 to 3,000
, 6,000 ?
2,000
40 to 90
350 to 450
700
320 .
Supposed geological
age.
pliocene.
lower pliocene or
upper miocene.
miocene.
lower miocene ?
tipper eocene,
eocene.
eocene.
lower eocene,
upper cretaceous.
cretaceous.
Bemarks,
Apparently represent-
ative of the Siwa-
liks proper.
Nummulitic lime-
stone.
The base not deter-
mined.
Representative of Dec-
can and Malwa trap.
, Base not exposed.
> Cook, Trans. Med. Phys. Soe. Bombay, 1860, VI, pp. 1,45 ; Carter, Jour.
Br. R. A. S., VI, p. 184, It is possible that some of the igneous rocks described as occurring
may be interstratified and representative of the Deccan trap, as in Sind.
2 This description is taken partly from the accounts of Sind geology given in Eec.
G. S. I., IX, pp. 8 — 22, XI, pp. 161 — 173, and partly from manuscript notes. Some details
were given previously, Mem. G. S. I., VI, pp. 1 — 12. The earliest description of the geology
of Sind was by Vicary, Q. J. G. S., 1847, p. 384. The fossils obtained by Vicary and others
were described in Messrs. lyArchiac and Haime's great work, the " Description des animaux
fossiles du groupe Nummulitique de Tlnde, " published in 1853.
GEOLOGY OF lUDIA-SIND. [Chap. XlX.
Of these rocks, the lower Khirthars and the Ranikot beds may be, to
some extent, representative of each other. On the river Gaj, which
traverses the Khirthar range in Upper Sind, a thickness of at least
25,000 feet of strata is exposed, none of the fossiliferous beds being of
older date than eocene ; but some of the rocks towards the base of the
section beyond the Sind frontier correspond so well with the description
given by Dr. Cook of strata in which he found mesozoic fossils
(Ammonites, &c.) in Kelat, that these bottom beds on the upper Gdj,
which are only seen west of the British frontier, may very probably be
of cretaceous age. There is, however, no resemblance between any of
the lower beds on the Gaj and the cretaceous rocks of the Laki range.
Cretaceous beds. — The only locality in Sind, in which beds of
■older date than eocene have been identified, is in a range of liiUs running
due south from the neighbourhood of Sehwan, and generally known to
Europeans as the Laki range,^ from the small town of Laki near the
northern extremity. South-west of Amri on the Indus, a number of
very dark-coloured hills are seen in this range ; they contrast strongly
with the clifEs of grey and whitish nummulitic limestones behind them.
These dark hiUs consist of cretaceous beds, but the lowest member of the
series is only exposed in a single spot, at the base of a hUl known as
Barrah, lying about 10 miles south-west of Amri. The whole range here
consists of three parallel ridges, the outer and inner composed of tertiary
rocks ; while the intermediate one consists of cretaceous beds, faulted to
the eastward against the lower eocene strata and dipping under them to
the westward. Close to the fault some whitish limestone is found,
compact and hard ; the lower portion pure ; the upper portion, often con-
taining f ermginous concretions, is sandy, gritty, and forms a passage into
the overlying sandstones. The base of this limestone is not seen ; the whole
thickness exposed is a little over 300 feet, and the length of the outcrop
does not exceed half a mile. The limestone is fossiliferous, and contains
echinoderms and moUusca, but it is so hard and homogeneous that nothing
that has been obtained from it can be easily recognised, except one frag-
ment of a hippurite. This fossil is, however, of great importance, because
it shews that the white limestone may very probahly be an eastern
representative of the hippuritic limestone, so extensively developed in
Persia, and found in numerous localities ^ from Tehran to east of
' This range has no general name, different portions being luown by a number of local
terms. It Is one of the ranges which combines to form the Hala range of Vicary and other
writers, and the name is less inappropriate in this case, for there is an unimportant pass
through the chain known as the Hala Lak, Different portions of the range are known as
Tiyfin, K4ra, Eri, Surjdna, &c. The range is very incorrectly represented on the maps.,
2 Eastern Persia, II, pp. 457, 485.
Extra-Peninsular.] CRETACEOUS BEDS, 44,9
KarmSn in longitude 58°, just ten degrees west o£ the Laid range in
Smd. Of course the same formation may be found in the intervening
country, the geology of which is unknown. The precise position of the
Persian hippuritic limestone in the cretaceous series has not been deter-
mmed, but the European formation, which is very similar and probably
identical, is of the age of the lower chalk (turonian).
The sandstones resting on the hippuritic limestone occupy a consider-
able tract arovmd Barrah hill, and extend for about 3 miles from north
to south. They are also seen at Jakhmari to the northward, a,nd in one
or two other places in the neighbourhood. They are gritty and conglo-
meratic, frequently calcareous, and contain a few bands of shale, usually
of a red colour. The prevailing colour on the weathered surfaces is dark
brown or purple, many of the beds being highly ferruginous. On the top
of the sandstones is a thick bed of dark-coloured impure limestone, contain-
ing oyster shells, and occasionally large bones, apparently of reptiles ; none,
however, have been found sufficiently well preserved for identification.
In one place a bed of basalt, about 40 feet thick, has been found inter-
stratified in the sandstones, and it is possible that the band may exist
elsewhere, but it has hitherto remained undetected. The position of this
bed of basalt on the face of a hUl called Bor, about 13 miles north of
Ranikot, is at an elevation of 300 or 400 feet above the base of the
sandstones, and about twice as much beneath the main band of inter-
bedded trap, to be described presently.
The highest sub-division of the cretaceous formation consists of soft
olive shales and sandstones, usually of fine texture. The sandstone beds
are thin, and frequently have the appearance of containing grains of de-
composed basalt or some similar volcanic rock, or else fine volcanic ash. A
few hard bands occur, and occasionally, but rarely, thin layers of dark olive
or drab impure limestone. Gypsum is of common occurrence in the shales.
Palaeontology. — The olive shales are highly fossiliferous, the com-
monest fossil being Cardita leaumonti,^ a peculiar, very globose species,
truncated posteriorly, and most nearly allied to forms found in the lower
and middle cretaceous beds of Europe (neocomian and gault). This
shell is extremely abundant in one bed, about 200 to ^60 feet below the
top of the cretaceous series, but is not confined to this horizon. Nautili
also occur, the commonest species closely resembling N. lalechei^ of
Messrs. D'Archiae and Haime, but differing in the position of the
siphuncle. This form appears undistinguishable from N. houchardianus,
found in the upper cretaceous Arialur beds of Pondicherry, and at a lower
1 D'Archiae and Haime, An. foss. Groupe Num., p. 253, pi, xxi, fig. 14.
2 T. c. p. 338, pi. xxxiv, fig. 12.
D I
450 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIX.
cretaceous horizon in Europe. A second Nautilus resembles JV. stibfleuri'^
ausianus, another eocene Sind species, in form, and is also allied to some
cretaceous tjrpes. Several Gastercypoda occur, especially forms of Rostel-
laria, Cypraa, Natica and Turritella, but none are very characteristic.
Two forms of Ostrea are common — one of them allied to the tertiary
0. flemingi and to the cretaceous O. zittelicma, but distinct from both.
The only moUusk which certainly passes into the Ranikot beds is Corbula
harpa. Two echinoderms have been found — one is an ^piaster, an almost
exclusively cretaceous g-enus, only one or two tertiary species having
been found ; the other is an aberrant form of EcMnolampas. Two or three
corals complete the list of invertebrate fossils found in the olive shales.
In the lower part of the beds with Cardita beaumotdi, however, some
amphiccelian vertebrae were found, which Mr. Lydekker has ascertained
to be crocodilian. All amphiccelian crocodiles are mesozoic, and the present
form must be one of the latest known. So far as it is possible to
form an opinion from very fragmentary materials, the vertebrsB in
question appears more nearly allied to the Wealden Suchosawrus than to
any other form hitherto described. It has, however, bden already shewn,
when writing of the Grondwana flora, that the distribution ofBeptilia
in past ages was not the same in India as in Europe.
The fossils of the Cardita beaumonti zone require much fuller examin-
ation and comparison than they have hitherto received, but sufficient has
been ascertained to shew that they have a distinctly cretaceous character,
and that the limit of tertiary formations must be drawn above them.
As will be seen in the description of the Panjab Salt Range in the next
chapter, it is probable that this peculiar band of olive-coloured shales is
represented by similar beds in that locality also. It has, however, not
hitherto been Recognised in Baluchistan or in the Western Panjab, south
of the Salt Range.
Deccan trap.^Mention has already been made of one bed of basalt
intercalated in the sandstones above the hippuritic limestone : a much
more important band of the same igneous rock has been traced, resting
upon the Cardita beaumonti beds, throughout a distance of 32 miles from
Ranikot to Jakhmari, about 17 miles south of Seh wan, wherever the
base of the Ranikot gi'oup, the lowest tertiary formation, is exposed.
The thickness of this band of trap is trifling, and varies from about 40 to
about 90 feet. Apparently in some places the whole band consists of
two lava flows similar in mineral character, except that the upper is
somewhat ashy, and contains scoriaceous fragments ; the higher portion of
each flow is amygdaloidal, and contains nodules of quartz, calcedony and
calcite, and in places the nodules are surrounded by green earth as is
Extra-Peninsular. J RANIKOT GROUp. ^51
so frequently the case in the Deccan traps. Another characteristic
accessory mineral^ common also in the traps of the Deccan and Malwa, is
quartz with trihedral terminations. The basaltic trap of the Laki hills is
apparently of subaerial origin^ although it rests conformably on the
marine (or estuarine?) Cardita heaumonti beds. There is nothing in the
igneous bed to indicate its having consolidated otherwise than in the air,
and the structure differs altogether from that of subaqueous volcanic tuffs.
The evidence that this band of basaltic rock is interstratified and not
intrusive is ample ; throughout the whole distance the trap is found in
precisely the same position between the lowest beds of the Ranikot group
and the highest cretaceous strata, and apparently perfectly conformable to
both. The close resemblance in mineral character and the similarity
of geological position at the base of the tertiary beds shew that
this band must be in all probability a thin representative of the
great Deccan and Malwa trap formation, and the occurrence of a second
bed at a lower horizon, interstratified with rocks of cretaceous age, tends
strongly to confirm the inference drawn from the relations of the traps
to cretaceous and tertiary rocks in the Narbada valley, that the great
volcanic formation of Western India must be classed as upper cretaceous.
Banikot group. — The name of the lowest tertiary sub-division is
derived from a hill fortress of the Sind Amirs, situated in the Laki range
of hills, and known as Rani-jo-kot, or Ranikot, and also as Mohan-kot;
from the Mohan stream, which traverses the fortification. The Ranikot
group is much more extensively developed in Sind than the underlying
cretaceous beds, for although it is confined to Lower Sind, and although
its base is only seen in the Laki range, north of Ranikot, its upper
strata occupy a considerable tract of country, about 26 miles long
from north to south by about 12 in breadth, north-west of Kotri,
and another even larger exposure, about 36 miles long, occurs, extending
from north of Jhirak (Jhirk, Jhirruk, Jerruck or Jurruk) to Tatta. In
the Laki range, the Ranikot beds are seen for about 35 miles, but the
outcrop is never more than 2 or 3 miles broad, and one small inlier is
exposed to the west of Ranikot.
All the lower portion of the Ranikot group, including by far the
greater portion of the beds, consists of soft sandstones, shales and clays,
often richly coloured and variegated with brown and red tints. Gypsum
is of frequent occurrence ; some of the shales are highly carbonaceous ;
and in one instance a bed of coal (or lignite) nearly 6 feet thick was
found, and a considerable quantity of the mineral extracted.! The.
quality was, however, poor, and from the quantity of iron-pyrites present,
the coal decomposed rapidly, and was liable to spontaneous combustion
1 Mem. G. S. I., VI., p. 13.
453 GEOLOGY OE INDIA— SIND. LChap. IXX.
when exposed, whilst the deposit was found to be a small patch, not
extending more than about 100 yards in any direction. Some of the
more pyritous shale is used in the manufacture of alum. The only fossils
found in the lower portion of the Ranikot group, with the exception of
a few fragments of bone, have been plants, some dicotyledonous leaves,
hitherto not identified, being the most important. All the Eanikot beds,
except towards the top of the group, have the appearance of being of
fresh-water origin, and are probably fluviatile.
A variable portion of the group, however, towards the top, consists
of highly fossiliferous limestones, often light or dark brown in colour,
interstratified with sandstones, shales, clays, and ferruginous bands. These
are the lowest beds in Sind containing a distinctly tertiary marine
fauna. The brown limestones are well developed around Lynyan, east
of Band Vero and north-west of Kotri, and throughout the area of Ranikot
beds near Jhirak and Tatta. In this part of the country there appears to
be a complete passage upwards into the overlying nummulitic limestone
(Khirthar) j but in the Laki range, the upper marine beds of the Ranikot
group are poorly represented or wanting, and it is e\ident that they were
removed by denudation before the deposition of the Khirthar limestone,
for the latter is seen at Hothian Pass resting upon their denuded edges.
The greatest thickness of the Ranikot group in the Laki range,
wtere alone, as has already been explained, the base of the group is
visible, is about 2,000 feet, but generally the amount is rather less,^
about 1,500. It must, however, be recollected that in this locality some
of the upper marine beds are wanting, and as these marine limestones
and their intercalated shales, sandstones, &c., are 700 or 800 feet thick,
in places northwest of Kotri, it is evident that the original development
of the group exceeded the 3,000 feet seen in the Laki range.
PalsBOntology. — The following are some of the commonest or most
important fossils of the Ranikot group. The large collections made by
the Geological Survey have as yet only been partially examined, and
the lists of fossils given can be considered only preliminary, ' many of
the commonest species being undeseribed forms :—
Cephaiopoda.
Nautilus suhfleunausianui.
N. deluci.
N. forhesi.
1 As in other lists in this chapter, most of the names are taken from D'Archiac and
Haime's "Animaux fossiles du groupe nummulitique de I'Inde." In this work, however,
species from upper cretaceous, eocene and miocene beds are described ; until the rocks of
Sind were surveyed, the distribution of the fossils was not known, although indications of a
probable sub-division had been pointed out by D'Archiac and Haime, (t. c. p. 359), and it
had been shewn by Jenkins (Q. J. G. S., 1864, p. 65), and by Martin Duncan (ib., p. 66,
and Ann, Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 8, Vol. XIII, p. 295), that some of the fossils described
indicated the presence of miocene beds.
Extra-Peniasular. J CRETACEOUS ROCKS OP BALUCHISTAN.
453
Sosiellaria angistoma.
R. prestwichi.
It.fnsoiAes.
Terehellum distorium.
T. plicatum.
Corlula hat'pa.
Vulsella legumen.
S^ondylvs roualti.
Gasteeopoda.
Valuta Juffosa.
Natica longispira.
Nerita ( Velates) schmedeliana,
Turritella angulata, var,
T. assimilis.
Lamellibbanchiata.
Ostrea flemingi.
O. vesicularis.
Beachiopoda.
Terehratula, cf. subrotunda.
Schiioster, sp.
Semiasier digonus.
Eurhodia morrisi.
Prenaster, sp.
Toxohrissus, sp.
Conoclypeus, sp.
Trochocyathus vandenhecJcei.
Cyclolites vicaryi.
Operculina canalifera.
Nummulites spira.
ECHINODEEMATA.
Echinolampas, cf. suhsimilis.
Temnopleurus valeneiennesi.
Salenia, 2 sp.
Phymosoma, sp.
Poroddans, sp. (spines).
Cidaris halaensis.
Anthozoa.
I MontUvaltiajacquemonti.
FoeaminifKha.
Nummulites irregularis.
N. leymeriei.
In the above list the majority o£ forms, such as the Foraminifera, the
majority of the Hchinodermata aod Gasteropoda are lower tertiary, but
still there is a very distinct admixture of species with cretaceous affinities,
such as the Nautili, all of which are connected rather with cretaceous
than with tertiary types, the Tereiratula, which cannot be distin^ished
from one of the commonest upper mesozoic species, and forms of Salenia,
Cychlites, &c. Corbula harpa is the only form hitherto recognised that
is also found in the upper cretaceous olive shales, but a variety of the
same shell is also found in the Nari beds.
Cretaceous and lower tertiary rocks of Baluchistan. — All the
rocks described in the last few pages as occurring below the nummulitic
limestone or Khirthar group are found in Lower Siud, and, so far as is
known, are confined to a tract near the right bank of the river Indus.
Farther to the westwp-rd the series of older tertiary and upper cretaceous
rocks has not been thoroughly examined, but the information hitherto
x)btained appears to shew that the strata below the nummulitic limestone
are very different iu character from those found in Lower Sind. In
4.54
GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND.
[Chap. XIX.
Baluchistan, west of the frontier of Upper Sind, lower beds crop out
from beneath the massive nummulitic (Khirthar) limestone, forming the
crest of the intervening range of hills, and on the banks of the Gaj river
which traverses the range south-west of Mehar, a series of more than
10,000 feet of strata is exposed below the Khirthar group. The follow-
ing is a rough section of the rocks thus exposed, the thickness being
merelv an approximation :—
•' Feet.
1. Massive nummulitic limestone, forming the crest of the
Khirthar range .... .... 1,200
2. Shales, marls and clays, mostly dark-olive in colour,
ahounding in Numrmdites 500
3. Hard grey limestone, with NwmmuUtes .... 60
4. Argillaceous limestone, shales and clays, olive and bluish
grey in colour, abounding in Nummulites . . . 400
/5. Unfossiliferous olive and hluish-grey clays and nodular
shales, no limestone hands ... ... 1,500
6. Pale-brown sandstones in thick beds with vegetable
markings 1,000
7. Fine greenish-white sandstone and shale, some of which
ia carbonaceous 50O
8. Dark-brown limestone and dark-green argillaceous beds,
with Niimmulites ....... 100
9. Pale-grey argillaceous limestone, with hut few fossils; one
band towards the base contains NwmmuKtes and
Khiexhab
LOWBE KniETHAE
? Cebiaceous
I'M. Fine dark-coloured shales, unfossiliferous
I 11. Very fine grained homogeneous thin-bedded limestones,
white, red, grey, or ochrey in colour, unfossiliferous,
forming a conspicuous range
f 12. Hard grey shales with calcareous bands from an inch or
two to a foot in thickness . . ....
The base not exposed.
200
3,000
1,200
2,500
12,160
About this section the first point to be observed is that none of the
beds resemble those seen in Lower Sind suflBciently to enable any of the
strata of the two localities to be identified with certainty. The sandstone
No. 6 may correspond to the sands and clays of the Ranikot group, but
there is no great similarity, and nothing in the above section appears to
represent the fossiliferous brown limestones of the Ranikot group, the
Deccan trap, the olive shales with Cardita beaumonti, or any other of the
cretaceous beds in the Laki hills. So far, indeed, as the section on the
Upper Gaj river is concerned, all the rocks exposed might be referred to
the tertiary epoch and classed as lower eocene ; no marked break inter-
venes anywhere, nor are there any fossils below the argillaceous limestone
with nummulites, No. 9, to shew the age of the beds. But, as has
\
Extra-Peninsular.] CRKTACEOUS EOCKSOF BALUCHISTAN. 4,55
already been noticed, farther to the westward, near Khozd^r, in Baluchis-
tan, Dr. Cook discovered Ammonites ' in some argillaceous beds,
passing upwards into red and white limestone, and it appears probable
from the description that the latter is identical with the fine-grained
thin-bedded limestone, No. 11, of the preceding section, whilst the
argillaceous beds may be the same as No. 12.
The following section, abridged from that given by Dr. Cook,''
shews the nature of the rocks between Kelat and Khozdar, the latter
place lying about 70 miles north-north-west of the section on the upper
Gaj river : —
Feet.
I. Compact white or reddish-white limestone containing
NummuUtes, OrhitoUtes, Orhitoides, AhieoUna, &o.
(This is doubtless the Khirthar limestone.) Thick-
ness unknown ; probably more than .... 1,000
Eocene . ./ 2. Limestone strata, difEering in character, compact, Sub-
' crystalline, saccharoid, at times cretaceous, containing
Nwmnmlites (AssiUna), AhieoUna, and minute
indistinct Foraminifera and passing downwards into
coloured argillaceous strata . . . . . ? 200 — 500
^3 More or less compart, fine grained red and white lime-
stone interleaved with slabs of flint or chert, the upper
part containing one or two massive strata of an excess-
ively hard limestone, abounding in Orbitoides, Orlito-
Mbsozoic . ,) Una, and OpercuUna, the lower strata becoming argil-
laceous and shaly and containing (rarely) Ammonites . ? 2,000
Dark-blue fossiliferous limestone containing strata
yielding lead ore (galena and carbonate of lead) . ? 2,000
Is. Clay slate ? 2,500
It is true that the precise relations of many of these beds are far
from clear. Thus, in the vaUey of Kelat, the red and white limestone
appears to underUe strata containing Ortloceratites. This may, however, be
due to faulting or inversion. It is probable that several different groups
of beds occur near Kelat, for amongst the fossils, besides OrthoceraUtes,
AmmofiUes of Jurassic types, Ceratites, Crioceras, Scaphttes and Belem-
nites occur, and whilst some of the forms are typically cretaceous, others
can scarcely be newer than triassic.
It is not impossible that the limestone bands in No. 3, contammg
Orhitoides fmdLoih^xForammif era, m^jheionxgi^o the tertiary series and
• Jour. Bombay Br. E. A. S., VI, pp. 186, 188. ^ ^ „ . ,^ ...
2 Bombay Med Phys. Soc. Trans, 1860, VI, p. 100. The bed numbered 2 in the section is
caUed upper cretaceous by Dr. Cook, but with a mark of doubt. Thiswas perhaps in accordance
with the views as to the classification of the beds beneath the nummulitic limestone formerly
held bv Dr Carter, but subsequently modified by him. See Jour. Bombay Br. B. A. S., IV,
prsKr^?,? 635. and f' Geological papers on Western India," pp. 623, 626. 699. 700.
footnote, &c.
456
GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND, I Chap. XIX-
not to tlie group with which they are associated. The banded fine
grained white or red and white limestone is a conspicuous and important
bed, and is probably widely developed in Baluchistan. It was found by
Dr. Cook at several places south and south-west of Kelat ; it occurs, as
already shown, on the upper Gaj river west of the Khirthar range, forming
a range of hills known as Parh, and a rock of precisely the same mineral
character appears 130 miles further south on the coast at a small hill
called Gadani, about 25 miles north-west of Karachi. If, as appears
probable, this peculiarly fine limestone or calcareous shale (for the rock
in places appears argillaceous) belong to the upper portion of the
cretaceous seiieSj it will serve to mark that horizon in Baluchistan and
facilitate the recognition of the indistinct limit between mesozoic
and tertiary. There is, however, a great appearance of passage between
all these formations. ■
Returning to the beds of the Gaj section, the gradual passage upwards
from the shales, marls, and clays with Nummulites, Nos. 2, 3, and 4 of
the section, into the massive nummuUtic limestone is worthy of notice.
A similar passage takes place locally in Lower Sind, and it appears
best to consider the shales and marls as the lower portion of the same group
as the limestone. The six thousand feet of rocks remaining between
the nummulitie shales and the banded limestones of supposed cretaceous
age may be classed as lower Khirthar; they very possibly represent the
Ranikot group, but, as already noticed, there is no distinct mineralogical
or palsaontological connexion. The nummulites found in No. 8 in
the middle of this lower Khirthai" group comprise N. ohtusa, N. granu-
losa, N. leymeriei, N.. spira, and other species common in the Khirthar
limestone itself.
It is probable that the beds below the Khirthar limestone extend
throughout a large tract in Baluchistan, on the west side of the Khir-
thar range, for similar beds are seen, from the crest of the hills, cropping
■out to the westward as far north as Dharyaro and Kutto-jo-Kabar (the
dog's tomb), the culminating point of the range due west of Larkana.
Again, west of the Habb river, forming the boundary of Sind near the
sea, the whole Khirthar formation appears composed of shales, marls
and sandstones, closely resembling in character those of the lower Khir-
thar group west of Upper Sind, and an enormous thickness of similar
beds is found extensively developed in Makran.''
Khirthar group. — Although this group, named from the great
frontier range of bills already noticed, is, when the underlying shales
and sandstones are excluded, inferior in total thickness to several
'•Eastern Persia, vol. ii., pp. 4.60, 473.
Extra-Peninsular.] KHIRTHAK GROUP. 457
other sub-divisions o£ the tertiary series in Sind, it comprises by far
the most conspicuous rock, the massive nummulitic limestone. Of
this formation all the higher ranges in Sind consist. It forms the
crest of the Khirthar throughout, and all the higher portions of the
Laid range, of the Bhit range south-west of Manchhar lake, and of several
smaller ridges, and consists of a mass of limestone, varying in thickness
from a few hundred feet in Lower Sind to about 1,000 or 1,200 at the
Gaj river, and probably 2,000, or even 8,000, farther north. The colour
is usually pale, either white or grey, sometimes, but less frequently, dark
grey ; the texture varies from hard, close^ and homogeneous, breaking
with a conchoidal fracture, to soft, coarse and open. Ordinarily, the
nummulitic limestone is tolerably compact, but not crystalline, and chiefly
composed of Foraminifera, especially Nummulites, whole or fragmentary ;
corals, sea-urchins and mollusks also abound, but the two latter very
frequently only weather out as casts.
Throughout Northern Sind, except near Rohri, no beds are seen beneath
the Khirthar limestone, and the rocks which crop out west of the Sind
frontier from beneath the main limestone band have already been de-
scribed. The remarkable range of low hills, surrounded by ladus alluvium,
and extending foi* more than 40 miles south from Rohri, consists of
nummulitic limestoae having a low dip to the westward, and beneath
■the limestone forming the eastern scarp of the hills, on the edge of the
alluvial plain, a considetable thickness of pale-green gypseous clays is
exposed, with a few bands of impure dark limestone and calcareous
shale- No Foraminifera have been found in these beds, although
Nummulites abound in the limestone immediately overlying; several
species of mollusca occur, but none are characteristic, and it is far
from clear whether the green clays and their associates are merely
thick bands intercalated in the limestone, or whether they belong to a
lower group. Probably these ai-gillaceous beds of the Kohri hills
represent some of the marls, shales and clays forming the lower portion
of the upper Khirthar group on the Gaj river.
In some places west of Kotri, a band of argillaceous and ferruginous
rock is found close to the base of the Khirthar group. This rock
weathers into laterite ; it is mainly composed of brown hsematite, and
appears to be found over a considerable area near Kotri and Jhirak. It
is impossible to avoid suggesting its identity with the feri:uginous
lateritic bed found in a similar position in Guzerat, Cutch, the Salt
range, and the Sub-Himalayan region.
It has already been mentioned that in the Laki range the nummul-
itic limestone rests unconformably on the Eanikot group. The Khir-
thar group here cannot be much more than 500 or 600 feet thick, and
458 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SIND. [Chap. XIX.
consists entirely of limestone. To the south-east, towards Kotri and
Tatta, there is no unconformity between the Ranikot and Khirthar groups,
but on the contrary there is an almost complete passage between the
two, and the limestone of the latter becomes much split up and inter-
calated with shales and sandy beds. This is even more the case further
to the south-east in Cutch,' where, as was noticed on a previous page,
the whole group consists of comparatively thin beds of limestone, in-
terstratified with shales. To the south-west, near the Habb river, the
massive limestone dies out altogether, and although it is well developed
in the southernmost extremity of the Khirthar range near Karchat,
about 50 miles south of Sehwan, it disappears entirely within a dis-
tance of 12 or 14 miles, and in the ranges on the Habb river is
entirely replaced by shaly limestones, shales, and thick beds of sandstone^
Some rather massive beds of nummulitiferous dark-grey limestone,
very different in character from the pale-coloured Khirthar limestone,
are found west of the Habb, but their precise position in the series is
not known, and the rocks appearing from beneath the Nari group, in
the place of the Khirthar limestone, consist of shales and sandstones,
with some calcareous bands abounding in nummuHtes, and closely
resembling, both in character and in the species of, Foraminifera they
contain, the niimmulitie shales beneath the massive limestone on the
Gaj river. It is not known to what extent,, the typical Khirthar
limestone is developed in Baluchistan ; around ]^elat, to the northward,
this band appears to be extensively exposed, but to the westward, near
Gwadar, the rocks supposed to represent the older tertiary beds consist
of an immense thickness of shales, shaly sandstones, and unfossiliferous
calcareous bands, resembling the lower Khirthars of the Gaj, and the beds'
of the Habb valley, and limestones with nummulites are of unfrequent
and local occurrence. It is thus evident that the Khirthar limestone
although it is so conspicuous in most parts of Sind, and although it attains
a considerable thickness, is not by any means universally distributed.
Palseontology.— The most characteristic fossils ' of the Khirthar
group are Nummulites and AheoUna ; neither the genera, nor, as a rule,
> See ante, p. 345.
2 The following fosailsfrom the eocene formations of Western India «re figured on plate
Fig. 1. VoUtajugosa. j Mg. 8. OrUtoides dUpmsa.
2. Nerita schmedelicma, 2a. cast
of the same, half natural size.
3. Pecten labadyei.
4. Vulsella legumeti.
5. Echwiolampas discoideus, i size,
6. Ev/rhodia morrisi.
7. OrUtoides papp-acea.
9. AlveoUna spheroidea,
10. Nummulites garansensis.
11. N. sublcBvigata.
12. N. ramondi.
13. N. ohtusa.
14. N. granulosa,
15. N, lei/meriei.
Extra-Peninsular. J
NARI GEOUP.
459
the species are peculiar, but the extraordinary abundance of individuals
renders it usually easy to recognise even small fragments of the rock
by the organisms preserved in- it. The following is a list of the
commonest or most important fossils : —
Ovulum murcMsoni, and other species.
Cerithium cf. giganteum.
Gasteeopoda.
Nerita schmedeliana, PI. XV,, tig, 2, 2a.
Corhula subexavata.
Cardita mutabilis.
C. subcomplanata,
Lueina gigantea.
Brissopsis scutiformis.
B. sowerhyi ?
Schizaster, sp.
Eupatagus avellana.
Fibularia, sp.
Lamellibeanchiata.
Astarte hyderabadensis.
Crassatella sindensis.
C. halaensis.
Vulsella legumen, PI. XV-, fig, 4.
Ostrea vesicularis, var. (O. glohosa,
Sow.)
ECHINODEEMATA.
Amblypygus, sp.
Conoclypeus pulvinatus.
Ewrhodia calderi.
Echinolampas discoideus, PI. XV, fig, 5.
E. sindensis.
FOEAMINIFEEA.
OrbitoUtes complanata.
Orbitoides dispansa, PI. XV, fig. 8.
Patellina cooJci.
Alveolina ovoidea.
A. spheroidea, PI. XV, fig. 9.
Nummulites obtusa, PI. XV, fig. 13.
Nummulites ramondi, PI. XV, fig. 12.
N. biaritzensis.
N. beaumonti.
N. vicaryi.
JV. granulosa, PI. XV, fig. 14.
N. leymeriei, PI. XV, fig. 15.
Many of the species named, and the foraminifera especially, are
characteristically eocene, and there can be no question that the num-
mulitic limestone of India is a continuation of the same formation in
Europe. Several species pass from the Ranikot beds into the Khirthar
group ; indeed, the principal palaeontological differences between the two
may be due to a change in conditions, the Khirthar being apparently a
deeper water deposit than the Ranikot group.
Nari group. — The series of tertiary rocks above the Khirthar
nummulitic limestone is superbly developed and very well seen in the
hills on the frontier of Upper Sind, the culminating ridge of which
is known as the Khirthar. The names of the tertiary groups over-
460 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIS..
lying the nummulitic formation have consequently been derived from
places in this range, and the Nari group takes its title from a stream
which traverses the lower portions of the range, composed almost
entirely of Nari beds, for a considerable distance, and issues from the
hills nearly west of Johi, and west by north of Sehwan. The present
sub-division comprises at the base the uppermost bands of limestone con-
taining JV«««»»w^i!!e«; the species, however {K ffaransensis,T\.XY,Gg.li),
and W. mllavigata, ib.,.fig. 11), being distinct from those so commonly
found in the Khirthar sub-division, and the limestone itself being
usually distinguished from that of the Khirthar group by its yellowish-
brown colour, and by being in comparatively thin" bands interstratified
with shales and sandstones. Several other fossils, too, besides the
nummulites, differ from those in the Khirthar beds. Not unfrequently,
however, there is an apparent passage from the white or greyish- white
Khirthar limestone into the yellow or brown Nari rock, and the two
groups appear always to be perfectly conformable, but no intermixture
of the characteristic species of nummulites has been detected, and the
division between the Khirthar and Nari beds can always be xecognised
by the fossil evidence.
In some places the lower Nari beds consist almost entirely of brown
and yellow limestones, but more frequently the limestone bands are
subordinate; dark shales, and brown rather thinly -bedded sandstone
forming the mass of the rocks. The limestone bands are often confined
to the base gf the group, and always diminish in abundance and thickness
above, although they are occasionally found as much as 1,500 feet
above the top of the Khirthar. The shales and fine sandstones, with
occasional bands of limestone, constitute the lower Naris, and pass gra-
dually into the coarser, massive, thick-bedded sandstones forming the
greater portion of the group, and attaining a thickness of 4,000 or
5,000 feet on the flanks of the Khirthar range. With the sandstones
a few bands of clay, shale, or ironstone, are interstratified, and bands of
conglomerate occasionally occur. The Nari beds in their typical form
extend throughout the eastern flank of the Khirthar range, and occupy
a belt of varying width, from one or two to as much as 10 miles in
breadth, between the underlying Khirthar and the overlying Gaj beds.
On the western side of the Bhagotoro hills, 4 or 5 miles south of
Sehwan, there is a break in the Nari beds, and some variegated shales,
clays and sandstones, richly tinted in parts with brown and red, and
representing the massive sandstones of the upper Nari group, rest
unconformably on the denuded edges of the lower Nari brown lime-
stones and shales. The break is evidently local. To the east of the
Extra-Peninsular. J NARI group.
461
Laid range the Nari beds are entirely wanting, and it appears very
possible that they have never been deposited in this portion o£ the
Indus valley. Prom the neighbourhood of Sehwan to Jhirat, Manchhar
beds rest, with more or less unconformity, on the Khirthar, a very
faint and imperfect representative of the Gaj group occasionally
intervening. But west of the Laki range, throughout Lower Sind,
the Nari beds are found exposed almost wherever the base of the
Gdj group is seen ; they increase in thickness to the westward, and the
Habb valley, from the spot where the river first forms the boundary of
British territory to the sea, consists entirely of these strata. There is
however, in this part of the country no longer any such marked dis-
tinction between the sub-divisions of the tertiary series as is found in
the Khirthar range. The disappearance of the Khirthar limestone
has already been mentioned, and with it the lower Nari limestones with
Nummuliies garansensis and N. sfuiblcsvigata also disappear, so that it is
no longer possible to draw a distinct line between the two groups, for
the shaly beds at the base of the Naris are undistinguishable from
similar rocks in the Khirthars. The calcareous shales, with the cha-
racteristic Khirthar nummulites, below, and the massive Nari sandstones
above, are still recognisable, and the two groups can consequently
still be traced, although the dividing line between them is obscured.
Beds of brown limestone, too, full of Orhitoides papyracea (or 0.
fortisi, ?1. XV, fig. 7), a fossil closely resembling a nummulite, and
associated in abundance with N. garansensis in the typical lower Nari
limestones, occur in the Nari beds of the Habb valley j but iastead of
being found at the base, they appear in the middle of the group. Again,
just as at the base of the Naris, there is a difficulty in distinguishing
them from the Khirthar, so the beds at the top of the former group can
only be separated by an arbitrary line from the overlying Gaj beds. In
the Khirthar range the upper boundary of the Nari group, although
there is no unconformity, is distinct and definite, limestones with marine
fossils of the Gaj group resting immediately upon the upper Nari sand-
stones. But in Southern Sind bands of hmestones, or calcareous sand^
stone, with marine fossils, some of which are well-marked Gaj species,
occm- in the upper part of the Nari group, whilst limestone bands with
the Nari Orhitoides papyracea are found in the Gaj.
Palaeontology. — The sandstones, which form so large a portion of
the Nari group, have hitherto proved destitute of animal remains, and in
the typical area in Upper Sind, no beds with marine fossils are intercalated
in. the upper portion of the group, but the occasional interstratifications
of shales and clays often contain fragments of plants, and some ill-marked
462 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIX.
impressions J probably due to fucoidsj have Jjeen found in the sandstones
themselves. There appears a probability that these sandstones may be of
fluviatile and not of marine origin.
In the limestones towards the base of the Nari group, many marine
fossils have been obtained, the following being some of the more
important : —
Gasteropoda.
Natica patula.
N. sigaretina.
Siliquaria granti.
Solarium affine.
Terebellum ohtusunt.
Cyprcea nasuta.
Valuta jugosa, PL XV, fig. 1.
V. dentata.
Triton davidsoni.
Frochus cumulans.
Fhasianella oweni.
Lameliibeanchiata.
»
Corhula Tiarpa.
Venus granosa, PI. XVI, fig. 7.
Cardium triforme.
ECHINODEEMATA
Pecten Uhadyei, P). XV, fig. 3.
Ostrea flalellula.
Schizasfer heloutcMstanensis.
Eupatagus rostratus.
Echinolampas, sp.
Clypeaster profundus.
Coelopleurusforhesi.
Cidaris verneuilli.
Anthozoa.
Troehocyathus burnesi. 1 MontUvaltia vignei.
FOEAMINIFEEA.
Wiimmulites garansensis, PI. XV, fig 10.1 Orhitoides papyraoea, PI. XV, fig. 7.
N. suhlcevigata,V\.TY,iLg. 11. \
Although some species pass from the Khirthar, and even from the
Ranikot group into the Nari beds, the fauna is chiefly distinct and
marks a higher horizon. The most marked change is perhaps in the
Foraminifera, because they are so abundant and characteristic ; whole
beds of limestone towards the base of the Nari group being entirely
made up of JSfummulites garansensis, N. mhlmmgata and Orhitoides papy-
racea, the last named frequently of large size, some specimens being
two to three inches in diameter ; yet every species is distinct from those
occurring in the Khirthar group. One of these species of Nummulites,
N. garansensis, is of importance, because it occurs in Europe, as in Sind,
in the highest strata characterised by the abundance of the genus, those
beds being at the base of the miocene. Nummulites sublavigata is peculiarj
so far as is known, to India.
Several of the MoUusca and Echinodermata of the Nari beds also,
such as Siliquaria granti, .Solarium affim,e, Venus granosa, and Clypeaster
Extra-Peninsular.] 6AJ GROUP. 463
profundus, skew distinctly miocene affinities, and some of these pass up
into tlie Gdj group. But at tlie same time there are so many eocene
forms present, such as Natioa paiula, N. sigaretina, Ostrea flahelMa,
Valuta jugosa, &c., that it is somewhat diffiicult to decide to which sub-
division the Nari beds should be assigned. They may, perhaps, occupy
an intermediate position, similar to that of the oligocene of continental
geologists.
Gaj group. — Upon the Nari group, almost throughout Sind, there
is found resting a mass of highly fossiliferous limestones and calcareous
beds, usually more or less shaly, always distinctly stratified, and easily
distinguished from the limestones of the older tertiary formations by the
absence of numAulites. A superb section of the strata forming this
group is exposed on the banks of the Gaj river, the only stream which
cuts its way through the Khirthar range, and in the neighbourhood of
which, west of the range, the fine section of lower tertiary and cretaceous
beds already noticed is exposed. From this river the present group
derives its name.
On the eastern flanks of the Khirthar range in Upper Sind, the Gdj
group forms a conspicuous ridge, the hard dark-brown limestone bands
near the base of the formation resisting the action of denudation far
more than the soft sandstones of the Nari beds, and rising every here and
there into peaks of 1,000 and 1,500 feet, or even more, escarped to the
westward, and sloping to the east ; Amru, the highest summit of the Gdj
ridge, being 2,700 feet above the sea. Still, the limestone bands, although
so conspicuous, are subordinate, the greater part of the group consisting
of sandy shales, clays with gypsum, and, towards the base, sandstones.
Many of the bands of limestone appear very constant in position, and
may be traced for a long distance j as a rule, they are dark-brown in colour,
but one bed is white and abounds in corals and small Foraminifera
{Orlitoides), whilst some of the darker bands contain EcAmodermata in
large quantities.
The uppermost portion of the group is usually argillaceous, being
chiefly composed of red and olive clays with white gypsum, and these
beds pass gradually into precisely similar strata belonging to the over-
lying Manchhar group. The passage beds contain, amongst other fossils
such as Turritella angulata, PI. XVI, fig. 2, and forms of Osirea and
Placuna, the following : —
Corbula trigonalis, PI. XVI, fig. 8. | Tellina subdonacialis.
Lueina (Diplodonta) inaerfa. ' Area larlcanensis, PI. XVI, fig. 6.
All of these have allies living in estuaries at the present day ; Area
ffranosa, a recent representative of A.. larJcmemis, being one of the
464 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIX,
commonest and most typical of Indian estuarine mollusca. To these
estuarine passage beds further reference will be made presently when
the relations of the Manchhar to the Gaj beds are discussed.
The Gaj beds at the Gaj river are very nearly 1^500 feet thick, but
they appear to be less developed to the northward in the Khirthar range,
and not to be much more than half the thickness named west of
Ldrkana, where, however, they are nearly vertical, and have probably
sufBered from pressure. In Lower Sind, the Gdj group, like the Nari,
disappears to the eastward of the Laki range, where it is either entirely
wanting, or else represented by a thin band containing one of the charac-
teristic fossils, Ostrea multicostata (PL XVI, fig. 3), at the base of the
Manchhar group. There is, however, a very large area 8f Gaj beds north
and north-east of Karachi, and the appearance of the formation here is
somewhat different from what it is in the Khirthar range, for the
greater portion of the group consists of pale-coloured limestonesj almost
horizontal, or dipping at very low angles, and to the east of the Habb
valley forming plateaus 400 or 500 feet high bounded by steep scarps,
which rise from the low ground of the soft Nari sandstones. A low
range of hills^ formed of Gaj beds, extends to the south-west, past the hot
spring at Magar or Mangah Pir, to the end of the promontory known as
Cape Monze, west of Karachi, and the same beds form the low hills east
and north-east of the town, and furnish the materials of which the
houses in Karachi are mostly built. A small island called Churna, in
the sea, west of Cape Monze, also consist of Gaj rocks. To the north-
ward the Gaj area of lower Sind extends with very irregular outline to
the neighbourhood of Tong and Karchatj almost due west of Hala, and
there are several outliers farther north, eonnnecting the southern portion
of the group with the typical outcrop in the Khirthar range. East of
Karachi, also, Gaj beds extend in the direction of Tatta, until they dis-«
appear with the other tertiary rocks beneath the alluvium of the Indus,
As was shewn in a previous chapter, the Gaj group of Sind appears to
be represented in Cutch by a highly fossiliferous belt, containing most
of the typical mollusca, echinoderms, &c. It is quite possible that the
present group, as well as the Nari, never was deposited in the neighbour*
hood of Kotri and Jhirak.
It has been already stated that the G^j beds, throughout the greater
portion of the Khirthar range, rest conformably upon the Nari group,
although there is a change in mineral character, and that, in lower Sind,
the passage from one group into the other is gradual, calcareous bands
with Gaj fossils, such as Osl/rea muUieostata and Pecten suhcorneus, being
found interstratified with the uppermost Nari sandstones. At one place
Extra-Peninsular. ]
GAJ GROUP.
465
however, near Tandra Eahim Khan, west by north of Sehwan, the
outcrop of the Gaj beds, here dipping at a high angle to the westward,
runs nearly in a straight line across the mouth of a valley, composed of
a deep synclinal of the Nari group between two anticlinal ridges of
Khirthar limestone. As the Gaj beds do not share the synclinal curve
of the Naris, it is difficult to see how the two can be conformable j but
an examination of the boundary between the two groups failed to shew
any clear evidence of unconformity. There are, however, some places
south of Sehwan where the G4j group overlaps the Nari beds and rests
upon the Khirthar limestone, but it must be recollected that the
Gkj group is itself overlapped by Manchhar beds in the immediate
neighbourhood .
PalsBOntology. — ^The following i is of course a very imperfect list of
the animal remains found in this richly fossihferous group, only the
more important or common forms being noticed : —
Cbustacea.
I Balanus subleevis.
Palaocarpiliua rugifev.'
Typilohus, sp.
Buccinum cautleyi.
B. vicaryi.
Gasteeopoda.
I Vicarya verneuilU, PI. XVI, fig. 1.
I Turritella angulata, PI. XVI, fig. 2.
Lamb llibb anchiata.
Muphus rectus (Serpula reeta, Sow.).
Corhula trigonalis, PI. XVI, figs. 8, 8a.
Venus granosa, PI. XVI, fig. 7.
V. cancellata.
Tapes suhvirgata.
Cardium anomale.
Astarte hyderahadensis.
Doainia pseudoargus.
Area kurracJieensis, PI. XVI, figs. 5, 5a.
Schizaster, sp.
Maretia cf. planulata.
Meoma, sp.
Breynia carinata, PI. XVI, fig. 9.
Echinolampas jaequemonti.
Area peethensis.
A. larMianensis, PI. XVI, fig. 6.
Pectunculus pecten.
Pecten suhcorneus.
P. houei.
P.favrei, PI. XVI, fig. 4.
Spondylus tellavignesi.
Ostrea muUicostata, Desh., PI. XVI,
figs. 3, 3a.
EcniKODEBMATA.
Echinolampas spheroidalis,
Echinodiscus, sp., PI. XVI, fig. 10.
Ch/peaster profundus.
C. depressus, PI. XVI, fig. 11.
Coelopleurus forhesi.
' The following fossils from the mioccnc beds of Sind are figured on Plate XVI :—
Fig. 1. Vicarya vemeuilU.
„ 2. Turritella angulata.
„ 3. Ostrea nmlticostata, Desh.
„ 4. Pecten favrei.
5. Area (ParalellopipedumJ kvtrra-
cheensis.
Pig. 6. Area CAnomalocardiaJ larTchanensis.
7. Venus granosa, i.
8. Corbiila trigonalis,
9. Sreynia carinata.
10. Echinodiscus, sp.
11. Clypeaster depressus, \,
2 StoUczka : Pal. Ind., Ser. VII, p. 8, Pis. IV, V.
466 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIX.
Anthozoa.
Pachyseris murchisoni. | Cladoeora haimei.
Hydnophora plana ani oihex epeeiea. \ Mycedium eostatum.
FOEAMINIFEEA.
Operculina canalifera. I Orbitoidea pajpyracea.
The commonest and most characteristic fossils of this group are Ostrea
multicoatata ^ and Breynia carinata. There cannot be any question that
the Gaj fauna is newer than eocene; some of the species are recent
(for instance, Bosinia psewdoargus is identical with the recent 1). exas-
perata, Chemn.), and it is probable tbat many others, when they are
compared with recent forms more carefully than has hitherto been done,
will prove to beibe same as living species. Several genera, too, as Ma/retia,
Breynia, Meoma, Echinodiscm, Cladoeora, and Mycediim, are rare or un-
known in the older tertiaries, and there is almost a complete disappearance of
eocene forms, very few species being common to the Nari beds even. The
chief doubt is whether the Gaj should not be considered as upper miocene.
The only mammal yet obtained from the Gaj beds is Rhinoceros
sivalensis — a species found also in the Siwaliks.
Manchhar group. — The highest sub-division of the Sind tertiary
series has been named from a large lake, the Manchhar, a few miles west
of Sehwan. The group doubtless represents generally the far better
known Siwaliks of Northern India, and it is probable that the upper and
lower limits of the two may be the same, but the f ossiliferous bands are
at different horizons.
The Manchhar group of Sind consists of clays, sandstones, and
conglomerates, and attains in places a thickness of but little, if at all, less
than 10,000 feet on the flanks of the Khirthar range. Although it is
difficult to draw an absolute line between the sub-divisions, the whole
group may be divided, wherever it is well exposed, into two portions ; the
lower consisting mainly of a characteristic grey sandstone, rather soft,
moderately fine grained^ and composed of quartz, with some felspar
and hornblende, together with red sandstones, conglomeratic beds, and,
towards the base, fed, brown, and grey clays ; the latter, however, being
much less largely developed than in the upper sub-division. The conglo-
meratic beds chiefly contain nodules of clay and of soft sandstone,
apparently derived from beds precisely similar to those of the Manchhars
themselves; so far as has been observed, these conglomerates do not
contain fragments derived from the older tertiary rocks, no pebbles either
' It is not quite certain whether this species is identical with the European fonn, but
it is certainly the shell figured by Messrs. D'Archiac and Haime. There is another species
known by the same name and found in triaissic beds in Europe.
Extra-Peninsular. ] MANCHHAR GROUP. 467
of the characteristic Gaj limestones or o£ the still moi'e easily recc^uised
nummulitic limestone of the Khirthars having been noticed in the beds
of the lower Manchhars, although both abound in the upper strata of
the group. These conglomeratic beds of the lower Manchhars are
frequently ossiferous, the bones and teeth contained in them being,
however, usually isolated and fragmentary.
The upper Manchhar sub-division, where it is best seen, on the flanks
of the Khirthar range, west of Ldrkana, is thicker than the lower, and
consists principally, towards the base, of a great thickness of orange or
brown elays, with subordinate bands of ' sandstone and conglomerate.
The sandstones are usually light-brown, but occasionally grey, like the
characteristic beds of the lower sub-division. The higher portion of this
upper snb-g^oup contains more sandstone and conglomerate, and the
whole is capped by a thick band of massive coarse conglomerate, which
throughout Upper Sind forms a conspicuous ridge along the edge of the
Indus alluvium. This conglomerate contains numerous large pebbles
of nununulitic and Gaj limestone, together with fragments of quartzite
and other rocks of unknown origin. Throughout the conglomeratic
beds of the upper Manchhars, pebbles of nummulitic limestone and of
the brown Gaj limestone occur, shewing that these older tertiary beds
must have been upheaved and denuded in the later Manchhar period,
although there is a complete passage between the Gdj beds and the lower
Manchhars.
There appears, however, good reason for supposing that some disturb-
ance of the older rooks took place before the deposition of the loWer
portion of the Manchhar group. To the east of the Laki range the
Manchhar beds, themselves disturbed, rest unconformably on the Khirthar
group, the beds of which are vertical in many places, so that it is manifest
that the Khirthars had in this locality been upheaved before the deposition
of the Manchhars. The presence in this locality of the lower portion of
the latter g^oup appears to be proved by the occurrence of teeth and
bones of the same mammals as are found in the lower Manchhars
elsewhere.
It is evidently far from improbable that the Manchhar group of Sind
should be sub-divided into two distinct groups, the upper being perhaps
the equivalent of the typical Siwaliks. Only a few fragments of bones,
too imperfect for determination, have, however, hitherto been found in the
upper Manchhars, so that no clue to the age of the sub-division is afforded
by fossil remains. There4s also a possibility that the coarse conglomerate
capping the whole tertiary series should be classed apart from the under-
lying beds, although it appears to pass into them. The only reason for
4,68 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND. [ Chap. XIX.
distinguishing the upper conglomerate, apart from its gi'eat coarseness
and thickness, is that it, and it alone, exhibits some slight connection in
its development "with the existing features of the country ; at least the
conglomeratic band appears to be much thicker at the spot where it is
traversed by the Gaj river than it is to the northward or to the south-
ward, and this increase in thickness may be due to an accumulation of
pebbles brought down by a stream which occupied in upper Manchhar
times the same position as the Gaj now does. A similar increase in the
development of conglomerate near the course of the present rivers will
be noticed in a subsequent chapter in the case of the Sub- Himalayan
Siwaliks. It is, however, manifest that a great part of the disturbance
which has caused the elevation of the Khirthar range is of later date
than the Manchhar conglomerate, because that conglomerate has been
tilted up at high angles, and appears to dip conformably with the older
tertiary rocks. Nevertheless it is true that, as has been shewn in the
last paragraph, there must have been some change of level before the
Manchhars were deposited, and it is also true that there is in places an
apparent passage from the upper Manchhar conglomerate into the
gravels of the slope, on the edge of :the alluvium, but the latter may
simply be due to the reconsolidation of pebbles derived from the eon-
glomerate itself; and if the amount of disturbance in the interval between
the Tipper and lower Manchhar periods was considerable, the evidence of
such a break should be more conspicuous than it is. On the whole, it
appears evident that the great period of disturbance which terminated
the tertiary epoch in Sind commenced during the deposition of the
Manchhar beds, or probably even earlier, but that far greater changes
took place after the highest Manchhar strata had been deposited than
during the period of their deposition.
In one case a few estuarine fossils were found, near the Nari stream,
ina Manchhar bed 300 or 400 feet above the base of the group. The
only form recognised was Corhula trigonalis, already mentioned as
characteristic of the estuarine passage beds between Gaj and Manchhar.
With this exception, and that of some rolled oyster-shells possibly derived
from a lower formation, no marine or estuarine fossils have been observed
in the Manchhar beds of Upper Sind, above the passage beds at the base
of the group, and there appears every reason to believe that the group
Ik of fluviatile origin. The form. of the pebbles in the conglomerate
of the upper Manchhars is that of stream-worn, and not that of sea-
worn fragments j they approach an oblate rather than a prolate spheroid.
Still the amount of rounding is such as could only have been produced
by a rapid stream.
Extra-Peninsular. ] MANCHHAR GROUP. 469
In Lower Sind, however, there is a very considerable intercalation of
marine or estuarine beds with the Manchhars^ and this evidence of
deposition in salt water increases in the neighbourhood of the present
coast. Around Karachi, beds of oysters, and sometimes of other marine
or estuarine shells, are found not unfrequently interstratified with the
Manchhar group. There is also some change in mineral character, the
sandstones becoming more argillaceous and being associated in places with
pale grey sandy elays and shales. The passage into the Gaj beds is very
gradual, calcareous bands with Gaj fossils, such as Ostrea multicostata
and Pecten, subeorneu's, being found some distance above the base of the
Manchhar group.
Although, on account of the change in mineral character, there
is, except in the neighbourhood of the coast, no difficulty in drawing a
line between Manchhar and Gdj beds, everything tends to shew that
there is" no break in time between the two, the lower portion of the upper
group being an estuarine or fluviatile continuation of the underlying
marine beds. But the great thickness of the Manchhar group in Upper
Sind alone would suffice to prove that a considerable period of time must
have elapsed during the deposition of this formation, and it is far from
improbable that the lower Manchhars may, be upper miocene, whilst
the upper Manchhars are pliocene.
The Manchhar beds extend along the edge of the alluvium, and
form a broad fringe to the Khirthar range, throughout Upper Sind, from
west of Shikarpur to the Manchhar Lake, but the breadth of the outcrop
varies greatly, being as much as 14 miles where broadest west of
Larkana, and diminishing both to the north and south. As already
noticed, the Manchhars are thickest just where their outcrop is widest,
but the breadth of the area occupied by them is not due simply to their
vertical development, but chiefly to their forming a synclinal and anti-
clinal roll before disappearing beneath the alluvial plain ; whereas in other
parts of the range the same beds are exposed in a simple section, all the
strata dipping to the westward. To the north the section is complicated
by faults, but to the south the thickness of the Manchhar group dim-
inishes greatly, and west of Sehwaii, near Tandra Rahim Khan, although
both upper and lower sub-divisions of the group are developed, and the
uppermost conglomerate is exposed, the whole thickness of the Manchhar
strata cannot be much more than about 3,000 feet. The Manchhar beds
are seen west, southj and east of the Manchhar Lake ; they are well
developed^ and occupy a large plain to the east of the Laki range, and
•west of the nummulitic limestone tract near Kotri and Jhirak ; they
reappear in many places in the different synclinal valleys to the west, of
470
GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SIND. [Chap. XIX.
the Laki range^ and they occupy a considerable tract of country east
and north-east of Karachi. But throughout these areas in Lower
Sind the rocks are not nearly so well seen as to the northward, the soft
sandstones and clays of the Manehhar group having been denuded into
undulating plains, covered and concealed in general by the pebbles and
sands derived from the neighbouring hills, formed of the comparatively
bard older tertiary rocks, and it is far more difficult than it is in "Upper
Sind to distinguish the different portions of the group, or to form a
correct idea of the thickness of strata exposed.
Relations to Makran group. — The Manehhar beds extend along
the edge of the sea, west of Karachi, almost to the end of Cape Monze,
but no representative of this foi-mation is seen for a considerable distance
to the westward of the Cape. The few exposures of rocks seen near
the shores of Sonmiani Bay are older tertiary, or perhaps cretaceous, and
the greater part of the country consists of alluvium j a low cliff near the
coast, north of Gadani, being composed apparently of sub-recent deposits.
But west of Sonmiani Bay, in the neighbourhood of Hinglaj, a well-
known place of Hindu pilgrimage, there are high hills of hard greyish
white marls or clays, usually sandy, often highly calcareous, and occasion-
ally intersected by veins of gypsum. With this clay or marl, bands of
shaly limestone, dark calcareous grit and sandstone are interstratificd, but
they usually form but a staall portion of the mass, although their greater
hardness renders them conspicuous. This marl formation extends for
many hundreds of miles along the coast, and is well seen at H&s MaMn,
Ormara, Pasni, Grwadar, near Jashk at the entrance of the Persian
Gulf, and on the Persian shores of the gulf itself. The headlands of
Eds Malan, Ormara, and Gwadar consist of great horizontal plateaus,
surrounded by cliffs of whitish marl or clay, and capped by dark-
coloured calcareous grit, Ras Maldn especially being a table-land rising
abruptly to a height of ^,000 feet from the sea. These remarkable rocks
have been called the Makran group ^ from the name usually applied to
the littoral tracts of Baluchistan.
The Makran group is of purely marine origin, and abounds in mol-
lusea, echinoderms, &c., most of the species apparently bfeing the same as
those found in the neighbouring seas at present. The collections made
at Gwddar, Jashk, and other places have not been sufficiently compared
to ascertain whether any are common to the Gdj beds of Sind, but by
far the greater portion are distinct; none of the eharaeteristie Gaj fossils,
such as Osirea muUicostata, Breynia carinata, Bchmolampas jacque*
monii, &c., have been noticed in the Makran group, and the latter
» Bee. G. S. I., V, p. 43; Eastern Persia, 11, p. 462.
Extra-Peninsular. J MANCHHAR group. 471
appears to be of later age than the miocene Gaj beds. Although
there is no resemblance between the typical Manchhar beds and the cha-
racteristic rocks of the Makran group, nor, from the widely different con-
ditions under which the two formations must have been deposited, would
any similarity in mineral character be probable, some of the soft argil-
laceous shaly sands in the Manchhar beds near Karachi closely resemble
some similar beds in the Makran group near Gwadar. As the coast of
Baluchistdn has never been examined geologically, all that is known
of its structure having been ascertained by brief visits to a few points
separated from each other by intervals of from 50 to 100 miles, it is
uncertain to what extent the rocks of Sind extend to the westward,
and whether any representatives of the Gaj group, especially, exist
in that direction, but there appears a considerable amount of proba-
bility that the marine Makran group in Baluchistan may represent the
fresh- water Manchhars and Siwaliks on the edge of the Indo-Gangetic
plain.
Palaeontology of Manchhar group. — The only fossil remains of
any importance hitherto detected in the Manchhar group are bones of
mammalia, and all that have been recognised belong to the lower Man-
chhars, the upper sub-division of the group, as has already been mention-
ed, having hitherto furnished only a few bones, in too poor and fragment-
ary a state of preservation for the species, or even the genera, to be
determined. The few estuarine shells which have been found in the
lowest Manchhar beds in Upper Sind, and a portion at least of the marine
fossils procured from a similar horizon near Karachi, appear to be Gaj
forms, and to indicate a close connection between the lower Manchhars and
the underlying group. In places, and especially in the neighbourhood of
the Laki range, silicified fossil wood is found in abundance in the Manchhar
beds, stems of large trees being of common occurrence. The majority
are dicotyledonous, but some fragments of uianocotyledons are also
found.
The following is a list of the species of Vertebrata^ hitherto identified
from the lower Manchhar group : it should perhaps be repeated that the
remains are extremely fragmentary, and chiefly consist of single teeth
and broken portions of bones. No remains of Quadrumana, Ghiroptera,
Jnsectivara, Bodentia, or Cetacea have hitherto been found, and the fauna
is chiefly remarkable for the prevalence of artiodactyle ungfulates, allied
to pigs, or intermediate between pigs and ruminants.
I These have been named by Mr. Lydekker, Reo. G. S. I., IX, pp. 91, 93, 106; X, pp,
76, 83, 325 ; XI, pp. 64, 71, 77, 79, &c. ; Pal. Ind., aer. X, pt. 2.
472
GEOLOGY OF INDU— SIND. [Chap, XIX.
MAMMALIA.
Caknivoea.
Amphieyon palaindicws, PI. XIX, fig. 4.
Pboboscidia.
Mastodon perimensis, PI. XVII, fig. 3. 1 Mastodon {Trilophodon) falconeri:
M. latidens, PI. XVII, fig. 4. 1 Dinotherium pentepotamice.
IjNGtrLATA.
rmtlSSOVACTYLA.
Rhinoceros palaindicus. I Acer other ium perimense.
* R. sp. near R. deccanensis.
Sus hysudrieus.
* Semimeryx, sp.
* Sivamerys;, 2 sp.
Chalicotherium sivalense.
Anthracutherium silistrense
AMTIODACTTLA.
* Spopotamus palceindicut^
* Hyotherium sindiense.
Dorcaiherium majus.
D. minus.
Edentata.
* Manis sindiensis.
EEPTILIA.
Crocodilus, sp. 1 Ophidia, sp. indet.
Chelonia, sp. indet. I
Species marked witb an asterisk have not been found elsewhere. The
majority of the genera are extinct ; Khinoceros, Sus, and Manis being the
only living types, and the last named has only been recognised from a
single digital phalange, so that the generic identification is far from
sufficient. Both Rhinoceros and Sus existed in miocene times, whilst
Amphicyon, Anthracotherium, Hyopotamus, and Dinotherium are not known
to occur in Europe in beds of later date than miocene. The genera
Kernvmeryx and Sivameryx are peculiar ; both are allied to the Siwalik
Merycopotamus.
The species found also in the pliocene Siwaliks are Rhinoceros palmim,-
dicus, Acer otherium perimense, Chalicotherium sivalense, Sushysudricws, the
two species of Borcotherium, Mastodon ladidens, and Mastodon falconeri ;
but as the presence of these forms in the Manchhars is inferred for the most
part from fragments, the identifications are by no means quite certain,
whilst the general facies of the fauna, the absence of characteristic living
forms like Bquus, Bos, Antilope, Cervus, and Mephas, and the presence
of several extinct genera not hitherto detected in the Siwaliks, shew that
the mammalif erous beds of Sind are of older age than the typical Siwalik
strata. It should be recollected, moreover, that the precise horizon at
which the Siwalik forms are found is but rarely known with accuracy •
that some of the Siwalik strata are as old as the lower Manchhars if not
older, and that a portion at least of the older types of mammals are from
Extra-Peninsular-] NOTES ON tertiary SERIES. 473
beds low in the Siwalik series. None of the remarkable series of types
allied to the giraffes and Sivatherium, nor of the peculiar bovine and
antilopine forms so characteristic of the Siwalik fauna, have as yet been
found in Sind ; the only ruminant detected in the Manchhar beds is the
miocene Dorcathermm, and the place of the more specialised Pecora
appiears to have been occupied by the less specialised even-toed ungulates
allied to the pig. While therefore it is probable that some extinct types,
such as Anthracotherium and Hyopotamus, which are not known in
Europe above the lower miocene, existed in India at a somewhat later
period, together with species which survived till pliocene times, it is
evident that the lower portion of the Manchhar group can scarcely be con-
sidered of later date than upper miocene. The palsBontological evidence
is in accordance with the geological, and both shew the close connexion
between the lower Manchhar beds and the Gdj group.
Post-tertiary beds. — The post-tertiary formations in the Sind hills
are not of sufficient importance to deserve a lengthened description ; gravel,
sand and clays, brought down by torrents, occupy a large area in the
valleys, and frequently form a slope some miles broad, extending from
ths base of each range of hills, and covering a very large portion of the
intervening valleys. The same phenomenon is seen throughout a great
part of Western and Central Asia, being more conspicuous on account of
the dryness of the climate and the resulting deficiency of forest or
dense vegetation ; independently, however, of the greater facilities for
studying such formations which are afforded by the absence of trees and
shrubs, the formation of extensive gravel slopes appears to be character-
istic of climates like that of Sind, with a low rainfall, because in such tracts
rock detritus accumulates along the bases of hills more quickly than it
can be carried away by the streams ; the rainfall is sufficient to wash
down the disintegrated fragments fi'om the steeper slopes, but not to
carry them forward where the fall is more gradual.'
The great plain north-east of Karachi is covered by extensive allu-
vial deposits, chiefly of gravel and sand ; the gravels here, and in many
of the valleys in Western Sind, being often consolidated into a hard
conglomerate by carbonate of lime derived from the pebbles of limestone,
which form the bulk of the detritus. Some oysters of recent species
are found in the conglomerates near Karachi.
Additional notes on Sind tertiary series.— Before quitting the
subject of the Sind tertiaries, there are two or three points to which
attention may be directed. These points are chiefly of interest with
1 For further details as to these gravel slopes, see Q. J. G. S., 1873, p. 496 ; Easteru
Persia, 11, p, 465 ; and also Drew, Q. J. G. S., 1873, pp. 445, &c.
4,74 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SINl). [Chap- XIX.
regard to the geology of more extensive areas, but the knowledge, gained
in the last few years, of the sequence in Sind, and of the peculiarities
of the upper mesozoic and tertiary series there exposed, together with the
great imperfection of our acquaintance with all the neighbouring
regions, renders it desirable that these geological features, although
they may not be peculiar to the Sind area, should not be overlooked
when the characters of the region are compared with those of other
parts of India.
Absence of general breaks below pliocene.— The first of these
points is the general conformity of the whole series from cretaceous
(probably upper cretaceous) to pliocene. The lowest bed, the hip-
puritic limestone, passes into the cretaceous sandstones, and these again
into the oUve shales with Cardita heawmonii. The Deeean trap and
the R^nikot beds at the base of the eocene period follow in regular and
conformable succession, and the break, shewn by the Khirthar lime-
stones resting on the denuded edges of the upper Ranikot beds in the Laki
range, is merely local, for a few miles to the south-east the two forma-
tions pass completely into each other. At the top of the\ Khirthar
limestones also, although there is a sudden and abrupt change in the
fauna, no unconformity has been detected at the base of the Nari
group, whilst Nari beds in many places, and especially in South- Western
Sind, pass uninterruptedly into the mioeene Gaj beds, and there is again a
complete passage from the latter into the Manchhar group. In the
middle of the Manchhar formation there may be a break proved by some
slight indications of unconformity and by the appearance of detritus
derived from middle and lower tertiary beds in the upper sub-division, but
the unconformity, if any exist, is probably local.
Great post-pliocene disturbance.— Here, however, the sequence
ends, and, in the evidence of great disturbance having ta.ken place in
Western Sind since the upper Manchhar beds were deposited, there is
an abrupt and startling change from the phenomena exhibited on the
other side of the Indus valley. We are in fact brought into the pre-
sence of one of the great facts which divide with so trenchant a line
the geology of the Indian Peninsula from that of neighbouring countries.
The eocene nummulitic limestone, even in the middle of the Indus valley
around Sukkur and Rohri, never dips at more than 5°, and rarely at more
than 1° or 3° ; the tertiaries of Cutch, Kattywar and Surat pass upwards
almost without a break into the coast alluvium ; the laterite of Western
India, probably of tertiary age at least, lies undisturbed upon the flat
cretaceous basalts ; and the difficulty in drawing a line between older and
newer forms of laterite — a difficulty so frequently pointed out in the
Extra-Peninsular.] alternation of beds. 475
fifteenth chapter of the present work — alone suffices to shew how destitute
of violent disturbance the geological history of peninsular India has been
in csenozoic times. It is unnecessary here to do more than refer to the
older mesozoic and palaeozoic rocks of the Indian Peninsula, but it is a
fact that the pliocene beds of Sind and the Himalayas are more disturbed
than the ancient azoic Vindhyans of Bundelkhand. The uppermost
Manchhar rocks on the edge of the alluvial Indus plain are frequently
vertical, and rarely dip at lower angles than 30° or 40°, and it is manifest
that the great anticlinal ridges of the Sind mountains have been mainly
formed in post-pliocene times.
In the few notes on the physical geography of Sind at the commence-
ment of the present chapter, it was shewn that the ranges of hills in the
province are simple anticlinals with paralled axes, all running nearly
north and south. This probably proves that the action of disturbance
has been unusually simple, and has consisted of a distinct lateral
thrust from one direction. The change of direction to the westward
in Baluchistan, and to the northward in the Punjab, has been noticeid
elsewhere.
AItem3,tion of marine and fresh-water beds. — The cretaceous
rocks appear to have been marine, with the possible exception of the
unfossiliferous sandstones above the hippuritic limestone, but at the
base of the Sind tertiary rocks, in the Ranikot beds, proofs of the im-
mediate neighbourhood of land are afBorded by the presence of terrestrial
plants. It is probable that the thin band of Deccan trap at the base
of the Ranikot group was of subaerial origin in Sind as elsewhere, and
that the lower Ranikot beds themselves are fluviatile. The upper portion
of the Ranikot group, the whole of the Khirthar and the lower Nari beds
are marine, and the nummulitic limestone may have been deposited far
from land, whilst it is certain that a considerable portion of this lime-
stone formation is too pure to have accumulated in a sea into which
sediment in any quantity was poured by rivers or washed from a coast
line. But, as has been shewn above, the Khirthar limestone in Lower Sind
contains.'intercalated sandstones and shales, shewing the admixture of
detritus derived from land, and the great limestone band itself disappears
in the s outh-we stern part of the province near the Habb river. The
thick upper l<Jari~sandstones, and the still thicker Manchhars have, again,
the character of fluviatile deposits, but the intervening Gaj group is
marine and in part perhaps estuarine.
Thus throughout the tertiary series of Sind there is evidence of frequent
alternations of marine and terrestrial conditions, the last marine beds
known being of miocene date. It will be shewn in subsequent chapters
476 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIND. [Chap. XIX.
that to the northward, on the flanks of the Himalayas, the tertiary
marine beds tend to disappear or diminish, even the numnmlitic limestone,
the only marine formation which appears to be persistent throughout
the greater part of the extra-peninsular area, being much less developed
in the Sub-Himalayan ranges than it is in the neighbourhood of the
lower Indus valley;
Extra-Peninsular.] PUNJAB HILLS, 477
CHAPTER XX.
EXTEA-PENINSULAR AREA.
THE PUNJAB HILLS WEST OF THE JHELUM.
Physical geography and general features — Geological data — General geological features —
Kock-groups of Salt Range — Rock-groups of Hazara and the Northern Punjab —
Abnormal boundary of upper tertiaries — Azoic and palseozoic rocks of Salt Range,
&c. — Salt marl — Purple sandstone — Silurian ? — Magnesian sandstone — Speckled
sandstone — Carboniferous — Mesozoic rocks of Salt Range, &c. — Ceratite beds —
Pseudomorphic salt crystal zone — Jurassic or variegated gi-oup — Gretaceous
(neocomian) — Olive group.
Physical geography. — Passing northward from Sind to the Puru-
jab, the physical features of the country at first undergo little or no
change. The South-Western Punjab near the Sind frontier consists, like
Sind itself, of the alluvial plain of the Indus, bounded to the westward,
for the most part beyond the limits of the province, by a range of ter-
tiary hills, and to the eastward by a sandy desert. Farther north the
alluvial tract expands into the great plain of the five rivers, the rocky
boundary, known as the Suleman Range, continuing to the westward.
_A little beyond the thirty- second parallel of north latitude, however, a
series of curved hill ranges, of- which the most important, between the
Indus and Jhelum, is known as the " Salt 'Range" crosses the province
from Shekh Budin, a little north of Dera Ismail Khan, to Jhelum, and
to the northward of these ranges, which cross the Indus at Kalabagh,
a tract of more or less hilly country extends to the foot of the Hima-
layas, and of the great mountain ranges between the Himalayas of
Western Kashmir and the Hindu Kush. But this tract may again be
sub-divided into three high level plains, more or less broken up by ravines,
and separated from each other by ranges of hills. The south-eastern plain
extends from the Salt Range to beyond Rawalpindi, and closely approxi-
mates in dimensions with the basin of the river Soan, a tributary joining
the Indus a little above Kalabigh. This plain is sometimes known as
the Potwar or the Rawalpindi plateau ; it extends from the Indus nearly
to the Jhelum ; it has a superficial area of about 7,000 square miles, and
a general elevation of about 1,000 feet above the Indo-Gangetic plain
to the south of the Salt Range. The surface is greatly cut up by deep
ravines in the soft Siwalik beds, of which almost the whole area is com-
posed. North of this southern plain there is a series of hill ranges
478 GEOLOGY OP INDIA-THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap- XX,
known as Mai-galla, Chitapahar, Cherat, &c., which have a general east
and west (or east by north to west by south) direction, and connect the
Murree and Hazara with the Afridi mountains. These hill ranges
traverse the Northern Punjab south of Attock, and repeat, though on
a diminished scale, the remarkable curves of the Salt Range and Chichali
or Shingarh hills. North of the Cherdt and Afridi hills is the alluvial
plain of Peshawar, and this again is bounded on the north by the
hills of Swat and Yusafzai, the geology of which is unknown.
A third plain, more to the westward, of smaller extent than either of
the former, exists in the neighbourhood of Bannu (Bunnoo). It is close
to the northern continuation of the Sulem^n Range, and is bounded to
the northward by ranges of hills having a general east and west direction
in the Bahadur Khel and Waziri country in Kohdt, and to the east
and south by the trans-Indus continuation of the Salt Range, known
under a variety of names, such as Chichali or Shingarh, Kdfirkot,
Shekh Budm, &c., none of which, however, appear to have more than a
local value. ^ The Bannu plain comprises about ],5Q0 square miles ; it is
about 1,300 feet above the sea, and is drained by the Kurram (Koorum)
river and its tributaries.
For the purposes of the present work, the boundary between the
Punjab and Himalayan areas will be understood as coinciding with
the course of the Jhelum below the junction with the Kishenganga at
Muzafirabad, the whole of Hazara, and of the hills around Murree (Mari)
being included in the Punjab hill ranges. The circumstance that the
valley of the Jhelum, which is also the boundary of Kashmir in this
direction, closely corresponds mth the important change in the main
direction of the ranges from the east-north-east strike prevalent in Hazara
• No names are applied to these ranges on the map, and almost every writer employs
different terms for them. The ranges in the Punjab are not named by the inhabitants of the
country, and such distinctive terms as are commonly used appear to be derived either from
the tribes inhabiting the hills, as Waziri, Afridi, &c., from the passes through them, from
the country around, or from some local peculiarity, as in the case of the Salt Range.
The following are the names used by various writers for the hUls forming the western
extension of the Salt Range beyond the Indus. The portion near the river, much curved,
but having on the whole an east and west strike for some distance, and then turning
southwards and running north and south, is known as the Chichali, Shingarh or Lowagarh
and Surgarh. By one writer these hills are called Ehattak. South of the break made by
the Kurram river, there is a double range, the northern or north-western, running north-east
and south-west, known as the Batani or Shekh Budfn ridge, whilst the parallel ridge to the
south-east near the bank of the Indus is variously known as Khasor, Betot, Kafirkot, or
Kotta Roh. Prom west of the peak of Shekh BudJn another ridge runs to the north-west
and joins the Shekh Budin range to the Suloman. This minor ridge is known as the Pyzu
(Peyzoo) from a pass through it. Most of the ridges named consist of tertiary rocks, but
older formations occur in the Chichdli or Shingarh and Kafirkot ranges, and under Shekh
Budin peak.
Extra-Peninsular.] GEOLOGICAL DATA. 479
to the north-western direction of the Pir Panjal, justifies the selection of
this line for the eastern limit of the Himalayan region.
The plains of the Punjab, so far as they require geological notice, or
perhaps, it should rather be said, so far as their geology is known, have
already been described in the seventeenth chapter with the rest of the
post-tertiary Indo-Gangetic plain. The orographical features of the hills
to the north and west of the province are peculiar, but our knowledge of
the geology requires many additions to be made to it before these features
can be understood. The change in the direction of the ranges, caused by
a similar alteration in the strike of the rocks at the Jhelum valley, has
just been noticed, but this is only one of several similar abrupt changes
in the Punjab hills. Commencing again on the frontier of Sind, the
Mari and Bhiigti hills, north of Jaoobabad, run nearly east and west,
whilst the Suleman Range, from the Sind frontier to Dera Ismail Khan,
runs nearly north and south, like the Khirthar and other mountain chains
in Sind. The various ranges of the Northern Punjab are so much
curved and twisted, that no general direction can be detected ; there is,
however, in many parts of them, as in the Eastern Salt Range, and in
the Shekh Budin hills, a tendency to parellelism with the east-north-east
direction of the Haz^ra hills. The extraordinary curve of the Salt
Range at the Indus may be considered a remarkable instance of folding
due to compression, but the cause of so singular a change of direction
requires further explanation. In the Punjab hills thi-ee distinct lines of
strike may be traced : that of the Sulemdn Range, running nearly north
and south ; that of the lower Hazara hills, running east-north-east to
west-south-west ; and that of the Pir Panjdl, running nearly north-west
and south-east; but all these chains are, in great part at least, of post-
pliocene date, for all comprise pliocene beds, and it is difficult to see
any reason for doubting that all are of contemporaneous origin.
Geological data.— Our present knowledge of the various hill ranges
varies greatly in accuracy and detail. The Salt Range and the elevated
tract to the northward in the Rawalpindi district, known as the Potwar,
together with some of the hills west of the Indus forming the trans-
Indus salt region, and extending to the neighbourhood of Kohat and
Bannu, have been examined and mapped by the Geological Survey ^ ;
portions of Hazdra and the Murree hills have also been surveyed, but
of the remainder of the region very little is known. Of the hills of
the Derajat from Bannu southward scarcely any information exists.
Some notes on the ranges near the Indus, from K^labagh to Shekh
1 Chiefly by Mr. Wynne ; portions of the Salt Range, of the Murree hills, and Hazara
having also been examined by Dr. Waagen. The Salt Range is described at length by
Mr Wynne : Mem. G. S. I., vol. XIV ; an account of Mount Tilla having previously
480 GEOLOGY OP INDIA-THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX.
Budin, have been published by Dr. Fleming.' A few observations on
the geology o£ the Shekh Budin hills and neighbouring ranges have also
been published by Dr. Costello ^ and Dr. Verchere/ but the details in all
these cases are extremely meagre and imperfect. The Suleman Range
beyond the British frontier has been traversed west of Dera Ghazi
Khan by Mr. Ball/ and some notes on the Mari and Bhugti hills to
the southward were published many years since by Captain Vicary ° ;
whilst the only information on the northern part of the range is
comprised in some brief notes by Dr. Fleming* and Dr. Stewart.'
General geological features. — So far as is at present known, the
Mari and Bhugti hills and the Suleman Range are principally, like the
Khirfchar and other hills of Sind, composed of tertiary beds, amongst
which nummulitie limestone and the conglomerates, sandstones and
clays of the upper tertiaries (Manchhar or Siwalik) are the most
conspicuous rocks. In the northern part of the Suleman hills, however,
older formations appear, some of them metamorphic. The Shekh
Budin and Chichali or Shingarh hiUs, west of the Indus, are a continu-
ation of the Salt Range, and contain to a great extent the same rocks,
but, as already remarked, they are very imperfectly known. In the Salt
Range there is a remarkable series, of formations, from older paleeozoie
to later tertiary, many of them f ossiliferous, the oldest rocks being found
along the southern base of the range; and all the beds, despite much
irregular disturbance, having a general northerly dip. Here the contrast
been published : Roc. G. S. I., Ill, p. 81. The various descriptions by previous observers
are noted in Mr. Wynne's memoir : of these the most important were the reports by
Dr. Fleming : J. A. S. B., XVII, 1848, Pt. 2, p. 500, and XXII, 1853, pp. 229, 333, 4,44.
The trans-Indus salt region was described : Mem. G. S. I., XI, pp. (105) — (330) ; the
Kharian hills, south of the Jhelum, Rec. G. S. I„ VIII, p. 46 j the neighbourhood of Mari
(Murree) hill station, Rec. G. S. I., VII, p. 64 ; and the tertiary rocks of the upper Punjab,
Rec. G. S. I., X, p. 107, — all by Mr. Wynne. Some details were also given : Q. J. G. S.,
1874, p. 61 ; 1878, p. 347 j and Kec. G. S. I., Ill, p. 73; VI, p. 59. The geology of Mount
Sirban, close to Abbottabad in Hazara, was described by Dr. Waagen and Mr. Wynne :
Mem. G. S. I., IX, pp. (331)— (350) ; whilst Dr. Waagen separately gave an account of a
section near Mureee : Rec. G. S. I., V, p. 15 ; and of forms of Ammonites, Ceratites, and
Qoniatites f rorn^ carboniferous rocks : Mem. G. S. I., p. (351). The fossil collections made
by Dr. Fleming and Mr. Purdon in the Salt Range were described by Mr. Davidson :
Q. J. G. S., 1862, p. 25 ; and Prof, de Koninck : Q. J. G. S., 1863, p. 1. The only other
important contribution to the geology of the Punjab is by Dr. Verchere: J. A. S. B.,
XXXV, Pt. 2, pp. 89, 159; XXXVI, Pt. 2, pp. 9, &c.
The present and the following chapter are chiefly compiled from data furnished by
Mr. Wynne's papers, except where the contrary is stated.
1 J. A. S. B., XXII, 1853, pp. 259, 261, ^ Rec. G. S. I., VII, p. 145.
268, &c. 5 Q. J. G. S., 1846, p. 260; Geol. Papeis on
2 J. A. S. B., XXXIII, p 378. Western India, p. 521.
3 .1. A. S. B., XXXIV, Pt, 2, p. 42 j and « Q. J. 6. S., 1853, p. 346.
map, J. A. S, B., XXXVI, Pt. .2. ? J. A. S. B„ XXIX, p. 314.
Extra-Peninsular.] ROCK-GROUPS OP SALT RANGE. 4,81
so''£requently noticed between the peninsular and extra-peninsular areas
of India is yery strongly marked ; although the Korana hills,i apparently
composed o£ the Arvali transition beds, are but 40 miles distant to the
south-east, not a single formation, out of the ten pre-tertiary groups
distinguished by Mr. Wynne amongst the rocks of the range, has hitherto
been clearly identified with any formation in the, peninsular area, and the
Salt Range tertiary beds are only represented, as already noticed, in
Western India. At the same time the peninsular formations contrast
much more strongly with the marine palssozoie and mesozoic strata of the
Western Salt Range than with the unfossiliferous sandstones in the eastern
part of the hills, and there is not only a gradual passage in the range itself
from west to east, from a distinctly marine facies to one more nearly
resembling that of the Vindhyan and Gondwana series of the peninsula,
but there is still a possibility that some of the peninsular formations may
be identified with those of the Eastern Salt Range. All that can be said
is that no such identification has hitherto been made; Dr. Waagen*
suggests 2 that the Salt Range marks the passage from the extra-
peninsular to the peninsular type of rocks, and these hills m^y conse-
quently be on the margin of the ancient land area, of which the Indian
Peninsula formed a portion in palaeozoic and mesozoic times.
Rock-groups of Salt Range. — The following is a general list of
the rock- groups found in the Salt Range in descending order ^ : —
Approximate
European eqiiivalenis. Name. ' Character of rocks. thickness,
in feet.
Pmocenb . . 14 Upper Siwalik . Conglomerates, drab and
pink clays . . . SCO to 2,000
13 Lower Siwalik'' . Grey sandstones and red
clays, with mammalian
Miocene (?) .1 bones. . . . 1,200 to 7,500
/ . - — - Greenish-grey sandstones """ ' " "
Pale limestones, with
nummnlites and other
,, „ .... J fossils . . . . 400 to 600
EOOEHB . . 11 Nummulitic .«^ ^^^f^^ sandstones, shales,
and red and grey claysj
with lignite and gypsum 150 to 3C0
' Ante, p. 52.
2 Denkschr. K. Akad. Wisa. Wien., 1878, p. 8.
3 Wynne, Mem. G. S. I., p. 69. The Salt Range was mapped gpologically by Mr. Wynne,
but Dr. Waagen spent part of a season in examining the rocks and added to the accurate
determination of the fossiliferous formations, besides distinguishing the triassic group,
which had previously only been separated on lithological characters.. Unfortunately,
his health having failed. Dr. Waagen was obliged to leave India without working out the
paljBontology. He is now occupied in determining the fossils.
4 As will be shewn subsequently, it is possible Nos. 12 and 13 of the list, the " lower
Siwalik " and " Nfflian" of Mr. Wy^ne's classification, should rather be classed as middle
Siwalik (pliocene). See foot-note, p. 512.
(A
« / ^. 12 Nahan ? . . Greenish-grey sandstones 600 to 1,000
H
482
GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX,
lEuro^ean equivalents,
yCBETACEOUS
Name.
10. OKve group
Character of rocks.
Approximate
thicleness,
in feet.
JrEASSIC
Tbiassic
9. Variegated g'ronp
8. Pseudomorphic
salt crystal
group.
7. Ceratite beds
\Caebonieeeous . 6,
Carboniferous
stoue.
lime-
SlLtJBIAN ?
Olive, reddish and white
sarudstones, slightly cal-
careous beds and black
clays with boulders,
slightly fossiliferous . 150 to 350
Bed, white and variegated
sandstones, yellow and
grey limestones and
marls, fossiliferous. . 2O0 to 500
Ejed and pale-coloured
flaggy sandstones with
blood-red clays or shales,
unfossiliferous . 50 to 500
Grey limestones, calca-
reous sandstones, and
grey marls, weathering
greenish, fossiliferous . 120 to 250
Grey and maguesian lime-
stone, calcareous sand-
stone, and argillaceous
beds, highlyfossiliferous 300 to 500
5. Speckled sandstones Speckled, reddish and
white sandstone, red and
lavender clay, unfossili-
ferous , . 250 to 450
4. Magnesian sandstone Light-coloured magnesian
sandstone and shales,
unfossiliferous . 150 to 250
Black shales with glau-
conitic calcareous layere
and sandy bands, fossili-
ferous . 30 to 150
Deep purple sandstones,
unfossiliferous . 250 to 450
Red gypseous marls with
thick beds of rock salt
and thin dolomitic
layers . 800 to 1,500
base not seen.
Scarcely any of these groups, except tlie salt marl at the base, and
the later tertiary beds at the top of the series, are found throughout the
range, although the nummulitic limestone is only absent in a few localities
at each end. No. 3 of the preceding section, the purple sandstone ;
No. 3, the black silurian shales; No. 4, the magnesian sandstone;
No. 8, the red sandstones and shales, with pseudomorpbs of salt crystals ;
and No. 1 0, the olive group, are all wanting in the western part of the
range : whilst No. 5, the speckled sandstone ; No. 6, the carbonifer-
ous limestone ; No. 7, the tijiassic limestone ; and No. 9, the Jurassic
group, are absent to the eastward. Similar diEEerenees may exist between
the Western Salt Range and the continuation west of the Indus ; one
formation, the necomian, is certainly found to the^ westward, but not east
of the river. The important distinction,, however, is the prevalence of
marine fossiliferous rocks in the western, and of unfossiliferous beds in
3. ObbUis ? beds
2. Purple sandstones
1. Salt marl
ExtrarPenirisular. ] EOCK-GROUPS OF hazara, etc. 483
the eastern part of the range, all the principal f ossilif erous formations
below the olive series, the carboniferous, triassic and Jurassic beds, being
restricted to the western portion of the area.
Rock-groups of Hazara, and the Northern Punjab— The
rocks to the northward in Hazara and near Murree, and in the hills of the
Northern Punjab near Attock and Peshkwar, differ to a very great extent
from the Salt Range beds. Although the formations are, in many cases,
of similar age, marine eocene, cretaceous, Jurassic and triassic rocks
being found in both areas, there is a marked distinction, both in mineral
character and in fossils, between the mesozoic rocks in Hazara and
those in the Salt Range, and no connexion has been traced between any
of the palaeozoic groups. The nummulitic limestone also exhibits differ-
ences in the two regions. The mesozoic rocks of the Northern Punjab are
more closely connected, both by mineral character and fossils, with the
comparatively distant trans- Himalayan beds of Zanskar, Rupshu and
Spiti, than with the strata of the Salt Range.
The following are the formations found in the extreme north of the
Punjab : —
Approximate
European equivalents. Name. Character of roahs. thioleness,
in feet.
^ "^ C Limestonis, chiefly dark-
eoloured, and shales;
some carbonaceous shales
Ipcally near the base . 1,700 to 3,000
Thin-bedded limestones, ( 60 and up-
unfossilif erous . \ wards ? 300
Saiidy and rusty lime-
stones, fossiliferous . 20
Sandstones, .&c., poorly
fossiliferous . 30
liimestoiies, fossiliferous 10 to 100
Black shales, sandy beds,
&c., fossiliferous . 30
Limestones, magnesian in
part, shales and sand-
stones, fossiliferous . 2,000 or less
/Ineba-tbiassio . Siliceous and dolomitic
breccia, shales, sand-
stones, unf ossilif erous.
Tanol (TanIwal) GEorp Quartzites, conglomerates,
slates, schists and mag-
EOCBKB
1
. Nummulitic
i<
JjEASSIO
1 • Gieuraal beds,
• [ Spiti shales, &c.
g Tbiassic
■
eg
!ziO
^ t^ / nesian limestones, nn-
oS \ fossiliferous.,
O J SlllTBIAir ? . Attock slates . Black and grey slates.
limestones, &c.
Schistose beds, quartzites and dolomites.
Metamorphic and crystalline rocks.
Abnormal boundary of upper tertiaries.— The boundary between
the paleozoic and mesozoic beds, with the hill nummulitic limestone
484 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX.
on the one hand, and the upper tertiaries, including the beds classed
a& upper nummulitic, on the other, is very marked, and has the appear-
ance of a great crushed fault ^ ; it is not clear, however, whether the
break is entirely due to faulting, or whether it may not in part be
the result of unconformable deposition subsequently to the consolida-
tion of the hill area. One of the chief peculiarities of this boundary
is the apparent inversion of the rocks, the newer beds to the south
of the junction Having commonly a dip towards the north, as if
they were inferior in position to the older formations to the northward.
The line of _ fracture is not always simple ; occasionally it bifurcates or
consists of two or more parallel lines, nor is it an absolute boundary
between the two types of tertiary rocks, for the hill variety of the
nummulitic limestone is .occasionally brought up by faults or exposed
in crushed anticlinals to the south of the main line of division, and the
newer tertiary beds are similarly met with in places faulted or let in
by synclinals to the north of the boundaiy. The most remarkable
occurrence of the hill nummulitic limestone south of the dividing line
is in the ridge of Khairi Murat, south-west of Rawalpindi, and 10
miles south of the main limit of the formation j whilst the newer tertiary
beds are found represented in the Mir Kulan pass, west of Attock, nearly
as. far to the north of the junction line, and at Dungagalli, north of
JVIurree hill station. It should, however, be mentioned that the outliers
of newer tertiary, beds within the area of the hill rocks are not quite so
clearly identified as the outlier of nummulitic limestone exposed south of
the dividing line.
This discordant junction between the Himalayan rocks and the tertiary
formations is not confined to the North- Western Punjab, but is traced
throughout the ranges to the east of the Jhelum in Kashmir territory,
and thence far to the south-east along tbe southern slope of the
Himalayas. There is, however, this distinction between the boundary ■
in the Northern Punjab and that farther to the south-east, that the
eocene formations are found superbly developed as the hiU type of num-
mulitic limestone north of the junction line in the Northern Punjab ;
whereas to the eastward the rocks on the northern side of the boundary
appear, except in the Sirmiir area of the Simla region, to be much
older than tertiary. In the Punjab, too, at no great distaiice to the
south of the line, fossiliferous beds of similar age to those found in
the Himalayan area are exposed, although the fossil fauna is in some
cases different, whilst no similar connection has been traced between the
Himalayan rocks and those of the Peninsula generally, except iu the
' Wynne, Q. J. G.S., 1874, p.
69.
485
Extra-Peninsular.] PALEOZOIC ROCKS OP SALT RANGE.
solitary instance of the Damiida beds in SikMm. One more peculiarity,
ot the abnormal boundary in the Northern Punjab is that the direction
here is far more irregular than it is farther to the south-east, and that
the boundary line leaves the slopes of the Himalayas to which it is con-
fined to the eastward, and traverses the upper Punjab from east to
west.
Commenemg at the western end, the abnormal line of junction
just described runs along the south of the Afridi hills, and of the
Chitapahar and Mdrgalla ranges north of the Rawalpindi plain to
the Murree hills. So far the direction has been that of the ranges,
nearly from west to east, curving to north-east to the eastward. Near
the Jhelum, however, the line turns sharply north and runs up the
valley of the river to Muzafirabad, whence the boundary turns again
sharply to the south-east along the flanks of the Kaijnag. range in
Kashmir.
A similar abrupt boundary between the older hill rocks and the upper
tertiaiy formations is found along the northern side of the Alps in Europe ;
and amongst some of the mesozoic rocks there is a singular replacement
in the mountain zone, both in the Alps and Himalayas, of formations,
occurring in the plains at no great distance, by beds of corresponding
age, but differing both in mineral character and fossil fauna. This
distinction is most marked in the case of the Jurassic rocks,i but there
is a similar diEEerence in the Trias of the Himalayan and extra- Himalayan
regions. The palsBozoic beds of- the Himalayan Northern Punjab differ
also from those of the Salt Kange, but the distinction is of a different
character, and probably local, for the carboniferous' limestone, the only
important fossiliferous palseozoic group of the Salt E.ange, reappears in
Kashmir, and the fauna is similar to that of the mountain limestone so
widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, &c.
Azoic and palseozoic rocks of Salt Range, &c. — Under the cir-
cumstances of the case, it appears best to describe separately the palaeozoic
and mesozoic rocks of the two contrasting areasj and to commence with
the southern region. As the rocks of the Salt Range alone are well
known, the description of the older non- Himalayan Pimjab formations
must be almost confined to the area between the Indus and Jhelum, the
occurrence of similar beds west , of the Indus being noticed wherever
their existence has been ascertained.
1 Waagen, Pal. Ipd., Ser. IX, p. 236 ; Waagen and Wynne, Mem. G. S. I., IX, p. (332) ;
see also Wynne, Mem: G. S. I., XIV, p. 64; and Wangeu, Deukschrift M. N. Kl. K. Akad.
Wien, XXXVIII, 1878, p. 12.
4ij6 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [ Chap. XX.
In the ranges west of the Indus, the greater part of the area is occupied
by tertiary rocks, palffiozoic beds occurring, however, in the Chichali range,
and forming a considerable portion of the Kafirkot hills. In the southern
part of the Suleman ranges no pre-tertiary formations have hitherto
loeen noticed, but the occurrence of carboniferous limestone west of Dera
Ghazi Khan has been inferred from the existence of fragments in the
beds of streams running from the range. Farther, north, "in the Mahsud
Waziri country, south-west of Bannu, the higher ranges consist of
metamorphic and schistose rocks.^
Salt marl. — At the base of all the Salt Range sections, throughout
the range from east to west, there is found a great thickness of red marl,
varying in colour from bright scarlet to dull purple, and containing thick
bands of rock salt and gypsum and. a few layers of dolomite. The base
of this group is nowhere seen, so that the thickness is unknown- j all that
can be ascertained is that it is not less than lj500 feet.
The marl itself, which consists of clay, having, carbonate of lime and
magnesia and a small proportion of sulphate of lime (gypsum) combined,
is soft and homogeneous, and the only evidence of stratification, as a rule,
is to be found in the intercalated beds of salt, gypsum, and dolomite.
In these the strata are frequently seen to be much broken and contorted,
although no evidence of disturbance can be seen in the marl itself. Be-
sides the more regular beds, masses of gypsum are frequently irregularly
dispersed throughout the marl. Many crystals of quartz and a few of
iron pyrites have been found locally in the gypsum. In one locality in the
Khewra gorge near Pind Dadun Khan a small quantity of bituminous
shale was discovered.
The beds of rock salt to which the group owes its name are very
rich, some separate bands being as much as 100 feet in thickness, and
there being frequently several thick beds at one locality. Thus at the
Mayo Mines of Khewra there are altogether no less than 550 feet of
pure and impure salt in the upper 1,000 feet of the salt marl : of this thick-
ness, 275 feet, or one-half, consists of nearly pure salt ; the other half,
known as halar, being too earthy and impure to be of marketable value
without refining. The salt of the Punjab, it should be noted, is transport-
ed and sold in the market as it is dug from the mine, without being ,
refined. The beds of salt, so far as they are known, are most abundant
in the upper portion of the group, and the principal bands of gypsum
overlie the salt beds. The "salt bands do not appear to be continuous
1 Stewart, J. A. S. B., XXIX, 1860, p. 316; Verchere, J. A. S. B., XXXVI, 1867,
Pt. 2, p. 18.
Extra-Peninsular. J salt marl. 487
over a large area, but owing to the manner in which the outcrops are
usually dissolved by rain, and then covered up by the marl, it is impossible
to trace the beds. The salt itself is white, grey or reddish, and is frequently
composed of alternating white and reddish layers, difEering in translucency
as well as in colour. Some bands are almost pure, others contain small
quantities of sulphate of lime and chlorides of calcium and magnesium.
At the Mayo Mines one band has been found, 6 feet thick, composed of
a mixture of sylvine (chloride of potassium) and kieserite (sulphate of
magnesia, with only one equivalent of water), and the latter salt prevails
throughout about 7 feet beneath the sylvine band. Epsom salts (sulphate
of magnesia, with seven equivalents of water) are produced when water
from the atmosphere is absorbed by the kieserite, and they frequently
weather out on the surface, shewing that the magnesian salt is of common
occurrence in the rock. Glauberite (anhydrous sulphate of soda and
•Ume) has also been found by Dr. Warth, to whom the discovery of
most of the salts mentioned is due.
Owing to the softness of the marl, and to the teiidency of harder
rocks to slip upon- it whenever it is sufficiently saturated with water
to destroy its coherence, and also to the salt beds being dissolved
by water, the rocks of the Salt Range are broken and mixed up in
the Tnost complicated manner, masses of the marl having been squeezed
by pressure in places into a position in which they appear to overlie
more recent rocks, whilst all the n^wer formations are cracked and
faulted. The detailed geology of the range is consequently very intri-
cate, and it is not always easy to tell whether dislocations of the strata
are due to true faults- traversing all the beds, inclusive of the salt marl,
or whether the displacement is fiierely due to complicated landslips.
Besides being found from end to end of the Salt Range along the
base of the sputhem scarps, the salt marl is exposed for a short distance
beyond (west of) the Indus in the hills behind Kalabagh. The same rock is
said by Dr. Verchere (and shewn upon his map) to be found at the northern
and southern extremities of the Kafirkot hills (Rotta Roh of Verchere),
west of the Indus, and south of Isa Khel, and round the southern base of
the Shekh Budm peak, a few miles farther west. Dr. Fleming also * men-
tions the occurrence of red and grey saliferous sandstones under carboni-
ferous limestone at the northern extremity of the Kafirkot range.
The salt of the Kohat district is derived from beds of apparently much
later date than 'those of the Salt Range.
In a few places, a volcanic rock, having the appearance of diorite,
but much decomposedj is found in the upper portion of the salt marl
' J. A. S. B., XXII, 1853, p, 260.
488 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX.
just below the purple sandstone. It occurs in horizontal, lenticular
layers from a few inches to 6 feet or more in thickness, and contains,
in abundance, acicular stellate crystals, much decomposed, but apparently
of hornblend (tremolite or actinolite), together with talc, quartz, and
calcite ; the latter in small cavities. It is not at all certain whether this
igneous rock is intrusive or contemporaneous, but its occurrence in
lenticular beds is in favour of the latter view.
There can be no reasonable doubt that the salt marl is a sedi-
mentary rock, although its very peculiar appearance has induced
some observers to suspect an igneous origin. The red colour, however,
due to the occurrence of iron sesquioxide, is a normal character of beds
containing salt. The absence of organic remains is also a common
peculiarity of saliferous rocks. Whether such formations with their,
beds of rock salt and gypsum have been deposited in salt lakes under
process of desiccation, does not appear to be equally generally admitted.^
The amount of salt in the beds of the Salt Range is so great, that suc-
cessive supplies of salt water and repeated evaporation alone could pro-
duce the thickness of the mineral found in places.
The geological age of the salt marl and of the next formation in
ascending order, owing to the absence of fossils, is somewhat doubtful,
but the presence of a bed, probably of silurian age, at a higher horizon,
shews that both must be of very ancient paleozoic date.
2. Purple sandstone. — The group next above the salt marl consists
almost entirely of. sandstone of a dull purple colour, containing car-
bonates of both lime and magnesia. The lower fifty' to a hundred feet are
more argillaceous, and perhaps indicate transition from the marl below ; in
the higher portion of the group bands of clay are rare or absent.
Near the top the colour becomes paler.
This purple band is found throughout the eastern part of the range,
but it dies out to the westward, or is replaced by an argillaceous conglo-
merate. No fossils have been found in the present group, which has
not hitherto been traced beyond the Salt Kange.
3. Silurian (?). — Throughout the eastern portion of the range some
blackish sandy shales, of a dull purple colour when dry, overlie the
purple sandstones, and although comparatively of small thickness, are
well seen in various cliff sections. Sandy or conglomeratic and calcareous
bands occur in the group, but the shaly character is predominant. In
these shales a species of Brachiopod belonging to the genus Obolus, or
some allied form, has been found. Obohs is a characteristically lower
' For a discussion of ttiis question, and references, see Wynne, Mem. G S I XI
p, (141), and XIV, p. 82. ■ • .
Extra-Peninsular.] CARBONIFEROUS OF SALT RANGE. 489
Silurian type, but the determination-is not sufficiently certain to fix the
age of the shale definitely.
4. Magnesian sandstone. — The next group in ascending .order is
also confined to the eastern portion of the Salt Range, and consists, in its
typical form, of a calcareous sandstone, containing magnesia, or of a sandy
dolomite, (the latter being perhaps the more correct term,) a hard, massive
cream-coloured rock, conspicuous on the scarps from its massive character..
Associated with the harder beds are light-coloUred sandstones, occasionally
■with oolitic layers or flaggy bands, intercalated with greenish and dark-
coloured shales.
To the westward this group becomes chiefly composed of sandstones
and shales, and is no longer characteristic. No fossils have been found
in these beds.
5. Speckled sandstone.— In the Eastern Salt Range the dolomitic
beds jiist noticed are succeeded in ascending order by a bright red
argillaceous band, No. 8, and. then by the qlive beds. No. 10 j but to
the westward other zones are found to intervene, by far the most im-
portant of which is the carboniferous limestone. Beneath this, however,
and overlying the magnesian sandstone, there is a group of beds consist-
ing chiefly of light-coloured sandstones, with reddish or purplish specks
and patches. With the sandstones, red clays and shales, and some veiy
distinctly marked lavender and purplish or greyish argillaceous and
gypseous bands, are intercalated, especially in the higher part and at
the top of the group. Some traces of copper in the form of small
nodules of copper glance have been discovered in these shales, but these
'concretions are of rare occurrence. The sandstones are commonly dis-
tinguished by the occurrence of small concretionaryt nodules which pro-
ject in the form of small knobs from the weathered surface. These beds
are in parts conglomeratic, containing pebbles of crystalline rocks, and
this conglomeratic character increases to the westward. The speckled
sandstone group, although well developed throughout the western part
of the Salt Range, is lost near the Indus.
Carboniferous. — With the exception of the few Brachiojaoda from
the supposed silurian shales, the oldest fossils hitherto found in the Salt
Range occur in tlie carboniferous rocks, from which a very rich and
characteristic fauna has been obtained. The most prominent beds are
grey and yellowish limestones, frequently magnesian, and closely resem-
bling the mountain limestone of the British Isles and other parts of
Western Europe in texture, colour, and composition, as well as in organic
remains. At the base of the group, shales often predominate, succeeded
by reddish and yellowish sandstones with Spirifer, remains of fish, &c.,
the sandstones sometimes containing thick beds of black coaly and sandy
490 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap, XX.
shale. The upper part of these sandstones is fossiliferons/ and they
are succeeded by limestones with numerous Cephalqpoda, Brachiopoda,
Bryozoa, Crinoidea, &c. The upper strata-are again sandy, and. sometimes
consist of light-coloured sandstones with coaly shales and argillaceous
beds intercalated, one thick sandstone bed being crowded with a species of
Bellerophon. The sections vary in different places ; beds of sandstone
may occur anywhere, and very frequently the massive grey limestone
is found at the base of the group resting upon the uppermost lavender
clays of the speckled sandstone group.
The carboniferous formation is wanting in the eastern part of the
Salt Range,* and appears first in the Mlawan ravine near Kallar Kahar, in
the form of coarse, light-coloured yellowish-grey and greenish sandstones
with coaly lamina and a band, of sandy calcareous shales. The sand-
stones contain Broductiis spinosm, and the whole group is but - 60 to
70 feet thick, resting on the lavender clays of the underlying sub-
division. To the westward, the carboniferous beds gradually expand to
a thickness of 450 or 500 feet, forming in many places a steep scarp, and
maintaining this thickness to the neighbourhood of tbe Indus. Here,
like most of the other rocks, . they disappear for a space, but they
reappear, according to Fleming, in the Chichali hills, about 7 miles north
of Kalabagh, and may thence be traced along the range to near Mulakhel,
a distance of about 25 miles. At this spot they are covered up by newer
'The following carboniferous fossils, chiefly JBrachiopoda, are figured on Plate Ij
the greater portion are from the Salt Range, several being found also in Kashmir and
other Himalayan tracts, and a few being peculiar to the latter : —
''igtire 1.
Spirjfer Tceilhavii.
Figure 8.
Prodnctus semireticulatus
„ 2.
S. moosakTiailensis J.
» 9.
P. costatns \.
„ 3.
Spiriferina octopUcata .
„ 10.
P. purdoni.
„ 4.
Athyris suitiUta.
„ 11-
Strophalosia morrisiana.
,. 5.
Betzia radialis.
„ 12.
Chonetes hardrensis, var.
„ 6.
Camerophoria purdoni.
thiieianus.
,. 7.
■ Streptorhynchus cremHria,
„ 13.
Axicvlopecten hyemalis.
" According to Dr. Waagen, the carboniferous rocks of the Western Salt Range are re-
presented by unfossiliferous sandstones associated with the mngnesian limestone to the east-
ward. He says (Denkschrift Math. Naturwiss. Class. Kais. Acad. Wiss. Wien, 1878
XXXVIII, p. 8), writing of the palaeozoic rocks of the Salt Range generally : — " It is very
difficult to trace the separate bands through the various phases of their transformation from
west to east, but I have endeavoured to do this at least for the lowest strata of the so-called
carboniferous limestone, and have found that this formation, proceeding from west to east,
passes, first, into a coarse-grained white sandstone which stUl contains a very few fossils
consisting of rolled fragments of coral ; next, into a very coarse conglomerate, with boulders
the size of a man's head or larger; and lastly, into a homogeneous greyish-green sandstone
without any organic remains, which again appears to be closely connected with Wynne's
magnesian sandstone."
Extra-Peninsular.] . ■ CARBONIFEROUS OF SALT RANGE.
491
roeks, but they are again found well developed in the Kdfirkot range,
south of Isa Khel (Esakhel). Carboniferous rocks do not appear to
have been recognised under Shekh Budin, but they occur to the north-
west in the country beyond the British frontier/ as fragments of black
limestone with Productus are found in the river Kurram, draining the
southern slopes of the Sufed Koh ; and Dr. Fleming found boulders
of Producttcs limestone in the streams running from the Suleman Kange
as far south as the neighbourhood of Dera Ghazi Khan.3
The following is a list of the fossils hitherto discovered in the car-
boniferous limestone of the Salt Range and the neighbouring hills, as
determined by Messrs. Davidson' and de Koninck,* some species con-
sidered by those authors as probably 'from higher horizons having been
omitted, as it has been shewn that fossils from triassic, and even from
higher beds, had been mixed with carboniferous. Three Cephalopoda
described by Dr. Waagen^ have also been added. Species marked e are
also found in Europe or America.
SauricMhys ? indicus.
Pisces.
I Acrodusfli
Acrodus, sp. nov.
Orthoceras deerescens.
O. rachidium.
O. vesiculosum.
Nautilus flemingianus.
Cephalopoda.
Goniatites primas.
Ceratites carhonarius.
C. sp. indet.
Ammonites {Phylloceras) oldhami^
Macroclieilus avellanoides.
M. depilis.
Sellerophon jonesianus.
CrASTBEOPODA,
Bellerophon orientalis.
JB. decipiens.
Dentalium herculeum.
Solenopsis imhricata.
Pecten crebristria.
Lameilibeanchiata.
Peeien asiaticus.
P.
Anomia lawrenciana.
iVerchere, J. A. S. B., XXVI, Ft. 2, p. 21. ..
2 Q. J, G. S., 1853, p. 348. The boulders of pataozoic limestone f oiirid by Vicary
Q. J. G. S., 1850, p. 45, in tlie streams near Peshawar are also said by.Verchere to have con-
tained carboniferous fossils. See foot-note, p. 500.
' 3 Q. J. G. S., 1862, p. 25.
4 lb., 1863, p. 1.
5 Mem. G. S. I., IX, p. (351.)
492
GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS.
[Chap, XX.
Bbachiopoda.
TerehratulcC Jdmalayends.
T. subvesicula/ris.
e Athyris, 7'oyssi.
e A. subiilita, var. grandu, PI. I, fig. 4.
e Reizia radiaUs,Ya,r.gr<fndicosta,G.g,5
e Spirifera striata.
S. moosakhailensis, PI. I, fig. 2.
e S. lineata.
e Spiriferina octopUcata, PI. I, fig. 3.
e Shynconella pleurodon.
CameropAoT'ia purdoni, PI. I, fig. 6.
e Streptorhy'nchus crenistria, PI. I, fig 6
e Streptorhynclius do. var. robustus.
S. pectiniformis.
e Orfhis resupinata.
e ' Productus striatus.
e P. longispinus.
e P. cora.
e P. semvreticulatus, PI. I, fig. 8.
e P. costatus, PI. I, fig. 9.
e P. purdoni, PI. I, fig. 10. i
P. Jiumboldtii.
e Sirophalosia morrisiana, fig. 11.
Aulosteges dalhousii.
Phyllopora ? cribellum.
P ? haimeana.
Eetepora ? lepida.
Philocrinus comefa.
Crania, sp.
Betozoa.
Fenestella? syhesu
F. megastoma.
Polyporafastuosa.
ECHINODEEMATA.'
I Poteriocrinus 1 sp.
e Alveolites septosa ?
e Michelinia favgsa.
Anthozoa.
I e I/ithostrotion irregulare.
\ e L. basaltiforme.
CUsiophylltim indicum.
It has been shewn bjr Dr. Waagen that Dentalium Jierculeum and
Bellerophon jonesianus occur at a higher horizon than the other fossils
and iinmediately beneath triassic beds with Gercdites, &c.' Sirophalosia
morrisiana is a Permian form in Europe, and the Aulosteges has Permian
affinities rather than carboniferous, but most of the Brachiopoda and
many of the other fossils are characteristically carboniferous. The occur-
rence, therefore, of a true ammonite and a ceratite, two forms of Ammoni-
tidce not previously found in palaeozoic beds, is very remarkable. It was
certainly believed by Dr. Fleming that he had found Ceratites together
with the carboniferous Brachiopoday but the species of the former genus
described from his collections are found in a higher bed, which is really
of triassic age. The ammonite and the two ceratites discovered by
Dr. "Waagen, however, were procured by himself, together with Goniatites
primas, in the upper portion of the group, from a'bed containing several
typically carboniferous BracMopoda, including Athyris royssi, A. subiilita,
Spiriferina Qcioplicata, Sireptorhynehus crenistria, Productus costatus, &c.
The triassic beds appear not only to be perfectly conformable to the
carboniferous of the Salt Range, but to pass ii^to them, and Dr. Waagen
Extra-Peninsular. ] MESOZOIC ROCKS. OP SALT RANGE. 493
has suggested that some of the upper carboniferous rocks are really of
Permian age.
Mesozoic rocks of Salt Range, &c.,— Oeratite beds.— Imme-
diately above the carboniferous limestone, and so closely connected with
it as not to have been distinguished except lithologically until the rocks
were examined by Dr. Waagen, there is found in the Salt Range, and
probably in some of the hills west of the Indus also, a group of marls,
limestones, and sandstones, containing a distinctly triassic fauna. The
lowest beds .of this group are generally thin limestones with Ceratites,
succeeded by a conspicuous thick marly zone, weathering' of a light
greenish colour. This is overlaid by grey sandstone a,nd flaggy lime-
stone layers, passing upwards into hard nodular marls, and a succession of
similar beds forms the upper portion of the group. Some of the bands of
limestone contain glauconite, and beds of conglomerate occasionally occur.
In places the formation is chiefly composed of shales and marls.
Like the carboniferous, the triassic group is only foun,d in the west-
em part of the Salt Range, the eastern limit of the latter being some
miles farther west than that of the older formation. Triassic beds are
found associated with the carboniferous group from the spot where they
first appear south-west of Naoshera to the neighbourhood ' of the Indus.
Of their range west of the Indus very little is known ; they certainly occur
in the range near Kafirkot, as this is one of the localities whence
Ceratites bucManws was originally procured,^ and other species of the same
genus were found in the same range by Verchere,^ but it is not so certain
whether the trias is represented in the Chichdli range. Dr. Fleming,
however, especially states* that the upper limestone of the carboniferous
group is more distinct in the Chichali hills than it is west of the Indus,
and the beds now known to be of triassic age were included by Dr.
Fleming in the upper portion of the carboniferous.
Owing to the triassic beds of the Punjab having been at first con-
founded with the underlying carboniferous rocks,- the fossils of the former
have not been sufiiciently distinguished for any list to be given.* Cera-
tites abound, and most oi the species, probably all, described by de Kon-
jnck — c. flemingianws , C. murcMsonianus, C. hauerianus, C. planulatus, G.
Ivellianus, C. latifimbriattos, C. bucManus, C. davidsonianus a.vA C. lawren-
cianus — are from the triassic rocks. Besides the Ceratites, which, are the
characteristic fossils of the formation, species of Ortkoceras, Anojplo^^hora,
J Q. J. G. S, 1863, p. 13.
2 j. A. S. B., XXXVI, 1867, Ft. 2, p. 221.
3 J. A. S. B., XXII, 1853, p. 264.
^ As already mentioned in a previbus note, those collected by the Geological Survey have
been sent to Dii Waagen for examination.
494 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX.
Cardimia, Gervillia, Bhynconella, &c., occur in large numbers; the bivalves
being especially characteristic of the upper beds. The most remarkable
fossil, however, is a species of Bellerophon, a genus not known ' to occur
in Europe in rocks of later age than palseozoic.
The ceratite beds are probably about the age of the Bunter (lower
trias), whilst a Myophoria in the overlying limestone closely resembles a
Muschelkalk species. Above this no distinct fossil zone can be recog-
nised until the middle Jurassic is reached.
Pseudomorphic salt-crystal zone. — A group of thin-bedded and
flaggy sandstones, with intensely red shales and clays, is conspicuous in
the eastern part of the Salt Range, resting upon the magnesian lime-
stone, and overlaid by the cretaceous olive shales. Where well developed,
the upper portion of the present group is argillaceous, the lower portion,
which is of less thickness than the upper, being chiefly composed of flags and
sandstone, but there is some variation in the section ; in places the lower
portion of the group consists of red and variegated clays and shales,
and where the band is less developed, it consists mainly of flaggy sand-
stones. On the surface of the sandstones cubical pseudomorphs of salt
crystals abound, and are so characteristic that they serve to distinguish
the beds. The band is also remarkable for the bright red colour of some
of the clays.
The present group is unfossiliferous or nearly so, only some obscure
organic traces of doufetful origin having hitherto been detected in it-
Its position in the series is far from certain, for it is nowhere in contact
with f ossilif erous Jurassic, triassic, or carboniferous beds ; it rests upon
the magnesian limestone, and is overlaid by the cretaceous olive group.
Each of the three groups, although they appear to form part of a
continuous and conformable series, is well distinguished by mineral
character and by relations to the other beds ; both the overlying and
underlying groups being in fact unconformable on the large scale to the
intermediate salt-crystal formation, for the speckled sandstone in the
western part of its extent intervenes between the place of the salt
crystal beds and the magnesian sandstone, whilst the olive group com-
pletely overlaps the salt crystal formation, and rests upon older forma-
tions to the westward. The reference of the present group to the trias
is consequently but little more than a suggestion, and must be considered
as liable to alteration, should further evidence be obtained.
The pseudomorph salt-crystal formation is found from Mount Tilla,
near the eastern Extremity of the Salt Range, to Makrach, north-west of
Find Dadun Khan, but is wanting at Chambal mountain near Jalalpur.
West of Makrdeh no such band is found, nor are similar rocks known
west of the Indus.
Extra-Peninsular. J JURASSIC GROUP OF SALT RANGE. 495
Jurassic or variegated group. — The next group in ascending order
is again a western formation ; it consists of soft wbite and red sandstones,
with gr§y and yellowish "limestones and yellow marls, and is unknown
in the eastern part of the Salt Range. The lower beds of this Jurassic
group rest upon the triassic rocks, and consist of sandstones ..of "varying
colour, succeeded in ascending order by limestones, clays, and soft white
sandstones; then come bands of haematiter, several feet in thickness, and
thinner layers of golden oolite, precisely similar to the rock of Cutch,
and the upper portion of the group consists of coarse brown sandstones,
yellow marls, white sandstone and hard grey limestone bands. The
sandstones are often conglomeratic, and the limestones are most largely
developed to the westward. Small layers and patches «f bright jetty
coal occur in places towards the base of the group, and west of the
Indus near Kalabagh these masses are sufficiently abundant to have
been worth extraction for the purpose" of supplying fuel to the river
steamers, but the supply is small ; there is nothing like a seam of coal,
and no prospect of regular mining operations being successful. The
patches of coal appear to be merely carbonized fragments of drift wood.
The Salt Range Jurassic beds are not found east of the neighbour-
hood of Naoshera ; they begin to appear a little farther west than the
triassic ceratite strata, and increasing much in thickness continue into
the Indus. West of that river the same rocks reappear in the Chichali
hills, where they are well developed and more f ossiliferous than in the
Salt Range ; they are well seen in the Chichali pass, and extend further
to the southward round the curve of the range than the carboniferous
limestone does, but they disappear beneath the tertiary rocks about
6 miles south of Mulakhel.^ They are wanting .in the northern portion
of the Kafirkot range, but are said by Verehere ^ to be well developed
at Shekh Budfn. On Verchere's map, too, Jurassic rocks are represented
as occurring in the southern part of the Kafirkot range and also near
Bahadur Khel, north-east of Bannu, but Mr. .Wynne was unable to
find any in the latter locality, although he searched for them in the place
indicated. Fleming mentions that Belemnites are brought by natives of
the country from the Sulemdn Range near Dera Ghazi Khan, and Ver-
ehere found coral limestone, which he considered probably Jurassic, in
the Waziri country, west of Shekh Budin.^
Until' the fossils of the Salt Range Jurassic beds are examined in
detail it is not possible to say exactly what members of the Jurassic
1 Fleming, J. A. S, B., 1853, p. 278. 1 ' 1. c„ p. 19.
2 J. A. S. B., 1867, p. 15, I
496 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XX..
series are represented. Dr. Waagen has shewn that there is a close
connexion between the Salt Range oolitic beds and those of Cutchj^ but
that the Himalayan Spiti shales contain a very different fauna. The
Kelloway portion of the Chari beds is distinctly represented in the
Punjab, and some of the higher Jurassic groups also. . Cephalopoda are
scarce, except west of the Indus, where Ammonites and Beleinmites occur
rather more abundantly, especially in the fine section of Jurassic beds
exposed in the Chichali pass.
Cretaceous (neocomian). — In the Chichali pass, north-west of
Kalabagh on the Indus, the upper Jurassic beds, consisting of dark olive
clays and sandstones, with patches of oolitic limestone, pass upward into
similar beds of» a dark blackish-green colour, containing lower neoco-
mian Cephalopoda,'^ and these, again, are capped by 60 feet of massive
sandstone, light coloured above, black below.. This is the only instance
in which beds with a lower neocomian fauna have yet been clearly
ascertained to occur in India; upper neocomian Cephalopoda have, as
already stated, been found in Cutch, and some of the Ammonites from
Sripermatur were also thought by Dr.. Waagen ^ to resemble neocomian
species.
Olive group. — So far, there is no well-marked break in the series of
mesozoic formations, although several groups may be unrepresented,
■ but the next formation in ascending order is much more abruptly limited
below. It is found'to the eastward, and consists of sandstones of various
shades of dark green, grey> olive, and whitish, olive being the prevailing
tint. In the upper part some shaly and carbonaceous bands occur, and
in the lower part dark shales, filled with large boulders of crystalline
rock.*
This boulder conglomerate is an extremely interesting formation, for
it affords a second instance in India (the Talchir group being the first
example noted) of the characteristic marks of glacial action being found
in ancient deposits. Other conglomerates, sometimes containing frag-
ments of rock of large size, are found at a lower horizon in the Salt
llange, but the only instance in which evidence has been detected of
" Pal. Ind., Ser. IX, p. 236.
2 Waagen, Pal. Ind., Ser. IX, p. 245.
' De'nkschr.-K. Akad. Wise. Wien., 1. c. p. 12.
* In mineral character, in the occurrence of boulders, and in the evidence of glacial
conditions at the period of deposit, there is a curious resemblance between this conglomerate
of the Salt Range ixA the Talchir group of the Gondwana system (see ante, p. 109) ;. and
Mr. Theobald, the only geologist with any experience of the Talchir beds who has exaurined
the Salt llange, noticed the similarity (Eec. G. S. I., X, p. 224).
Extra-Peninsular. J "OLIVE GROUP OF SALT RANGE. 497
the boulders having been transported by ice is in the olive group. Mr.
Theobald found ' a rounded fragment of red granite, rather less than a
foot in diameter, on the surface of this conglomerate, and apparently-
derived from it ; the block is polished and striated on three faces in so
characteristic a manner, that very little doubt can exist as to its
having been transported by ice. The parent rock of this and many
similar fragments found in the same conglomerate is unknown, no
crystalline formation is exposed in the neighbourhood of the Salt Range,
and no red granite, like that of which the boulders are composed, is
known in the Himalayan region to the northward. Some of the trans-
ported fragments are much larger than the specimen already mentioned,
and at Narwari, a mile east of the Collector's house at the Mayo Salt
Mines of Khewra, one block of red granite occurs 7 feet high and 1 9 in
circumference ; another large mass lies in the upper part of the Baghanwala
ravine in the eastern part of the Salt Range. The derivation of these
two blocks from the conglomerate of the olive group is not, however,
certain.
The boulder shales at the base of the olive group are found through-
out a considerable area in the eastern Salt Range, but they are not co-
extensive with the overlying sandy beds. In the latter, fossils are
occasionally found, having for the most part a tertiary facies, but one
species of Ammonites has been found.^ Large Nautili, Hehinodermata,
corals, and Terehratula flemmgi are the principal forms occurring. Cardita
beavmonti occurs, but it is rare.
The olive group is very closely connected with the tertiary beds ; it
appears to pass up into them, and to be perfectly conformable to them
whilst the very irregular manner in which it overlaps various older
groups shews it to be unconformable to all of them. Although this
formation is only ftilly developed to the eastward, a thin band is found,
extending to beyond the Nilawan ravine, and even farther west, at the base
of the nummulitic group, beds occur probably belonging to the same
horizon; indeed, ' Dr. Waagen considers' that this group maybe traced
throughout the range and across the Indus, where it rests unconformably
on the neocomian.
It is almost certain that this olive group of the Punjab Salt Range
is the same as the olive Cardita heaumonti beds of Sind ; the similarity
in position and mineral character is striking, and some of the fossils are
identical.
' Rec. G. S. I., X, p. 224. The block in question is in the Geological Miisctim, Calcutta.
2 W^aagen. MS. notes.
'MS. notes.
G 1
498 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
THE PUNJAB HILLS WEST OF THE JHBLUM (conlinued) .
Palseozoic and njeBozoic rocks of Northern Punjab — Crystalline and metamorphic . — Schis •
tose series — Attock slates — Carboniferous and infra triassic (Tauol group) — r Trias (in-
cluding Rhsetic) — Jurassic j Spiti shales — Gieumal sandstone — Cretaceous — Tertiary
beds of Punjab generally — Thickness of tertiary series — Distribution of eocene beds —
Mari and Bhiigti hills — Snleman Range near Dera Gbazi Ehau — Chichffi hills and Salt
Kange — Kohat district -^ Salt and gypsum — Clays, limestones, and sandstones above
the salt — Northern Potwar and Murree hills — Nummulitic limestone of Northern
Punjab or hill limestone — Upper tertiavies, Siwaliks, &c. — Distribution — Palaeontology
— Post-pliocene deposits of the Northern Punjab — Erratics — Indus floods — Possil
shells.
Palseozoic and mesozoic rocks of Northern Punjabi— Before
proceeding to the tertiary rocks o£ the Salt Range and of iihe Western
and South-Western Punjab, it will be well to notice the few details hither-
to recorded concerning the older formations of the Alpine and Northern
Punjab, comprising Hazara with part of the Murree hills, the Gandgarh,
Margala, and other ranges to the south-west of HazSra, the Chita Pahar,
Attock and Cherat hills near the Indus, and the Afridi ranges to the
westward. Of the hills of Yusafzai and Swat, north of the Peshawar
plain, scarcely anything is known. All the ranges mentioned are iiorth
of the peculiar line of dislocation and inversion, already noticed as
the northern limit of the upper tertiaries j and all are composed of
rocks, which are closely allied to those of the Himalayas, and are for
the most part distinct in mineral structure and in organic remains from
the strata of corresponding age in the Salt Range. The rocks of
Mount SirbS,n, near Abbottabad in Hazara, present in many respects an
epitome of the geology of the Northern Punjab, and several of the
details in the following descriptions are taken from a study of the rocks
at that locality by Mr. Wynne and Dr. Waagen. ■^
Crystalline and metamorphic. — The lowest locks in Hazara are
the syenite, porphyritic granitoid gneiss and greenstones of the Pakli
1 Mem. G. S. I., IX, p. (331). For additional details of the geology of the Northern
Punjab, see Wynne, Rec. G. S. I„ VI, p. 59 ; VII, p. 64 ; X, p. 126 ; and Q. J. G. S., 1874,
p. 61 ; also Waagen, Eec. G. S. I., V, p. 15 ; and Dentschr. Kaii'. Akad. Wiss. Wien., Math.
Naturhist. Kl. 1878, p. 10, A sketch is also given in the Punjab Gazetteer, the details for
which were furnished by Mr. Wynne.
Extra-Peninsular. ] attock slates. 4,99
■valley, Susulgali, Agror, &c. To what extent these rocks are metamor-
phosed sedimentary beds, and whether any or all o£ them are intrusive, is
uncertain. The porphyritic granitoid rock with large twin crystals of
felspar bears some resemblance to the central gneiss of the Himalayas.
Very little more is known of these formations than that they occupy
large areas in Northern and North-Eastern Hazara, and that they probably
extend thence to the westward. They are a continuation of some of
the crystalline rocks forming the axis of the Pir Panjdl.
Schistose series— Between the crystalline rocks and the Attock
slates in Hazara there is found an immense thickness of quartzites,
dolomites, and schistose beds passing down into gneiss. .These rocks
apparently rest upon the Attock slates, but the dip seen may be
an inversion. They occupy the greater portion of North-Western
Hazara and: extend down the Indus valley below Turbela. Neither the
crystalline nor schistose formations of Hazara extend into the other
hills of the Northern Punjab within the British boundary, but both
are doubtless continued in the mountains of Yusafzai.
Attock slates. — The next formation has a much wider range. It
consists of dark-colom-ed slates with limestones, some sandstones, and a
few intrusions and perhaps contemporaneous beds of basic ti-ap intercalated.
These rocks are particularly well seen in the hills on the Indus south of
Attock, and have consequently received the name of Attock slates.
They are generally remarkable for their dark colour ; they are irre-
gularly cleaved, and seldom, if ever, afford good slates for roofing or
similar purposes, although their thinly laminated layers are sometimes
employed. The limestones vary in texture, being sometimes compact,
and occasionally brecciatedj they are often altered, and many are
dolomitic. They are not often crystalline, although a conspicuous
band of sub-crystalline white marble belonging to the present forma-
tion extends for some distance along the southern face of the Attock or
Mirkulan hills and reappears in the Gandgarh range. The only fossils
yet obtained are too obscure for identification, and even such traces of
organisms as have been noticed are excessively rare, the slate beds
themselves being unf ossiliferous.
In parts of Hazara the slates become altered and slightly schistose, as
in the neighbourhood of Gandgarh and Haripur. In these hills the
typical dark Attock slates are absent or so much altered that they cannot
be recognised, the common rock being talcose, silky and schistose from
partial metamorphism. Many greenstone dykes and intrusive masses of
syenite are found in the schists. In Upper Hazdra and Mianjain,
limestones are rare or wanting in the slate series, but they abound in the
Gandgarh hills and also near Attock, a few bands of trap being also
500 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [ Chap. XXI.
found in the Gandgarh range. At Mount Sirb^n and around Abhott-
abad the group consists of slates of a dark colour, sometimes black or
purple, with bands of greenish grey sandstone.
Nothing certain is known as to the age of these slates,^ except that
they must be palaeozoic, for they are inferior in position and quite un-
conformable to the inf ra-triassic group near Abbottabad in Hazara. They
are very probably identical with the slates of the Pir Panjfil classed as
Silurian by Lydekker,^
The Attock slates occupy a considerable area in Hazara, and form
a broad belt between the tract of crystalline and schistose rocks to the
north-west and the newer formations to the south-east ; one basin of
stratiiied rocks, including limestone, resting upon the gneissose and
schistose series of Northern Hazara, amongst the high mountains near
the frontier, may also contain representatives of the present formation.
The belt of Attock slates continues to the south-west in the
Gandgarh hills and in the east and west ranges forming the Cherat and
other hills south of Attock and Nowshera, and extending to the west-
ward until the beds are lost near Julozai, beneath the gravels of the
Peshawar plain. To the west of Peshawar the rocks are unknown, but
the same beds may very probably reappear in the Khyber Pass. North
of the cantonment of Nowshera, in the plain of Peshawar, the slates are
said to be found near Hoti and Mardan at the base of the Yusafzai
mountains.
' The suggestion has been repeatedly made by Dr. Waagen, Mr. Wynne and others
that the Attock slates are probably represented by beds contaming lower silurian fossils in
the Khyber Pass. It is not, however, quite certain that the fossils found by Falconer and
Vicary in that locality were silurian. The statement that " lower silurian fossils from
the Khyber hills were found by Dr. Falconer in the gravel of the Cabul river " was made
by Colonel (then Captain) H. H. Godwin-Austen in 1866 (Q. J. G. S., XXII, p. 29). The
paper in which this statement was made appears to have been drawn up from field notes
without means of access to published information, and no reference is supplied to any
original authority. No notice of the discovery of such fossils can be found in Falconer's
published writings, and the only original statement in print we have been able to detect is
in a foot-note to a paper by Captain Vicary (Q. J. G. S., 1850, p. 45). Vicary himself ob-
tained " a small Spirifer, Ortkis in abundance, a Terebratula and some Poh/paria " from
limestone boulders in the water-courses near Peshawar. In a foot-note he adds : " Dr. Fal-
coner obtained specimens of Spirifer, Ortkis, and other palasozoic forms from these moun-
tains several years ago." Also in a note by Sir K. Murchison, prefixed to Vicary's paper, the
discovery of palaeozoic fossils is mentioned. Now it is quite possible that the fossils collected
by Falconer and Vicary have been examined and their age determined, but as this is not
stated, some doubt remains whether the fossils may not have been carboniferous, as they were
said to be by Verchere (J. A. S. B., 1867, Ft. 2, p. 21), the OriAis being perhaps Orthisina or
StreptorliA/nchus crenisiria, formerly included in the genus Orthis. The chief reason
for suggesting the possibility of these fossils having been carboniferous, and not silurian, is
that carboniferous rocks are known to occur in the Suleman Range, whilst no fossilif erous
silurian beds have hitherto been discovered in that direction,
2 Kec, G. ^. L, XI, pp. 39, 63, &c.
Extra-Peninsular.] trIas of hazara. 501
Carboniferous and infra-triassic.— Carboniferous beds have not
as yet been detected with certainty in any locality in the Northern
Punjab ; a specimen of Froductus humboldti was found close to Hassan
Abdal, by Mr. Lydekker, in a loose block of limestone, but with
this exception the carb&nif erous limestone has not hitherto been traced
in the Punjab north of the Salt Range and west of the Jhelum,
and it is uncertain whence the block in question was derived. The
age of the rocks resting upon the Attock slates at Mount Sirban, near
Abbottabadj^ has not been definitely ascertained ; the rocks in question are
quite unconformable to the underlying formation ; they are overlaid by
the triassic group, and comprise two divisions, the lower. consisting of red
sandstones, red shales and red siliceous dolomites, with, at the base, a red
argillaceous breccia f uU of fragments derived from the underlying rocks ;
the upper division composed of dolomites only, lighter in colour than the
lower beds, often highly siHceous and of considerable thickness. Above
these upper dolomites, again, are some quartz breccias, sandstones and
shales, all containing heematite : these may belong either to the present
or the next group.
These beds have hitherto only been noticed at Mount Sii-bdn and in
other places in Hazara ; they may of course be in part carboniferous, but
no fossils have hitherto been detected in them.
In South-Western Hazara there is an immense thickness of quartzites,
slates, conglomerates, sandstones and magnesian limestones, all somewhat
altered and quite unfossihferous. The relations of these beds are obscure ;
they appear, however, to overlie the Attock slates. For these rocks
Mr. Wynne has proposed the name of Tanol (or Tanawal) group, from a
district in the western part of Hazara near Amb. They form a broad
belt, in places 8 miles wide from north to south, extending nearly east
and west fromi the neighbourhood of Abbottabad to the Indus, and
probably comprise altered representatives of the infra-triassic rocks of
Mount Sirban.
Trias (including Rhsetic). — The next zone is chiefly composed of
dark limestone, black or grey, distinctly bedded, with thick zones of
massive dolomite, sometimes containing numerous laminae of opaque white
quartz, shales, siliceous breccia, haematitic clays, and sandstones. Near
Abbottabad, where the series is complete, dolomites form the lowest beds,
and are followed by thin-bedded f ossihferous limestones ; the dolomites
are however, frequently absent. Above the fossiliferous limestones
come quartzites and dolomites of considerable thickness, and above
these again thin-bedded limestones and slaty shales, fossiliferous, but
' Mem. G. S. I.. IX, p. (335).
502 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI.
containing different organisms froin those in the underlying portion of the
group. The lower sub-division contains two chaaraoteristic f ormsj Mega-
lodon and Sicerocardinm, together with (Memmiziaj GervilUa, &o., the
upper beds contain numerous Nerineee, together with forms of Neritopsis,
Astarte, Opis, Nueula, Leda, Ostrea, &c. The Ibwer beds are apparently
representative of the "' Para limestone " or upper triassic of Spiti, and
the higher sub-division of the lower Tagling limestone/ or rhsetie of
the same area. ■ •'
The triassic rocks are well developed in Hazara between Murree and
Abbottabad, and extend from the Moehpuxa mountains to beyond the
trunk roadj reappearing in the Chita Pahar^ but the outcrops are greatly
complicated by disturbance and faulting, especially in the neighbourhood
of Murree itself and to the northward. Very little is known with
certainty as to the extension of triassic rocks to the south-westward^
as it is difficult and often impossible to distinguish the different forma-
tions in a mass of unf ossiliferous contorted limestones and other rocks,
comprising representatives of triassic, Jurassic and nummulitic beds. The
triassic strata are well developed in the spurs from the Hazara moun-
tains east of Hasan Abdal and Haripur. Here the rocks contain but few
fossils, although sufficient to enable their age to be determined. • The
triassic group is also probably represented by massive contorted limestones
in the Chita Pahar range and detached ridges to the north along the
southern side of the ranges south of Attock and Nowshera, and extending
westward into the Afridi hills.
Jurassic, — Spiti shales. — Above the triassic beds there appears to
be a break in the series, and in Hazara the next formation in ascending
order consists of jet-black shales with more or less ferruginous concretions.
These beds have been identified both by mineral character and fossils with
the upper Jurassic " Spiti shales," of the Himalayan region, but do not
appear to be very thick. Amongst the fossils. Ammonites, Belemnites,
and various LamellihrancMata have been found, some of the most
characteristic Spiti species found in the Punjab being Ammonites [Oppelia)
acucinctus, A {FerispAmctes) frequens, and Belemnites gerardL The
second and last named are also found in Cutch, though in different
zones, the former being known from the Umia group, the latter from
the Chari sub-division.
The Spiti shales in HazSra are conspicuous from the contrast they
afford to the thick mass of limestones ranging from palaeozoic to nummu-
1 See chapter XXVI, on the Himalayan rocks. The loWer Tiigling limestone was classed
by Stoliczba, Mem. G. S. I., V, p. 66, provisionally as lower lias, hut he pointed outthat it
was the equivalent of the Kossen heds, commonly classed, as rhretic. The Para limestone,
at first classed as rhsetie, was subsequently united to the trias.
Extra-Peninsular.] cretaceous of hazara, etc. 503
litic, and forming the bulk of the rocks. Like the underlying trias,
the Jurassic beds are greatly broken up by faults and dislocations.
The Spiti group is well seen on Chamba hill, north of Murree, and has
hitherto been found in no district of the Punjab, except the higher
parts of the South Hazara mountains.
Gieumal sandstone, — Above the shales in many places, but not in-
variably, there is found a thick-bedded sandstone, yellowish-brown and
ferruginous externally, but bluish-grey when freshly fractured. Occa-
sionally the Spiti shales are wanting, and the rusty sandstones alone
represent the Jurassic formation. The sandstone closely corresponds in
mineral character to the Gieumal sandstone of Spiti, and has been
identified with it by Dr. Stoliczka.^ As a rule, in Hazara, the present
formation is not fossiliferous, but some limestones and earthy beds with
a few bands of calcareous sandstone can be traced for a long distance
on the spur running west by south from the Murree hills to the north of
Rawalpindi, and traversed by the Grand Trunk Road at the M^rgalla
pass, and appear to be a continuation of the Gieumal sandstone, or they
may represent both this band and the Spiti shales. At the Margalla
pass and in some other places, the rock aboimds in Trigonia ventricosa, ^
the fossil already noticed as characteristic of the Umia beds in Cutch
and of the uppermost Jurassic zone near EUore.
The Gieumal sandstone has not been clearly recognised in the Mount
Sirban section, but may be represented by calcareous sandy beds in the
upper portion of the Spiti shales. The sandstone is well exposed
north of Murree, in places,— always being, however, much crushed and
disturbed.
The Jurassic beds have been traced to the south-west along the
Margalla spur, and again south of the Chita Pah arrange, south of Camp-
bellpur, to the Indus, and farther west beyond the Indus near Nilabgash
into the Afridi country, where the same beds are seen north of Kohat,
but very little is known of the exposures. The Spiti shales may perhaps
be chiefly represented by limestones, and the Gieumal sandstone by the
beds with Trigonia ventricosa, but the characteristic appearance of the
Himalayan beds is no longer to be traced in this direction.
Cretaceous. — In Mount Sirban, resting upon the sandy and calcare-
ous strata at the top of the Jurassic group, there is found a bed, 10 to 20
feet thick, of a different kind of calcareous sandstone, ferruginous and
weathering of an orange colour. This bed abounds in fossils, mostly
coated with iron oxide, and comprising AmmoiiUes of cretaceous forms,
' Scientific results of the second Yarkand Mission, Geology, p. 11.
2 See woodcut, ante, p. 261.
504 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI.
all belonging to the cristaii and inflati groups, besides species of
Ancyloceras, Anisoceras, Baculites- and large Belemnites, The species
have not been determined, but the fauna has a gault facies.
Above the fossiliferous zone there is a group of thin-bedded limestones
of grey colour, apparently destitute of organic remains. This may be
either cretaceous or nummulitic. It is succeeded by the nummulitic
limestone. Cretaceous rocks have hitherto been clearly recognised in
only one other locality in the Northern Punjab, north of the Salt Range
and Chichali pass beds ; this is close to Kohat, where a band of ferru-
ginous sandy limestone contains some fossils, recognised as of cretaceous
age by Dr. Waagen.
Tertiary beds of Punjab generally.— Hitherto, in dealing
with the different palaeozoic and mesozoic rocks of the Punjab, it has
been sufiScient to describe isolated outcrops of comparatively small ex-
tent ; but in treating of the nummulitic limestone and the associated
rocks, and to a still greater extent when describing the upper tertiary
formations, much larger areas will come under notice, and it will
therefore be better to describe each of the two great sub-divisions of the
tertiary series, the older tertiary, or eocene, and the newer tertiary,
including the representatives of miocene and pliocene formations, through--
out the whole Punjab area, commencing at the south. It has already
been stated that the miocene marine, or Gaj group of Sind, has
not yet been recognised farther north, and although there is very
little doubt that the upper eocene Nari group is represented in the
Punjab, for some of the characteristic species of nummulites have been
brought from Punjab localities, no attempt has yet been made to
discriminate the difEerent zones of nummulitic limestone in the northern
region by means of fossils. The Eanikot beds, as already noticed, are
only known to exist in Lower Sind, but they may be represented by
rocks of similar character at the base of the nummulitic limestone in the
Salt Range and elsewhere. The only Sind groups which have hitherto
been clearly traced to the northwards are the Khirthar or nummulitic
limestone proper, and the Manchhar or Siwalik.
Thickness of tertiary series — The total thickness of the upper
tertiary, or Siwalik formation of the Punjab cannot be much less than
15,000 feet, and the Murree beds, into which the upper tertiaries pass,
represent about half as much more, so that the whole tertiary series,
including the nummulitic limestone and its associated beds, where fully
developed, comprises little, if at all, less than 25,000 feet of strata. Of
this enormous thickness, all, except " the lower 3,000 or 3,000 feet, is
destitute of marine remains.
Extra-Peninsular. ] tertiary beds OF PUNJAB. 505
Distribution of eocene beds.— The nummulitic limestone and
its associated beds form the higher ranges of the Mari and Bhugti hills
north of the Sind frontier, and extend throughout the Sulemdn range,
apparently without interruption, from the Sind frontier to Pesha-
war. Eocene rocks are said not to occur in the Shekh Budin and other
ranges south and south-west of the Bannu plain,^ but they occupy a
very large tract to the northward of the same plain in the Kohat
district. They are well developed in the Chichdli and Shingarh range,
and they possibly form a great portion of the Af ridi hills south of
Peshawar. East of the Indus, the nummulitic group is extensively de-
veloped in the Salt Range, and forms the small range of Khairi Miirat
south-west of Rawalpindi. The rocks underlying the Murree beds along
the west side of the Jhelum valley belong to the same group, but are
poorer in limestone than usual, whilst north of the line of abnormal
boundary already mentioned as traversing the Punjab north of Rawal-
pindi and Kohat, and forming the northern limit of the upper tertiaries,
the nummulitic limestone is again largely developed in the Murree and
Hazara hills and Chita Pahar, and forms a great band across the
province from the neighbourhood of Abbottabad and Murree to the
Af ridi range south of Peshawar. In this area the limestone differs from
its representative further south, as will be explained presently. A few
details of the sections in each area will shew the character of the
formation.
Mari hills.— In the Mari and Bhtfgti hills north of Jaeobabad, the
nummulitic limestone forms a number of east and west anticlinal ridges. ^
No lower beds were noticed, and although sandstones rest upon the
limestones, it is probable, from the description, that none of them belong
to the Nari group, but that they are all Siwalik.
Suleman range near Dera Ghazi Khan. — Not far north of the
Mari hills is the section of the Suleman range near Dera Ghazi Khan de-
scribed by Mr. Ball.* Here, again, there is no trace of anything which
can be identified with the Nari sandstones, the beds resting upon the num-
mulitic limestone being described as dark-brownish sandstones in beds of
no great thickness, alternating with bright red, greenish and grey clays,
probably Siwalik. The lowest beds seen in the whole section of the range
consist of a great thickness of sandstones and shales with very few
fossils, succeeded by from 1,000 to 2,000 feet of massive limestone with
1 Verchere, J. A. S. B., 1867, XXXVI, Pt. 2, pp. 13-16, and map.
2 Vicary, Q. J. G. S., II, p. 260.
3 Bee. G. S. I., VII, p. 145.
606 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI.
nummulites, &c. On the eastern slope of the hills the nummulitic
limestones are much mixed with sandy and shaly beds, but a few
miles further to the westward the whole band consists of limestone.
The main range of the Suleman consists of the sandstones and shales
underlying the limestones. With the shales some very thin layers of
coal are occasionally associated, but none are known to exceed about six
inches in thickness, and consequently none hitherto discovered are of any
commercial value.
The fossils found in the sandstones are all tertiaiy species,' and one,
Ostrea flemingi, is in Sind a characteristic Ranikot form. There appears
good reason for assigning all the beds noticed-to the eocene group, the
lower sandstones and shales probably representing the lower Khirthars of
the Upper Gaj section described in the last chapter. The nummulitic
limestone is evidently a continuation of that forming the Khirthar range
in Sind.
Ohichali Hills and Salt Range. — No full description of the eocene
rocks in the northern portion of the Suleman range has been published,
and it will be as well therefore to proceed at once to the Salt Range and
its continuation in the curved ridges of Cbichali and Shingarh west of
the Indus. A section of the latter range, taken near Sultan Khel, and
about 1 5 miles north-west of Isa Khel, has been given by Dr. Verchere,^
whilst the Salt Range rocks have been fully described by Mr. Wynne.
The section appears much the same throughout, and has a considerable
resemblance to that already described in the Suleman range. There is
a bed of limestone several hundreds of feet thick and usually of a light
colour, resting upon sandstones, shales and clays, with lignite. The latter
pass downwards into the cretaceous olive group, but immediately upon
the limestone comes the upper tertiary group, which, contains no marine
fossils. The Gaj and Nari beds of Sind appear to be unrepresented ; there
is evidently a break above the nummulitic limestone, and the overlying
formation is unconformable, and rests in places upon a denuded surface of
nummulitic rocks. The unconformity is also shewn by overlap in several
places at the eastern extremity of the Salt Range, and, as already
noticed, in the ranges near Shekh Budin, and by the circumstance that
the lowest bed of the upper tertiary sandstones sometimes contains
pebbles of nummulitic limestone, as for instance near Fadidl, west cf
Mount Tilla.
1 The species quoted in Mr. Ball's paper were for the most part only approximately
determined.
2 J. A. S. B., 1865, XXXIV, Pt. 2, p. 42.
Extra-Peninsular.] KOHAT DISTRICT. 507
The inferior shaly portion of the nummulitic group consists of soft,
variegated shales or clays, more or less sandy, with occasionally a pisolitic
ferruginous band, resembling laterite, at the base. A similar band is found
in a corresponding position in the Sub-Himalayan sections, as will be
shewn in the next chapter. Many of the shales and clays are pyritous
and decompose readily on exposure, the decomposed shales being burnt
and employed in the manufacture of alum. The so-called coal of the Salt
Range occurs in the upper part of this lower sub-division, associated
with gypseous shales, and is really a lignite of variable purity, found
chiefly in thin strings and beds of no great horizontal extent, but
occasionally in rather thicker seams, some being as much as three to
three and a half feet in thickness. The principal localities are Bhdg-
anwala, Pid and Samundri. Like most of the tertiary lignites, that of
the. Salt Range is pyritous, and frequently falls to pieces or takes fire
spontaneously when exposed to the air. Similar lignite is found in the
Chichali and Shingarh hills west of the Indus. Beneath the coaly shales
are white, red and olive sandstones and clays, occasionally with marls or
limestone full of f oraminif era, and, in the western Salt Range, a thick
band of nummulitic limestones occurs immediately below the beds with
lignite.
The main band of nummulitic limestone is usually compact, grey or
white, occasionally chalky, the upper portion being generally purer and
less mixed with shaly or marly bands than the lower. The whole group
is fossiliferous, the nummulitic limestone containing the usual fossils,
whilst bands containing nummuHtes and other foraminifera occur
amongst the lower shales and sandstones, but more commonly remains
of plants, chiefly dicotyledonous, are found in the latter.
The similarity of the section in the Salt Range with that of the Laki
range in Sind is very gi'eat ; the actual beds are thicker in Sind, but in
both localities there are olive shales believed to be of upper cretaceous
age at the base, then variegated sandstones, alum shales and clays with
plant-remains, lignite and gypsum, followed in ascending order by
nummulitic limestone. Further comparison of the fossils will, however,
be necessary, before the group beneath the nummulitic limestone in the
Punjab can be safely correlated with the Ranikot beds of Sind.
Kohat district.-rThere is another region in the Upper Punjab
where the eocene rocks are weU developed, and where they have been
fully examined and described; this is in the Trans- Indus salt region of
the Kohat district,^ and the section here exposed, although only a few
miles distant from parts of the Salt Range, differs in some important
Wynne, Mem. G. S. I., XI, pp. (101)— (330).
508 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXL
points from that just described. The following is abridged from
Mr. Wynne's summary of the rocks exposed : —
Thickness in feet.
JJp'per sandsiones.—Soit, grey sandstones, clays and
PiioCENE AND ^ Conglomerates . . . • • • • • 500 to 1,500
MioCBSE ,< Lower sandstones.— 'R&rieT grey and purple sandstones,
bright red and purple clays, slightly calcareous and
pseudo-conglomeratic bands 3,000 to 3,500
Upper wummulUic. — Nummulitic limestone and some
shaly bands 60 to 100
Med olay zone, or lower nvmmuKtie. — Eed clay, lavender
Eocene J coloured near the top, occasionally with Nummulites.
The lower portion of the red clays in places is partly
or wholly replaced by fossiliferous sandstones, thick
greenish clays and bands of limestone all containing
Nmnmmlites 150 to 400
SOypsu/m. — White, grey or black gypsum with bands of
clay or shale 50 to. 300
EocTc salt. — Thick beds of salt, almost pure. The base
not seen 300 to 700
(? 1,200)
The region examined is the hilly tract north of the Bannu plain and
of the Chichali hills, and extending from the Indus, on the east, to the
British frontier. The ground is traversed by a series of east and west
ranges, chiefly formed of crushed and broken anticlinals of the nummulitic
limestone and the associated rocks.
Salt and gypsum. — The rock salt and gypsum at the base of the
tertiary series in the Kohat region are very important and remarkable.
The salt consists of a more or less crystalline mass, usually grey in
colour, with transparent patches, and never reddish, like the salt of the
Salt Range. A few earthy bands occur, but the portion of the whole mass
too impure to be worked for commercial purposes is but small, although,
there is no attempt at refining the salt, which is exported for sale in the
form in which it is mined. In some places the uppermost layer is dark-
coloured, almost black, and bituminous. The quantity of salt is some-
thing marvellous j in the anticlinal near Bahadur Khel alone rock salt
is seen for a distance of about eight miles, and the thickness exposed
exceeds 1,000 feet, the width of the outcrop being sometimes more
than a quarter of a mile. Hills, ^00 feet high, are sometimes formed of
pure rock salt. As a rule, the salt contains sulphate of lime (gypsum),
but none of the potassium and magnesium salts of the Salt Range beds.
Above the salt come gypsum and clays, as in the Salt Range, but
the colours, white and grey, are very different, and the whole appearance
of both salt and gypsum so distinct from those of the ancient salt marl,
that although there is no indication of salt beds at a higher level in
the Salt Range itself, and although the outcrop of. the salt marl close
Extra-Peninsular. J NORTH EEN POTWAR AND MURREE HILLS. 509
to KdlaMgh on the Indus is only 18 miles from one of the Kohat rock
salt regions at Nundrukki, still as a great series of mesozoicand palseozoic
beds intervenes, throughout the Salt Range, between the nummulitic group
and the salt marl, whilst in Kohat. the former rests with apparent con-
formity upon the gypsum and sg,lt, it appears probable that the salt-bearing
rocks in the Kohdt district may belong to a very different horizon from
that occupied by the same minerals in the Salt Range series. It is by no
means certain that the Kohat salt and gypsum are eocene, but, in the
absence of any evidence to the contrary, it appears best to class them
with, the nummulitic beds immediately overlying them.
Clays, limestones, and sandstones above the salt.— Overlying
• tte gypsum, there is usually found a thick bed of deep red clay, the eocene
age of which is proved by the occasional occurrence of nummulites in
the upper portion. Sometimes the clay is wanting, and apparently re-
placed by clays, marls, and limestones of a grey or olive colour, and con-
taining nummulites, but the replacement is not clearly proved. Above
the red clay zone come earthy limestones, clays, and shales, with
nummulites. The main band of limestone is very much thinner than in
the Salt Range, but is as usual massive, pale-coloured, and full of
Nummulites, Alveolince, 8fe. The overlying formation, consisting of
sandstones and clays, in which dark red and purple colours predominate,
exceeds all the eocene beds in thickness, and is probably, like the
sandstones and clays overlying the mimmulitie limestone of the Salt
Range, really of much later age than the limestone on which it rests.
Pebbles of nummulitic Hmestone are said^ to be found in the lowest
beds of the sandstone, and some reptilian bones, (not determined,)
siliceous fossil wood, and a few ill-preserved ribbed bivalve moUusca have
been found, but no characteristic organic remains. The beds resemble
Murree beds and pass upwards into undoubted newer tertiary (Siwalik or
Manchhar) strata of the usual character, the red colours becoming rarer,
and the usual drab grey sandstones and orange or drab clays being the
prevailing rocks.
Northern Potwar and Murree Hills. — Along the northern side of
the Rawalpindi or Potwar plateau, and up the Jhelum valley for a long
distance north of Murree, there runs the line of abrupt boundary, already
noticed as intervening between the tertiary formations to the southward,
and the Himalayan or Alpine rocks, inclusive of the hill type of nummulitic
limestone, to the northward. It is clear that the tertiary beds seen
immediately south of the limit in question must be newer than those
to the northward, for marine limestones are intercalated with the lowest
clays and sandstones seen south of the boundary, aud it is difficult to
' Wynne, Mem. G. S. I., XI, p. (170).
510 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI.
understand how two totally different formations could have been depo-
sited contemporaneously on the opposite sides of a line along which there
is no evidence of any ridge of older rocks to separate the two areas of
deposition. Besides, as has already been stated, the hill form of num-
mulitie limestone occasionally appears a little to the south of the dividing
line, being brought to the surface either by faults or anticlinals, and the
newer tertiaries are similarly let in by synclinals, whether faulted 6r
not, to the north of the same limit. Such outcrops are at no great
distance from the main boundary, and the rocks are so greatly disturbed
and contorted that their relations are obscure. In this case, as elsewhere,
the additional knowledge of the distribution of fossils in the older
tertiary formations afforded by the study of the Sind rocks has not yet
been applied to the Punjab region, whilst the complicated disturbance of
the rocks and the comparative paucity or bad preservation of organic
remains in the latter country render the correlation of the vai'ious strata'
a work of great difficulty.
Perhaps the most interesting section hitherto noticed is that already
referred to, occurring in the anticlinal ridge of Khairi Milrat about
12 miles south-west of Rawalpindi. Here clays and sandstones with bands
of limestone are seen resting conformably iipon a massive clearer lime-
stone ; the former rocks being evidently identical with the upper
nummulitic beds found south of the main boundary, whilst the latter
represents the hill nummulitic limestone.
The eocene beds of the Upper Punjab, south of the line of disturbance,
consist of sandstones and shales, very frequently of a red colour,- and
comprising, towards their base, occasional bands of limestone or marl,
with mmimulites. Associated with the sandstones, some gypseous shales
and bands of gypsum are found, but no trace of the Kohat salt. As
already stated, these lower tertiary sandstones are cut off abruptly to the
north, and it is not always clear whether they rest upon the hill limestone
or are faulted against it ; doubtless the junction, whether conformable
or unconformable originally, has become complicated by faulting and
crushing, but the whole line of boundary has the appearance of a gigantic
fault. There is a gradual and complete passage, to the south of this line
of fracture, from the beds containing nummulites into the upper tertiary
Siwalik rocks, with mammalian bones. As wiU be noticed in the chapter
on the Sub-Himalayan area, very similar beds occur at the base of the
tertiary series along the southern foot of the Himalayas in the Eastern
Punjab, but in this area representatives of the lower nummulitic
limestone are shewn to exist by the fossils occurring.
The rocks at the hill station of Murree have been repeatedly de-
scribed. The station itself is built on grey and purple sandstones and
Extra-Peninsular.] HILL NUMMULITIC LIMESTONE. 511
deep purplish clays, with occasional concretionary bands. These are the
Murree beds of Mr. Wynne, and whilst their lower strata may corre-
spond to the Dagshai sub-division of the Sirmur or eocene series in the
Simla hills, it is probable that they represent higher groups also, and they
may even comprise strata corresponding to all the Sub-Himalayan beds
of the Dagshai, Kasauli and Nahan groups between the Subathu and
the Siwaliks proper. It is evident that no definite line can be drawn,
either in the neighbourhood of Murree or to the west of Rawalpindi,
between the eocene beds and the newer tertiaries. Immediately north-
west of the ridge on which Murree stands, similar grey and red sand-
stones and shales, underlying the Murree beds, contain bands of nummul-
itic limestone. These 'rocks ai-e supposed to represent in part the Subathu
beds at the base of the Sirmur group,^ but it is probable that the lower
portion of the Subdthn group must be older and representative of part of
the hill limestone of the Punjab. The bands with nummulites at the base
of the Murree beds are traced at intervals from the country west of the
Jhelum to the Potwar, and thence to the westward to beyond the Indus;
Hill nummulitic limestone of Northern Punjab. — The "hill
nummulitic limestone,^^ as it is frequently called, consists of a great thick-
ness of dark-bluish grey or blackish limestones, with brownish olive shales.
The rock is generally fcetid and massive, with nodular bands, but thick
zones of pale-grey splintery limestone also occur. Stratification is some-
times distinct, sometimes obscure. Near Dungagali, between Murree and
Abbottabad, some red clays are associated with the hill limestone and
appear to be interstratified.^ These Himalayan and North Punjab beds
differ from the nummulitic limestone of the Salt Range and Sulemdn
mountains, and from the Khirthar limestone of Sind, in colour and
structure ; but it is far from clear how far the distinction is due to the
amount of disturbance and pressure experienced by the" northern rocks.
The intercalation of shales with the limestone takes place also in Lower
Sind and Baluchistan. Similar dark-coloured nummulitic limestones are
found in Baluchistan, also in a disturbed region, and all the differences
hitherto noticed between the hill nummulitic rocks and their represent-
atives in the Salt Range and elsewhere, except colour, might be attributed
to the different amount of disturbance that has affected the two regions.
No distinctions have been shewn to exist between the organic remains
• See next chapter. The tertiary rocks of the Snh-Himalayan ranges are thus classed
in descending order :—
„. ,., fSiwalik.
1 Newer; S.wahk [^^^^^^
C Kasauli.
2 Older ; Sirmur ) Dagshai.
/ Subathu,
3 or .Minn M.S nntpR.
513 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. CChap. XXI,
found in the two, forms of limestonCj except that the hill nummulitic
beds contain much fewer and smaller organisms.
The hill type of nummulitic limestones forms a broad belt throughout
Hazara and the Murree Hills, from the neighbourhood of Abbottabad,
past Murree, and along the spurs traversed by the grand trunk road
north-west of Rawalpindi. The same rock forms the greater part of
the Chita Pahar Range, and is continued west of the Indus in the
Nilabgash and Af ridi hills, which are chiefly composed of this formation.
This great belt and the parallel band of the Attock slates to the
northward are indeed the leading stratigraphical features of the Northern
Punjab, the intervening formations being less prominent, although
largely developed locally.
Upper tertiaries, Siwaliks, &c. — It will be unnecessary to devote
much space to the description of the upper tertiary rocks, since, despite
the enormous area covered by them, and their great thickness, they
present a nearly uniform character, and differ but little from the rocks
of the same age to the southward in Sind, already described in the last
chapter, and from the typical Siwalik series of the Sub-Himalayan region,
to which the next two chapters will be devoted.
The passage from the lower into the upper tertiaries throughout the
Northern Punjab, so far as the ground has been suflBciently examined,
is transitional, with the exception of the boundary to the north of the
Salt Range, where, as has already been shewn, the upper tertiary rocks
rest unconformably on the nummulitic limestones. But even in this area
there is an apparent conformity in dip and strike, the bedding planes of the
upper tertiary strata being parallel to those of the nummulitic limestone,
and it is not quite certain how many sub-divisions of the tertiary series
are wanting.^ Apparently the lower portion, if not the whole of the
Murree beds, including the nummulitic bands at their base, — that is, all
those rocks classed as older tertiary that are exposed immediately to the
south of the line of discordant junction traversing the Northern Punjab, —
are unrepresented to the south of the Rawalpindi plain. It is probable
that a similar deficiency of the middle tertiary beds exists on the flanks
■ The lowest beds resting upon the nummulitic limestone of the Salt Range are con-
sidered hy Mr. Wynne to represent the Murree beds, but Mr. Theobald, who has identified the
same strata with the middle Siwalik group of the Sub-Himalayan region, considers that
even the NAhan group is wanting on the northern slopes of the Salt Range. The
fact, determined by Mr. Theobald, that an ossiferous band may be traced not 100 feet
above the nummulitic limestone, and that amongst the bones discovered in this band are
those of Mastodon latidens and HMnoceros paleeindicits, renders it probable that the beds
resting upon the limestone must be either upper miocene or pliocene, and consequently
must belong to a higher horizon than that of the Murree beds generally. Still as the
limits of the Murree beds are vague and undefined, it is quite possible that strata, elsewhere
classed wi h the Murree beds, may be represented north of the Salt Ranget
Extra-Peninsular. J tJPPER TERTIARIES. 513
of the Suleman Range^ and it is highly probable that the sandstones
and clays resting upon the numraulitic beds in Kohdt are also, as already
suggested, separated by a considerable break in time from the typical
eocenes.
Throughout the Punjab, as in Sind, the upper tertiary rocks consist of
a great sequence of sandstones and clays, surniounted in places by a mass of
coarse conglomerate of variable thickness. No satisfactory sub«divisions
have been established in this series, although it is certain that a large
period of geological time is represented ; for the mammalian fossils from
the lower portion in the Punjab, as in Sind, include much older forms of
life, and resemble those peculiar to the miocene of Europe, whilst in the
upper beds living genera are common, although the species are extinct.
The transition from the Murree beds to the upper tertiaries or
Siwalik series is marked by a diminution in the prevalence of red
clays and sandstones, and by the appearance of bright grey sandstones
in great abundance. The sandstones become softer, concretionary
bands more numerous, and a few pebbles derived from the nummulitic
limestone and Murree beds, together with rounded fragments of quartzite
and crystalline rocks, make their appearance. Higher in the section
the red clays disappear, and are replaced by orange and grey clays, and
there is a gradual passage upwards into the massive conglomerates,
which form in many places the upper portion of the whole series.
The pebbles of these conglomerates appear to have been derived from
the same Himalayan rocks as those now furnishing the materials for the
gravel and boulder beds of the Punjab rivers, and it is consequently evident'
that the rivers in the Siwalik period ran from the north, as they do now.
Distribution. — Commencing, like the eocene rocks, at the southern
extremity of the area, the upper tertiary beds form several ranges of
hills north of the Upper Sind frontier, between the desert plain of
Jacobabad and the ridges of nummulitic limestone ; and, to judge by
Vicary's section,^ the higher beds reappear in the valleys between the
parallel anticlinal ranges of older tertiary limestone, precisely as in Lower
Sind. Passing northward along the boundaiy of the Derajat, the
Siwaliks, although forming only a narrow belt on the flanks of the
Suleman Range in the Siri Pass, west of Dera Ghazi Khan, comprise
two well-marked sub-divisions ; of these the upper, consisting of conglo-
merates and coarse sandstones, 500 to 600 feet thick, rests unconform-
ably upon the lower, composed of sandstones with bright red, greenish,
and grey clays, and attaining a thickness of at least 3,000 feet, and
probably more.^ The only sections recorded have been too hurriedly
traversed for more details to be determined, and it must remain for the
> Q. J. G. S., II. 1846, p. 261. I 2 Ball, Eec. G. S. I., VII, p. 150.
514 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXL'
present uncertain whether any of the intermediate groups of Sind are
represented on the flanks of the Suleman Eange.
Passing northward along the Suleman, the belt of upper tertiary
beds appears perfectly continuous. The whole of the Pyzii and Shekh
Budin ranges are believed to consist of newer tertiary strata, with
the exception of the peak of Shekh Budln itself, and all the north-
western slope of the Kafirkot range near the Indus is of the same
Siwalik formation. A broad tract to the west of the Bannii plain, the
Waziri country north of Bannri, and the western slopes of the Shingarh
Range are similarly composed, so thatHhe newer tertiary beds entirely
surround, and probably underlie, the Bannii plain.^ North and north-east
of this the upper tertiary formations cover a large portion of the Kohat
district west of the Indus, and nearly the whole of the great Rdwalpindi '
plateau to the east of the river, being thrown throughout into a series of
great wave-like undulations, the anticlinal and synclinal axes of which
have a general east and west direction. Older rocks appear to a large
extent in the anticlinal ridges west of the Indus, more sparingly to the
eastward, and to the north the upper tertiary area is bounded by the
Murree and upper nummulitic beds south|of the great line of dislocation.
Palaeontology. — It is unnecessary to enter into any detailed
account of the organic remains, almost entirely vertebrate, found in the
newer tertlaries of the Punjab, because a large number of the same
species have also been discovered east of the Jhelum, and it will be better
to deal with the Siwalik fauna as a whole. Owing to the similarity of
the beds composing the upper tertiary series throughout, and the compli-
cated disturbance which the rocks have undergone in many places, it is
very often impracticable to determine the precise horizon at which any
particular fossiliferous beds occur, and with a large proportion of the
bones hitherto collected, the original locality has been imperfectly
recorded. It is therefore impossible to draw up anything like a trust-
worthy list of the species found in any sub-division of the newer tertiary
series ; aU that is known with certainty is that the majority of the
bones found in the Punjab are from the higher portion of the strata.
In one case only has the peculiar miocene fauna of the Sind Lower
Manchhar beds as yet been detected in the Punjab, and in this case
the exact locality is unknown, but it was in the neighbourhood of
Kushalghar, 40 miles south of Attock.^ Remains of Mastodon,, Dmo-
therium pentepotamice, ListriodonpentepotamicB, Rhinoceros, Merycopotamus^
Lorcatkeriwm, Sanithenum scMagintweitii, and Amphicyon palaindicus
1 These details are from Verchere's map, J. A. S. B., 1867, XXXVI, Pt. 2, and from
the Atlas sheets of the Great Trigonometrical Survey.
2 Lydekker, Rec. G. S. I., IX, p. 92. The fossils were first noticed by Falconer, Pal.
Mem., I, n. 415.
Extra-Peninsular. J EERAtics. B15
were found. There can be no question that the beds yielding the above
fossils must be at a lower horizon than those from which the bulk of
the Siwalik fauna has been procured. It is, however, far from improbable
that some of the supposed Siwalik forms come from the same lower
horizon, as certain species belong to older forms of life than the major-
ity of the Siwalik vertebrates.
Post-pliocene deposits of Northern Punjab— On the great
plains of Rawalpindi (the Potwar), Bannii, and Peshawar, extensive
deposits of gravel, sand and silt exist. Little is known about later deposits
in the Peshawar and Bannii plains, but those of the Potwar present some
features of interest. The surface consists of an alluvial, rather light-brown
clay, often containing kunkur, and passing in places into fine silt.
Beneath this alluvial deposit there is a mass of gravels and sand, some-
times enclosing boulders of large size. The boulders are not, however,
confined to the pebble beds; many have been observed imbedded in
fine silt, and this circumstance, together with the great size of. many
of the blocks found, and the distance to which they have been trans-
ported, has induced several observers to attribute the transport of the
larger masses to ice, whether floating down a river or in a lake. It has
been suggested that the Potwar may have been converted into a
lacustrine basin in post-tertiary times by the elevation of the Salt Range
and the ridges west of the Indus. There is but little evidence in favour
of this view, but still it is not impossible, for, although the pebble beds
underlying the finer silt of the Soan valley appear too coarse for
lacustrine^ deposits the silt may be, in part at least, a later deposit.
The post-tertiary deposits are of course quite unconformable to the
Siwalik rocks, which had been greatly disturbed and denuded before the
later beds were formed. These later beds themselves, however, are
occasionally found dipping at a considerable angle, due, it is said, to
original deposition. The pebble beds are found around Rawalpindi
and in the neighbourhood of the Indus; they overlie the Rhotas
fforge near Jhelum, occur on some of the Salt Range plateaus, and
cap the mountain above Kalabdgh on the Indus. They are found at a
considerable elevation above the present river beds, some fragments of
crystalline rocks in the neighbourhood of the Indus, apparently brought
down by the stream, having been observed 3,000 feet above the river.
Erratics. The large blocks attributed to ice flotation appear to
have been derived from the Himalayas. They are abundant along the
Indus as far up as Amb, on the left bank of the river, in the gorge of
the Sirun and for some miles below Attock, around Jhand about 20 miles
farther south, and farther still to the southward near the village of Trap
, T?„. „-l^!f.inn»1 details conoerninjf these alluvial deposits of the Potwfir, see Wynne,
516 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-THE PUNJAB HILLS. [Chap. XXI,
on the lower coutse of the So^n. Some of the blocks have been mea-
sured nearly 50 feet in girth and others are even larger. In places such
blocks have been found 20 miles away from the banks of the Indus.
Indus floods. — The Indus, as is well known, is subject to extra-
ordinary floods, due to a portion of the upper valley being blocked by
landslips or, according to some, by glaciers, and to the sudden destruction
of the barriers thus formed. Such floods occurred in 1841 and 1858,
and have doubtless taken place in past ages.^ In the flood of 1841, the
waters of the Cabul river were checked and forced backwards for 20 miles
by the rise of the Indus ; and Drew has shewn that the lake in Gilgit
formed by the landslip in 1840-41 must have been 35 miles long,
and upwards of 300 feet deep. Enormous quantities of detritus must be
carried down by the violent floods produced by the bursting of such
barriers, and if, as appears probable,^ the low temperature of the glacial
epoch was felt in India, such lakes at an elevation of 5,000 or 6,000 feet
above the sea would have been deeply frozen in winter, and large blocks
from the river bed and dam might easily have been embedded in the ice ;
glaciers also in the North- Western Himalayas must have been more ex-
tensive than they now are, and the formation of lakes dammed up by
glaciers was probably of common occurrence. Shaw ' has called attention to
the occurrence of heaps of stone and gravel of all sizes brought 80 miles
down the Shayok, one of the tributaries of the Upper Indus in Ladak, by
blocks of ice ; and a similar action on a larger scale on the Indus may
easily have supplied the erratics of the Upper Punjab. If the Potwdr
was a lake, the dispersion of the erratic blocks is easily understood ; if
not, the area over which the masses of rock are found may be due to
variation in the course of the Indus, and to the reversed flow of its
tributaries in great floods.
Fossil shells. — In one locality near Fatehganj a number of land
and fresh-water shells were found* in silt, apparently the same as
that in which boulders are elsewhere imbedded. The species found,
including Lymnea rufescens, Flcmorbis exustus, Paludma bengalensis,
Bythinia piilchella, Melania tuherculata, Bulimus insularis, Opeas gracilis,
&c., are the same as are now found common in the country, and it
appears doubtful if they would have survived any very great diminu-
tion of temperature. At the same time it is possible that the beds
containing shells may be of later date than those with boulders.
1 For accounts of these floods, see Cunningham's " Ladak " ; Montgomerie, J. A. S B.,
1860, p. 128; Shaw, "High Tartary, Yarkand and Kashghar," p. 433, &c., and Appendix,
p. 481 J and especially Drew, " Jummoo and Kashmir Territories," p. 414, Numerous
references to other accounts are given hy the last-named writer.
: See ante, p. 372.
3 1. c, p. 486.
Extra-Peninsular.] SUB-HIMALAYAS. 517
CHAPTER XXII.
EXTEA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SUB-HIMALAYAS.
Scanty materials — Provisional limits of Himalayas — Map — General features — Three
main divisions. The Sub-HiIhaIiAyas : provisional conclusions — General features —
Early views — General range of deposits — Classification — Petrology — Chiefly of
fresh- water origin — Structural conditions — Faults — Flexures — Middle and terminal
Sub-Himalayan regions — The Simla region — Order of description. The Sibmi5b
ABBA — Unity of the formation — Sub4thu, Dagshai, and Kasauli groups — Relation
to the older rocks — Section at Subdthu — Eastern limits of the Sirmnr area — East-
ernmost outlier of the nummulitic group. SlWAllK SbeieS: Nahan abea — The
Nahan-Siwalik boundary — The Nahan-Sirm6r boundary. The Jumna-Gan&es abea
— Composition in relation to the great rivers — Identification of beds in the two zones
— Suggested connexion of the two zones in this area. The GahbvtaIi-Kumatjn abea,
The KefIii abea. The Sieeim-Bhuxan abea. Ufpeb Assam abea.
Scanty materials. — Information regarding the Himalayas would
probably be the first demand made upon an Indian geologist out of
India. In the country itself it has been quite the reverse, and so it
happens that up to date this information is most scanty. Regular con-
tinuous work in the mountains has not yet been attempted by the
Survey, or has only just been begun, in the hope that circumstances will
permit of its being continued. The whole information upon which to
form an outline of this great geological region consists of Captain
R. Strachey's account of a portion of Central Tibet, Stoliczba^s observations
in Western Tibet, and some casual seasons' work, by members of the
Survey, in the Lower and Sub-Himalayan ranges, besides isolated observ-
ations of more or less doubtful validity by various travellers, whose
principal objects of interest were not geological. As presenting some
very marked uniformities of structure, the Himalayas as a whole have no
doubt a continuous history ; but it would be impossible to make it out
from such scant data as exist. Each portion of the Himalayan area has
more intricate and intimate relation to the history of the whole moun-
tain region than has, for instance, any particular basin of Gondwana
rocks to the history of the peninsular area, so that a description of any
part of the mountain chain is more dependent upon a knowledge of the
518 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXII.
whole. We can only attempt to indicate such main features as have
been detenjained, and to make some conjectures on their possible con-
nexion. This very preHminary condition of our information must be
our excuse for a somewhat irregular method of presentation.
Provisional limits of region. — The area to be included under the
word " Himalaya'' needs to be specified. As originally applied and accepted
by excellent authorities, it would mean only the southern face of the
Tibetan plateau ; whereas of late by geological writers the name has fre-
quently been used as equivalent to extra-peninsular India, with undefined
outer limits. Both senses are about equally inconvenient, in opposite ways.
Although the name may be retained in its narrowest sense to distinguish
the Himalayan range proper from other ranges of the same apparent
system, it is also, as that of the principal, or at least the most famous
member of the group, commonly understood to indicate the whole of this
more or less parallel system of ranges. In these senses we shall here
speak of the main line of snowy peaks between the Brahmaputra and
the Indus as the Himalayan range, and of the Himalayan region as
extending from the plains of India to the -northern scarp of the Tibetan
plateau. It is very possible, or even likely, that this geological region
or mountain system, may hereafter be very largely extended ; but until
this is done upon a basis of observation, and to express a meaning
more defined and substantiated than any as yet proposed, it would be
more confusing than instructive to adopt a wider definition than that
given above. For example, the tertiary rocks of the Potwar and of
Hazara (between the Jhelum and Indus) are shewn to be continuous
with those of the Sub- Himalayas, and to have been affected by the
same disturbing causes ; yet it is quite necessary to distinguish by
name the two regions, as afEected by total and abrupt contrast in the
direction of disturbance, and of the resulting surface-features. It is
certainly most convenient to restrict the word "Himalaya" in this definite
intelligible sense, more or less in agreement with the meaning spon-
taneously attached to it, rather than adopt a new name for the familiar
ground, and extend the old one to a meaning without assignable limits.
The geological contrast between peninsular and non-peninsular India
is a very striking one : in the former the sedimentary rocks are almost
exclusively of fresh-water formation, while the corresponding deposits in
adjoining areas are marine; again, the stratified rocks of the penin-
sula, from the Upper Vindhyan time, have undergone comparatively
little compression or alteration, while very late formations in the
adjoining area are universally more or less contorted. We can, however,
keep in mind the peculiar characters of the peninsular rocks without
Extra-Peninsular. J three divisions OF Himalayan region. sig
extending the term "Himalaya" on the grounds of such general features
as marine origin, and disturbance, regardless of special distribution and
structure.
Map. — In the map attached to this work, the Himalayan area is
correspondingly more incomplete than the peninsula. The blanks are
larger, and such indications as are given are less exact, the lines having
been more or less conjecturally extended between the observations made
on separate routes. Some important observations by Mr. Lydekker in
the Kashmir region that are noticed in the text came too late for inser-
tion on the map.
Greneral featvires. — So far as known, the Himalayas exhibit more
regularity of structure than the Alps. There are, no doubt, exceedingly
knotty points to be unravelled, but the continuity and similarity of
structure which prevail over large areas greatly facilitate description, and
give a promise of an ultimate understanding. On a good physical map,
the regularity of the boundary between the mountain region and the plains:
of Northern India is a very marked feature ; a steady gentle curve,
convex to the west-south-west, without any interruption from spurs or
semi-detached masses. Throughout great distances the main features of
the mountains, both of structure and configuration, conform to this outer
boundary, and thus we may conveniently take up the description in
successive zones.
Three main divisions. — Three such zones or natural divisions, of
permanent significance, can be indicated. There is on the south a con-
tinuous fringing belt of lower ridges, appropriately known as the Sub-
Himalayas, and composed of tertiary rocks. Between this marginal zone
and the great snowy range there lies, throughout the whole length of
the Himalayas to as far west as the Sutlej, a broad area, some fifty
miles wide, consisting of irregular ridges of moderate average elevation,
from 5,000 to 8,000 feet — some ranging up to 12,000 — all largely made
up of crystalline metamorphic rocks, in very obscure relation with some
unaltered formations, the latter being for the most part of very
uncertain age. This great area, so well defined by position, and
characterised throughout by extreme complexity of structure, may
appropriately be distinguished as the Lower Himalayan region.
Although of course the most accessible and the most frequented
part of the mountains, it is the least understood. The great snowy
range of the Himalayas proper belongs to what may be conveniently
distinguished as the Central, or Tibetan, division of the mountains, which
is characterised on the large scale by several parallel axes of gneissic
rocks and intervening synclinal basins of little-altered, fossiUferous
formations. To the west of the Sutlej; and actually on the strike of the
520 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUIJ-HIMALATAS. LCJiap- XXIL
great Himalayan rangej the hills next to the tertiary zone have thia
latter type of structure, and must be classed in the central division.
This feature and the corresponding disappearance of the whole Lower
Himalayan region at the Sutlej point to a fact which must be constantly
kept in mind — that our observations and descriptions 'refer chiefly to
the (partially) terminal portions of the great Himalayan region, most
of the middle Himalayas, in Nipal and to the north of it, being
unknown to us ; so that the divisions and characters adopted in the
north-western portion may be inapplicable to the mountain region as a
whole. It is, however, to be observed that the fundamental structural
characters, from which the history of the mountains is to be made out,
may be better exhibited" where dying out than in the more elevated
middle regions, where a deeper and intensified phase of disturbing
conditions would be exhibited.
The Sub-Himalayas.^ — Provisional conclusions.— The Himalayas
being generally supposed to have been upraised in late tertiary times,
the study of the tertiary rocks ought to be of special importance, as
embracing the most active period in the history of the mountains. Since
our sketch of this history cannot be very formal or conclusive, it may
assist comprehension to indicate at the outset the provisional views sug-
gested by the observations that have been made, up to the present, in
the Sub- Himalayan region. If these points do not specifically agree
with current anticipations, they quite bear out the important part taken
by the tertiary formations, and the mention of them here will give a
meaning and an immediate interest to the descriptive details. Some of
these provisional conclusions depend more or less upon single sections,
on the report of a single observer, and the verification of them should be
an object with every competent explorer, either to confirm or confute.
To provoke this desirable service we will give dogmatic prominence to
the crucial points. It will be shewn —
(1) , that immediately preceding the lower tertiary (nummulitic)
period, the area defined as the Lower Himalayas must have
been exposed to denudation as part of a land of doubtful
configuration ;
{%), that the very ancient, slaty rocks of that land upon which, after
depression, the marine nummulitic deposits were laid down,
had then undergone little or no contortion, where they are
now most contorted;
(3), that during the deposition of an immense thickness of the
upper tertiary deposits, the Himalayan region was already
' For published descriptions of the Geology, see Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Ft. 2 ; Eec^ G, S. I.,
IX,p,49.
Extra-Peninsular.] early VIEWS ON SUB-HIMALAYAS. 521
defined as an area of denudation in which the great rivers
were the same as are now found there ;
(4), that the topmost beds (Upper Siwalik) of the Sub- Himalayan
tertiary series have undergone extreme disturbance ;
(5), that the operation of the forces by which this total of results
was accomplished must have been most gradual.
General features. — By abrupt difference of elevation and by contour,
the Sub-Himalayan hills are everywhere easily distinguishable from the
much higher mountains to the north of them. They very commonly
present a steep face to the south, with a more gentle inner • slope ; and
as a general rule they consist of two ranges, separated by a broad fiat
valley, for which the native name ''dun" (doon) has been adopted in India.
When the outer of these ranges is wanting, as is the case below Naini
Tal and Darjiling, the whole geographical feature might escape notice,
the inner range being confounded with the spurs of the mountains.
Prom a point of view whence all the surface features of this inner
range can be seen, it will, however, generally be observed, that the hills
are not branching extremities of the spurs from the main range,
but true longitudinal flanking ridges, separated from the higher
range by a line of gaps and gorges ; or at least there will always be
noticed a rapid increase of elevation immediately inside the tertiary
boundary.
Two places are known, on the Bhiitan frontier, where even the inner
Sub-Himalayan range is wanting, and the marginal slopes of the plains
reach to the base of the Lower Himalayan region ; but with these
exceptions the fringe of tertiary rocks is, so far as we know, continuous
for 1,500 miles, from the Brahmaptitra to the Jhelum, which are the
limits of the Himalayan region proper, as here restricted. West of the
Sutlej, where the Lower Himalayan area ends, there is an equivalent
increase in the width of the Sub-Himalayan zone, made up by a repeti-
tion of low ridges and intervening duns.
Early views on Sub-Himalayas. — Soft, massive sandstone is the
prevailing rock of the Sub-Himalayan ranges, but associated in very
variable proportions, according to position, with conglomerates and clays.
Owing apparently to some suspected connexion with the rock-salt deposits
of North- Western India, these sandstones were considered by the early
observers to belong to the New Red Sandstone of the European scale of
formations. The Vindhyan rocks on the south of the plains were
reo-arded at the same time as Old Red Sandstone ; and on the strength of
these identifications borings were recommended, i£ not actually under-
taken alono" the margin of the plains, to find the carboniferous formation
622 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap, XXII.
with its coal.i It was the discovery of the famous Siwalik fossils in
the outer range of the hills that established the true age of these rocks.
Sir Proby Cautley (then Lieutenant Cautley, r.a.) seems to have
been the original discoverer of those fossils, prior to 1832 ^ ; and the great
collections were subsequently made by him and Dr. Falcdner, and
described by the latter, chiefly in the Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis and
Palaeontological Memoirs. Long after the publication of the tertiary
age of the Siwalik rocks, until the examination of the ground by the
Survey, the sandstones of the inner range flanking the mountains were
still regarded as secondary.
. General range of these deposits. — The whole of the Sub-Hima-
layan zone is formed of these tertiary rocks, with the exception of some
inliers of palaeozoic limestone in the north-west, where the area is broadest.
At this western extremity of the range, on the Jhelum, the whole
sedimentary series undergoes an abrupt change of strike, and the tertiary
formations, without break of continuity, thus sweep into the Potwar
(the upland north of the Salt Range) and across the Indus, passing down
into Sind.
In the other direction, the breach of continuity mentioned in the
Sub- Himalayan hills on the Bhtitan frontier applies also superficially to
the rocks, no outcrop of the sandstones having been detected in this
position. It is thought that they are only concealed, having been
denuded, and then covered up by the diluvial gravels ; but it may be
that they are altogether wanting, for in this neighbourhood, in Lower
Assam, detached hill masses, formed of gneissic rocks of the peninsular
type, approach nearer than anywhere else to the Himalayan border. At
one spot, indeed, on the east bank of the Raidak (E. long. 89° 47'),
Mr. Mallet observed a small boss of this southern gneiss far within the
tertiary zone, and only a few hundred yards from its inner boundary. ^
The sandstone intervened between this boss and the very different
metamorphic rocks of the mountains; its contact with the gneiss
forming the boss was not seen, but we may presume that the relation is
one of simple superposition, and that we have here the local extra-
' In Notes on the Economic Mineralogy of the HUl Districts of the North- Western
Provinces of India, by E. T. Atkinson, b.a., p.e.o.s., Bengal Civil Service, 1877, the
following remark occurs : — " But it has never yet been settled whether coal does or does not
exist in Kumaun, and until this question has received the attention due to it, the eventual
absolute success of the Kumaun mines must remain problematical " (p. 7). There is no
further allusion to coal, to indicate upon what facts this hope of its occurrence is based.
It may be only a survival of the primitive idea mentioned in the text.
' Jour. As. Soc, Bengal, Vol, I, p, 249, 1832.
3 Mem. G. S. I„ XI, 44
Extra-Peninsular. J CI^ASSIFICATION. 523
Himalayan base of the tertiary series^ the natural junction of such
extreme types of rock indicating an equivalent geological break, even
the nummulitie beds being absent. These gaps in the tertiary zone do
not, however, quite correspond with the nearest approach of the southern
gneissic rocks, but lie somewhat to the west; and it may be more to the
point to notice that they occur exactly in front of the great gap between
the Assam range and the Rajmahal hills through which all the Hima-
layan drainage passes to the Bay of Bengal. It seems at least probable
that the sandstones once were continuous across these gaps, though no
remnant of these tertiary beds may now be left beneath the superficial
deposits ; and at all events it is certain that the Sub-Himalayan hills and
rocks occur again in full force and characteristic form throughUpper Assam
to the Brahmaputra, where, as on the Jhelum at the western extremity
of the range, they bend round across the head of the Assam valley, and
there conform to a system of distui-bance having a totally different
direction from that of the Himalayas proper. All this takes place in a
very remote wild country, inhabited by savage tribes, outside the limits
of British, occupation, so no details of the feature are known beyond the
facts given.
Besides the case described in Lower Assam, the only other position
within or close to the Sub-Himalayan region where we find an extra-
Himalayan base for the Sub-Himalayan series is in the Punjab, on the
south side of the Rawalpindi plateau, or Potwdr, where lower or middle
Siwalik sandstones rest with quasi-conformity on the nummulitie lime-
stone capping the older fossiliferous series of the Salt Range, as akeady
described in the preceding chapter. Over all the intermediate country,
from east to west, the southern limit of the tertiary rocks is altogether a
matter of conjecture, for no trace of them is found along the southern
edge of the plains, where from beneath the alluvial deposits the most
ancient formations of peninsular India crop out ; unless, indeed, we are
to recognise them, as has been suggested, in the deepest beds of these
plains deposits themselves.
Olassiflcation. — From the familiar terms"nummulitic"and" Siwa-
lik" used parenthetically in preceding paragraphs, it may be observed that
the Sub-Himalayan system contains a pretty f uU representation of the ter-
tiary series as generally understood, the former deposits being eocene and
the latter in part pliocene. The deposits do ample justice to this extended
period, their aggregate thickness being computed as between 12,000
and 15 000 feet, or very much more if we take the maximum thickness
of different portions in different positions.
Within this region the vertical hmits of the series are very well
defined, the nummulitie beds at the base are everywhere in abrup t'
52,^ OLOGY OP INDIA-SUB-HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXII.
contact with immensely older rocks, presumably palseozoic; while the
topmost Siwalik beds are as often as not vertical at the edge of the plains,
and are thus in the sharpest possible stratigraphical contrast with the
post-pliocene and recent deposits. For use within this special region
the following classification may be adopted for the Sub-Himalayan form-
ations : —
f Upper. '^^^
/' Siwalik series < Middle. J ^
\ (Lower (Nahan).
StJB-HlMAlAYAN )
SySTEM. \ (-Upper (Kasauli).
(. Sirmfir series \ Middle (Dagshai). . ,
(Lower (Subathu : nummnlitic). f . •
The enunciation of a classified list of formations ought at once to
facilitate the progress of description. We should be able to take up each
so-called group and point out its exact range. For the bottom and top
divisions of our hst — the Subathu and the Upper Siwalik — this might
be roughly done ; but we should utterly break down in attempting a con-
tinuous delineation of the middle zones. This failure is highly
suggestive of error ; but recognised confusion may be a safer state of
progress than imposed order; and the compromise to be suggested is that
no single group-list will ever suit the different sections of the Sub-
Himalayan zone ; e. g., the break between the Siwalik and Sirmiir divi-
sions, which is the most marked feature in the Simla region (accord-
ing to the interpretation given), certainly disappears before reaching
the Jhelum. Such discrepancies will not surprise any one who can per-
ceive that the Himalayas have been in great part formed synchronously
with the deposition of the tertiary series between the Subathu and Upper
Siwalik groups.
Under these difiicult circumstances we must crave the reader's
indulgence for a less regular form of treatment than has been followed
in the preceding chapters, and for the introduction of discussion upon
elementary questions not hitherto mentioned, because these are of crucial
importance in the mountain-sections. A brief abstract account of each
division will be given, and for further details reference must be made to
the descriptions of the separate areas.
Petrology. — Sandstone immensely preponderates in the Sub- Hima-
layan deposits, and is of a very persistent type from end to end of the
region and from top to bottom of the series. Its commonest form
is undistinguishable from the rock of corresponding age known as Mol-
lasse in the Alps, of a clear pepper and salt grey, sharp and fine in grain,
generally soft, and in very massive beds. The whole Middle and Lower
'Siwaliks are formed of this rock, with occasional thick beds of red clay
Extra-Peninsular.] CHIEFLY OF FRESH-water origin. 525
and very rare thin, discontinuous bands and nodules of earthy limestoncj
the sandstone itself being sometimes calcareouSj and thus cemented into
hard nodular masses. In the Sirmiir group generally, and locally in the
Lower Siwaliks, the sandstone is thoroughly indurated and often of a
purple tint, while retaining the distinctive aspect. In the Upper SiwaUks
conglomerates prevail largely ; they are often made up of the coarsest
shingle, precisely like that in the beds of the great Himalayan torrents.
Brown clays occur often with the conglomerate, and sometimes almost
entirely replace it. This clay, even when tilted to the vertical, is undis-
ting&ishable in hand specimens from that of the recent plains deposit ;
and no doubt it was formed in a similar manner, as alluvium. The
sandstone, too, of this zone, is exactly like the sand forming the banks
of the great rivers, but in a more or less consolidated condition. Thus
it was suggestive, and not altogether misleading, to say that the Siwaliks
were formed of an upraised portion of the plains of India.
It is only the bottom member of the series that departs widely from
the prevailing type of Sub-Himalayan rock. The Sub^thu group with
nummulites is, of course, marine. Its most distinctive, though not most
abundant rock, is a thin-bedded limestone, more or less pure or earthy,
associated with clear brown, olive and red, fine crumbling clays; and these
latter pass up by interstratification into the strong red clunchy clays,
alternating with sandstones, of the middle Sirmiir horizon.
Chiefly of fresh-water origin.— The fresh-water origin of the
Siwalik formation seems almost as indisputable as the marine origin of the
Subathu beds ; yet, until lately, it has been usual to consider the Siwaliks
marine. The notion was probably a relic of the opinion, that a water
basin was an essential condition of the extensive accumulation of deposits,
and that a sea margin would be required for such a great spread of shingle
as that of the Siwalik conglomerates. The same opinion, on the same
grounds, has been extended to the plains deposits themselves.
The continued experience that the fossil remains in these tertiary
strata are exclusively of land or fresh-water organisms, made this view
untenable ; and in time it came to be realised that the deposits themselves
bear out the same opinion : the mountain torrents are now in many cases
engaged in laying down great banks of shingle at the margin of the
plains, just like the Siwalik conglomerates ; and the thick sandstones and
sandy clays of the tertiary series are of just the same type of form and
composition as the actual deposits of the great rivers.
Beds of this character alternate with the upper beds of the Subathu
group ; so it seems probable that from early tertiary times the sea has
been excluded from the Sub-Himalayan region, and that the whole of
526 GEOLOGY OP INDU-SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Cliap, XXII,
the Sub-Himalayan deposits^ above tbe Subdthu group, are fresh-water
and fluviatile, and formed on the surface of the land. They are in fact
subaerial formations, like the river alluvium and bhabar deposits of the
present day.
The striking agreement in character betvreen the Sub-Himalayan rocks
and. the actual deposits now in progress of formation fj-om Himalayan
debris, at once suggests that the mountain border must have been to some
extent defined, and the Himalayan area undergoing denudation, from
early tertiary times ; and it will be seen from the distribution of the
Siwalik conglomerates, that during the later tertiary times the config'ura-
tion of the mountains must have been very similar to what it is now.
Structural conditions. — The validity and meaning of the classifica-
tion of the Sub-Himalayan tertiary formations depend so much upon the
interpretation of certain leading and constant features of the sections,
that it is absolutely necessary to preface the descriptions of these features
by a brief discussion of certain elementary stratigraphical characters of
somewhat exceptional application. Although, of course, not required for
the experienced geologist, these explanations will surely be of use to some
who may attempt to extend our observations.
The distinction between the original relations of rocks, those resulting
from the conditions at the time of formation, and the relations induced
by subsequent disturbance is perfectly clear in thought and in fact. In
practice, however, it is often most difficult to discriminate between these
relations, and the confusion is at the root of many a disputed position.
The reader of the foregoing chapters may already have perceived this in
connexion with the question of the nature of the basins of Gondwana
rocks (pages 103-106). In the Himalayan sections it is of special
difficulty and interest, as bearing upon the question of mountain forma-
tion ; and some preliminary indications are necessary to a comprehension
of the case.
The most remarkable structural features in the Sub- Himalayan zone
consist of long lines of abrupt contact of highly contrasting rocks, in
which, a s a rule, the newer strata dip towards, and so appare ntlyjander,
the older ; an(J. in most cases the beds on both sides of the' junction are
in normal order, i. e., not inverted. As exposed in the sides of steep
valleys, the V-shaped outcrop of the plane of contact, pointing up the
valley, towards the older rocks, shews indisputably that these latter are
to that extent superposed on the newer. It is quite certain that this
could not have been an original relation of these contiguous formations.
Faults. — In every region which has undergone disturbance to any
extent there occur what geologists call faults — fissures along which the
Eitra-Peninsular. ] STRUCTURAL CONDTTIONS. 527
rocks on either side have moved up or down, or up on one side and down
on the other, resulting in a separation of the once continuous strata. Side
movement along the fissure may also occur, but this effect is not here
considered. When the fissure is vertical, the displacement is altogether
vertical ; but when the fissure has a slope, there is a horizontal effect also :
if the mass on the upper side move downwards^ the ends of the broken
beds retreat from each other, leaving a gap between the broken ends of
the several strata ; but when the opposite movement occurs, the ends of
the several beds overlap, so that the newer underlies the older, and a
vertical line would pass twice through the same beds on opposite sides
of the fault. This latter kind is the least common, and so has come
to be called a reversed fault. It is clear that horizontal pressure
on opposite sides of a sloping plane of fracture tends to produce reversed
faults, the movement on the inclined plane being always in the du'ection
of the force producing it.
The feature mentioned as so common on the Himalayan border has
prima, facie the appearance of a reversed fault. Off-hand judgments are,
however, very dangerous in complicated cases : a fault that was origin-
ally vertical and normal might easily assume the condition of a reversed
fault by a suitable tilt in the whole mass, and it is easy to see that the
original relations of rocks might be similarly deformed beyond prima
facie recognition. The word "deposit" suggests chiefly a floor of de-
position, and other limiting conditions are liable to be lost sight of. We
hear, indeed, of geological shores, but chiefly in the sense of shallow
bottoms ; yet all of us are familiar with cliffs and slopes of every degree.
Although due to erosion and always, as cliffs, subject to denudation,
these may also form surfaces on and against which deposition may
take place, and the residting rock-feature must always bear more
or less resemblance to a fault — discontinuous rocks in steep juxta-
position. It is, moreover, certain that subsequent compression might in
this case also produce the resemblance of a reversed fault— the overhang-
ing of older upon newer strata.
These evident chances of deception call for careful examination of
the ground in certain cases, and we are not without tests, more or less
trustworthy, according to circumstances. A fault, as such, unless it occurs
in the bedding or along some other plane of original contact, implies the
same series of rocks on each side — ^that any bed on the downthrow
side can be found on the upthrow side, unless removed by denudation ;
and that any bed on the upthrow side can be found on the down-
throw side, unless buried out of sight. Straightness of direction is
another special original character of faults, any departure from which
528 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXII,
would geuerally be due to inequalities in the resisting medium when the
fracture was made j and in proportion to the magnitude of the fault this
interference would probably be ineffectual. Another important criterion
between a faulted and an original contact should be found at the very
contact itself, and in proportion to the magnitude of the fault. It is
certain that slips do occur in the interior of rock masses with scarcely
any perceptible effect of crushing or of friction; and it is intelligible
how this may take place ; but there must be a general tendency to such
effects, and often they are "most marked. In the case of these reversed
faults — the result of lateral compression — ^the friction must be prodi-
gious, and its effects conspicuous. On the other hand, a steep surface of
original contact, by deposition, would have a quite different appearance j
although this, too, would be greatly disguised by subsequent compression,
such as would convert a normal into a reversed slope of the junction. The
leading structural lines so marked in the Sub- Himalayas exhibit mixed
characters ; in some the evidence is very strongly in favour of faulting ;
in others there is very decided evidence that the feature is principally
aboriginal.^
FlexTires, — These special lines, the right comprehension of which is so
essential to an understanding of the mountains^ history, are in some cases
traceable into connection with the known direct effects of disturbance,
which in this region observe a decided prevailing type, that of normal
flexures with the axis-plane inclined towards the mountains.^ The
familiar form of the Sub-Himalyan hills is a direct result of this
structural character. The detached Siwalik ranges are mostly formed
of a single flexure, the steep, southern or outer face corresponding with
the high dip of the beds ; or else, the strata on this, the southern, side
of the axis have been removed by denudation, exposing the scarped edges
of the gently sloping strata on the north side. This low dip becomes
more or less horizontal, and so forms the area of the typical diln, or
longitudinal valley, of the Sub-Himalayan zone.
Middle and terminal Sub-Himalayan regions.— As there are
gaps of some 50 to 200 miles between several of the known sections of the
1 In geological language, this word must mean— from the commencement of the
relation, i. e., from the date of formation of the newer rock,
' Professor H. D. Rogers' classification (Geology of Pennsylvania, 1858) of the nn-
dulations of strata will be found most useful : the symetrical flexure, when the inclinations is
the same on both sides of the axis j the normal flexure (so-called, perhaps, because, the
most common in mountain regions), when the dip is greater on one side than on the other ;
and the/oMed flexure, when the steeper dip has been pushed beyond the vertical, the beds
on that side being then inverted. The ctscis-plane is the plane bisecting the angle between
the opposite dips. To the above we may add the monocUnal flexure, when the beds on
one side are horizontal.
Extra-Peninsular. J THE SIMLA region. 529
Sub- Himalayan zone, the description must be similarly broken, and this
method will also best suit the imperfect state of our knowledge even
where observations have been continuous. The conditions of the ground
lend themselves to this method. One very marked natural division of
the Sub-Himalayan rock-features corresponds to the termination of the
Lower Himalayan region, about the seventy-seventh parallel of east
longitude, jiast of _ ^^line, only the upper tgrHg^g^ rogks 3,jg foijnd,
forming a inere fringe to the LowerHimala^'s, and consisting often of a
single range of low hills immediately flanking the mountains ; whereas,
to the west, there are always several ranges of Sub-Himalayan hills,
and the zone is sometimes 60 miles wide. As the word central has
been already applied to a division of the mountains in the sense of
axial, and as distinguished from lateral, so the word middle will be used
in a transverse sense, as distinguished from terminal ; and thus the
contrast here indicated is between the terminal, north-western, portion
of the zone and the middle portion. We do not know enough of the
far eastern region to say whether there are any corresponding terminal
features in tbat direction. ^
The Simla region. — The discrepancies that have been mentioned in
the classification of the tertiary series on difBerent sections are chiefly
connected with this general change of the mountain features, and so
the position is one of special importance. For the older rocks, also, the
terminal area of the Lower Himalayas will be shewn to be of peculiar
interest, so it will be convenient to give this tract a distinguishing name
as the Simla region ; the name being, of course, derived from the favourite
hill station which stands in the middle of the area, on the watershed
between the Sutlej and the Jumna. It is here we find the original
type area of the Sirmiir series, where a remnant of these lower tertiary
formations has been elevated on the mai'gin of the Lower Himalayas.
To the east the series disappears altogether, and to the west it passes
down into the Sub-Himalayan zone. Corresponding to this elevation
of the lower tertiaries, we find here a total separation of them from the
upper series ; and there is evidence to suggest that the relation between
I The words inner and outer are of frequent use in tbe description of mountain
structure. With some writers they have reference to a point external to the range, to an
imaginary centre of dispersion of the disturhing action. In the text these words will be
used with reference to central (axial) j and as our description chiefly refers to the southern
face of the mountain region, this use will not conflict with that other sense of the words, for
from that point of view the wave of Himalayan disturbance is supposed to have come from
the north.
Longitudinal and transverse or lateral are also terms of frequent use in descriptions of
mountain structure ; they refer to directions with, or across, the axis of the range.
I I
530 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap, XXII.
the two is of the nature of an unconformity. Here, too, we find
evidence for at least a local unconformity in the upper tertiary, or Siwalik
series. It seems possible that these two important features may be
generally pharacteristic of the whole middle Himalayan area ; while
it is certain that to the north-west neither supposed unconformity is
maintained, and other structural features are introduced different from
any observed in .the middle area.
Order of description. — Following these indications, we will first
examine these apparently more decisive sections of the Simla region,
and then the other areas of the middle Himalayan ground to the east.
We will then return and describe the expanded tertiary zone to the north-
westj in the Kangra district and the Jamu (Jummoo) hills.
The Siemue area. — The typical area of the Sirmdr series is not
in the Sub- Himalayan zone, but on the margin of the Lower Himalayas,
at their extremity, where the boundary sweeps round to the north up to
the base of the Dhauladhar. At this edge of the mountains, convex to
the south-west, a remnant of the lower tertiary formations has been pre-
served, upraised on a basis of the old rocks. The occurrence forms
thus an exception to the complete correspondence between the expressions
Sub- Himalayan rocks and Sub- Himalayan area ; and we have to put up
with the anomaly of taking our type section of the lower series of the
Sub -Himalayan system from the Lower Himalayan area. Although
spoken of as a remnant, the formation here occupies a considerable extent
of ground, stretching from the Sutlej for 70 miles to the eastward to
within 15 miles of the Jumna, and locally as much as 10 miles wide.
AH the east end of the area is in the Sirmdr State, so this name has been
taken for the formation.
Unity of the formation. — In a more important sense than relative
. size, the tertiaries of the Sirmiir area are not properly a remnant. Al-
though the latest beds of the series are only found in a few places, they
form, with the lower deposits, a series of very complete facies and unity,
presenting a gradual passage, by interstratification, from exclusively calca-
rio-earthy marine beds at the base, ihrough clays and sandstones, to an
exclusively sandy band at top, in which fossil leaves of plants are locally
abundant, suggesting the natural local consummation of a continuous
process of deposition. This character is of much importance in discuss-
ing the relation to the Siwalik series immediately to the south,
Subathu, Dagshai, and Kasauli groups.— The nummulitie
rocks of Subathu were first described by Major Vicary in 1853 ' ; and
' Q. J. G. S., IX, 1853, p. 70.
Eitra-Peninsular.] suBATiiu, dagshai and kasauli groups.
531
the fossils collected by him were included in the Description des animaux
fossiles du Groupe Nwrnmulitiqwe de I'Inde (1853) by D'Archiac and
Haime, from which work the following list is taken. The authors
remark upon the great contrast between these fossils and those from the
nummulitic beds of the Salt Range and of Sind ; a contrast especially
shewn by the total want of corals, bryozoa, echinodermsj and crustaceans
in the collections from Subathu. This discrepancy may perhaps to some
extent be accounted for by the prevailing muddy character of the Sub-
Himalayan nummulitic deposits as compared with those to the south-west. ^
Gastebopoda.
Physa ? nummulitica.
e * Natica glaucinoides.
e* N. mutabilis.
e * N. Roualti.
e N- epiglottina.
N. cypraformis.
Turbo oldheimi.
Turritella suhathooensii.
T. suhfasciata.
Ceritkium jelwmense.
Ch sirachei/i,
Fanopeea ? suhelongata.
* Oorhula suhexarata.
Donax crassa.
Cyp>-ina ? subathooensis.
C. transversa.
C. semilunaris.
Verms gumberensis.
v. subgumberensis.
V. pseudonitidula,
V. everesti.
V. subeveresti.
C. hooheri.
Fusus malcolmsoni.
F. macclellandi.
F. obsrurus.
Rostellaria rimosa.
Sucrinum, sp. indet.
Vbluta multidentata ?
e Terebellum fusiforme.
e Ancellaria olivula.
Conus, 2 sp. indet.
Lamellibeanchiata.
V. subcyrenoides.
V. nucleus.
V. semicircularis.
* Cardita subcom/planata, var.
C depressa.
C. mutabilis.
Cardium jacquemonti.
Cyprieardia vicaryi.
C.faba.
Area, sp.
Avicula rutimeyri.
FOEAMINIFBEA.
e * Nummulites lucasana, var. I e * ..^. spira.
e* N. beaumonti. I
Those marked e occur in Europe.
* „ Sind.
' Complete reliance cannot be placed in the recorded distribution of these fossils. In
the brief stratigraphical sketch given on pages 175 and 176 of the work, there are several
important errors, none of which occur in Idajor Vicary's own accoimt (I. c.) published in
the same year j such as the occurrence of large mammalian fossils in beds immediately
overlying the nummulitics near Subathu. Reference was made to Major Vicary on these
points : he declared the statements to be erroneous, but could not explain the confusion
that appeared in the account of MM. D'Archiac and Haime, (Mem, G. S. I., Ill, pt. 2,
p. 93, note).
tiSii GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS, [Chap. XXII.
Tn the Sirmur area^ the prevailing rock of the Subathu group is a
iine, pale yellowish-brown, crumbling day with occasional calcareous
bands, or locally some thin beds of purer limestone ; dark-greenish shales
and sometimes harder sandy beds occur. Even within this small area the
thiclmess of the group varies from 200 to 1,000 feet, as well as can be
estimated in these very disturbed sections. At the top of the group, beds
of red clay or shale alternate with the typical Subathu rooks., and
more or less rapidly increase to the exclusion of the others, with the
introduction of thick beds of hard purplish sandstone. Thus a gradual
transition takes place into deposits of strikingly different aspect. The
Dagshai ridge is entirely made up of these red clays and hard purplish
sandstones of the middle Sirmur group, which must have a thickness
of 800 to 1,000 feet. The sandstone has quite the composition and
texture of the Siwalik rock, and when from any local cause it is less
indurated and has lost it? colour, the two are undistinguishable. The
red clays gradually disappear, and on the Kasauli ridge, and elsewhere,
we find some -600 to 800 feet of sandstone, with only occasional
partings of grey sandy shale, in which the leaves of plants are locally
abundant.!
The separation of the Kasauli and Dagshai horizons is, of course,
less marked and less significant than that of the Subd.thu group ; and
the two would go well together as upper Sirmurs, as distinguished frpm
the marine nummulitic deposits forming the lower part of the series. But,
as suggested already, the further distinction is important for purposes
of local comparison. A thickness of 2,000 feet is the least assignable for
the series in the Sirmdr area, the whole mountain mass being formed of
it, from the water level in the Sursulla, at an elevation of about 2,000 feet,
to the summit of Kasauli (6,335), within a horizontal distance of less
than two miles ; but the disturbance is everywhere excessive.
Eelation to the older rocks.— The first thing to notice is, that
the Sirmllr rocks in the Simla region do not rest upon the top group of
the older formations. All the strata are so tremendously crushed
together, and the junctions for the most part so steep, that the true
relation is not apparent at once. The newest group of the old, pre-
tertiary, rocks is nnquestionably the massive limestone, underlaid by a
great thickness of flaggy slates, forming the conspicuous hills of
' Two of these localities may be indicated : one is on the lower Mall, at Kasauli. at si,
projecting angle about a quarter of a mfle south of the water tunnel ; the other is some
miles north of Kasauli, on the Budi road, near the stream in the chief re-entering angle
on the east side of the main ridge. The leaves were roughly identified as belonging to the
natural families of Sapitidaeeee, Ericacea, LauraceiB, Moraceae, Cycadeacea, Conifera,
PalmacetB, Cyperacea^ and Oraminece. — Mem. G. S, I., Ill pt. 3, p. 97,
Extra-Peninsular. ] SECTION AT SUBATHU.
533
tbe Boj and the Kiol on the new road to Simla. The main tertiary
outlier lies tO' the south of the Bojj the junction passing under the
flank of this mountain and along two spurs, the opposite sides of which
are formed of highly contrasting formations, with converging dips,
flaggy slates on the north-east, and thick sandstone and red clays on
the south-west. But the deep valley hetween the Boj and Krol is also
occupied by tiie bottom tertiary deposits. In the very great majority
of exposed sections of the ciontact, it would be impossible to assert
positively that the existing relative positions are not due to faulting ;
but crucial sections are to be found ; and one such would be enough to
prove that the old rocks had been deeply denuded before the tertiary period.
Section at &ubathu. — ^Within the station of Subathu a typical
section of this kind is well exposed. The small flat space north of
the parade-ground is on a surface of soft nummulitic clay, the outcrop
of steeply compressed beds, on both sides of which the slaty flags pro-'
trude. Down the sides of the valley to the north-west the contact
can be followed continuously, and it is unmistakably an original
junction. The feature is a synclinal fold, and the same bottom layer
of the Subathu group, a peculiar pisolitic ferruginous clay, is in
contact with the slates throughout. The horizon of these slates is
many hundred feet below the base of the Krol limestone; it may
even be below the Blaini limestone, which is itself at least 1,000 feet
below the Krol : these details remain still to be worked out.
. Another very important relation is apparent in this section at
Subdthu : the same synclinal fold affects the slate series, approximately
the same layer being at the contact throughout ; from which conditions
we may certainly conclude that these slates were still approximately
flat at the beginning of the tertiary period. This zone of the moun-
tains is at present one of extreme contortion, most, if not all, of which
therefore dates from that late period.
There is other evidence from the Subathu sections that the prenum-
mulitie surface here was very, and snddenly, imeven. In the httle
section of local bottom beds near the parade-ground, including alto-
gether, perhaps, 200 feet in thickness, the red clays of the middle
Sirmiir, or Dagshai, type are already represented, and this group is found
in force ascending the ridge to the south-east j while in the steep flanks
of the ridge under Subdthu on the south-west, a much greater thickness
is found of the brown and olive clays and thin; limestone of the Subathu
group. A still greater thickness of these purely nummulitic beds
occurs in the sections along the south margin of the outlier, just inside
the main boundary. These facts sieem to indicate that there was here
534 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALATAS. [Chap. XXll.
some approach to a margin of the nummuhtic sea, the features of which
(whether shore or sea bottom) must have consisted of steeply scarped
flat masses of horizontal palseozoic strata. A reasonable objection to the
introduction of any actual shore here may be found in the total absence
of anything like a shore deposit along so steep a coast-line. Even small
pebbles are very rare in the Sirmrfr series at any ^joint, and the
Subathu group is almost exclusively made up of very fine mud, the
calcareous element being quite subordinate in it throughout the Sub-
Himalayan region.
Limits of the Sirmur area. — The lower tertiaries of the Sirmur
area do not quite form an outlier, as they are not completely cut off
from the Sub-Himalayan zone. A narrow band of Subathu beds, less
than a quarter of a mile wide, crossing the Sutlej at Dihar, connects the
Sirmrir area on the north-west with the innermost Sub- Himalayan zone
of the Kfingra area, where the nummulitic group soon disappears
altogether, and is covered by higher beds. To the south-east the
Sirm6r rocks have undergone the very opposite effect : owing to a general
elevation in that direction, the counterpart of the depression to the
north-west, they have been altogether removed by denudation; the
bottom beds are the last left, high on the ridge, about 10 miles east
by north from Nahan. The south boundary of this area is an exceed-
ingly regular and well-marked feature, an abrupt junction with the
younger tertiary formations. The nature of this boundary will form
an important subject of discussion in connexion with these latter rocks.
The inner boundary of the SirmArs in the Simla region is different from
any other connected with the Sub-Himalayan rocks : at a few places,
as along the south-easterly spur from the B6j mountain, the sandstones
and clays of the middle horizon occur abutting steeply against the
slates ; but for the most part the junction is found in low ground, with
the Subathu clays at the contact, almost always steep and much crushed j
and straggling extensions from the main area of the Subathu group can
be followed amongst the old rocks, as, for instance, the band passing north
of Subdthu nearly up to Solan, between the Boj and the Krol. Several
small outliers of bottom Subathu beds have also been observed, folded
up in the slates, as may be seen on the old Simla road, above the
Haripur rest-house, close to an outcrop of the Blaini limestone. Over
the whole of this area, the massive Krol limestone, and a great thickness
of the underlying slates, must have been denuded before the deposition
of the Subathu group.
Easternmost outlier of the nummulitic group.— This is the
fittest place to mention the one small outlier of the Subathu group that
Extra-Peninsular. ] siwalik series : nahan area. 535
has been observed east of the Sirmur area. A small patch of brown
nummulitic clay occurs near the village of Bon, in a depression of the
ridge of slates at the east end of the Dehra dtin over Rikikes. The
outHer is quite isolated, and some miles north of the Lower Himalayan
boundaiy. As this ground, east of the Ganges, has been little examined,
it is not unlikely that other such remnants may yet be found there ; but
any large area of these rocksj west of Nepalj would probably have been
brought to notice.
It is thus stiil an open question, whether the nummulitic formation
ever extended continuously along the southern face of the Himalayas,
for no vestige of it has been found in the Sub-Himalayan zone of the
middle region. The fact that the nearest known rocks of eocene age,
at the west end of the Assam range, in the Graro hills, are made up
exclusively of fine clays, precisely like those of Sub^thu, need only
suggest similarity of origin. In both positions there is a marked absence
of purely marine deposits] while in both cases these are introduced
extensively away fi'om the middle region, to the north-west beyond the
Jhelum, and to the east in the Khasi hills. The Assam range is, indeed,
outside the Himalayan border, but this border, as we know it, has been
in great measure defined in post-nummulitic times. It was, however,
approximately fixed, as now, in earliest Siwalik (Ndhan) times. Such
a change of feature implies a great break between the deposits preced-
ing and succeeding it ; and this is a suggested measure of the possible
separation of the Sirmur and Siwalik series in the Simla region and
throughout the middle Himalayas.
Siwalik series : Nahan area. — It was in this Nahan area that
by far the greater part of the original collections of Siwalik fos-
sils were made, on which account alone this ground must be considered
classical. It was here, too, that the study of these formations was first
taken up by the Survey ; and it so happens that the sections are peculiarly
favourable for observation ; or at least, features are here exposed that
have not as yet been observed elsewhere, and that certainly are generally
concealed. This exceptional character might indeed be reasonably
taken as an objection to considering this ground as a standard of inter-
pretation for any larger region ; however this may be, it is certain that
the facts here exposed give us the means of stating, in the clearest
manner, one important condition of this question of interpretation, upon
which the truth of our history of this mountain region must depend.
The area thus peculiarly circumstanced, in the neighbourhood of
Nahan, does not at all correspond in length with the adjoining Sirmlir
£36 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SUB-HIMALATAS, [Chap. XXII,
area. The latter extends to the Sutlej ; whereas, in the Sub-Himalayan
zone, the features of the western region begin where the boundary of the
Lower Himalayas first trends northwards, near Kalka. Just east of this
point the width of the Sub-Himalayan zone is at its lowest. The lower
Himalayas themselves are here somewhat protuberant southwards ; but
there is no exceptional compression of the upper tertiary rocks ; the
corresponding reduction in width of the fringing tertiary zone is effected
by the absence of any trace of a diin. From the west end of the
Kaidrda diin, which is the trans-Jumna continuation of the Dehra diin,
to the east end of the Pinjor dun, which is the cis-Sutlej continuation
of the Una dun, the outer Siwalik hills are • confluent, for a length
of nearly 30 miles, with those on the north of the Pinjor and Kaiarda
diins ; so that the junction of the rocks forming these distinct ranges
can be closely followed for that distance. It was from the examination
of this junction that a clear separation was proposed between a Siwalik
and a Nahan group. It is not yet proven that such a separation is not
maintained eastwards, throughout the middle Himalayan region j but it
certainly is not distinguishable on the extension to the north-west : and
so, a compromise has been adopted — to speak of the inner or Nahan
zone, and its representative rocks elsewhere, as Lower Siwaliks.
The Nahan, or Lower Siwalik rocks, forming the inner Sub-Himalayan
zone at NShan, consist mainly of massive grey sandstone, often spoken
of as the lignite sandstone, from its frequently containing small nests
and strings of fossil wood;, which from early times till now have given
rise to many sanguine reports of the discoveiy of coal. In deeper
sections red or purple clays occur, associated with thinner, harder,
darker sandstones, very like the rock of the Dagshai group. Owing to
the contorted and faulted condition of these rocks, and the rugged,
covered nature of the ground, accurate estimates of thickness are not
easily made : from 2,000 to 5,000 feet may be taken as limits.
The rocks forming the outer tertiary zone, the true Siwalik hills,
south of Ndhan, consist at top of Qonglomerates and brown clays
associated in very variable proportion, overlying a series of alternating
thick, soft grey sandstones, and red and yellow clays. The total thick-
ness may vary from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. In other ground the conglo-
meratic beds by themselves are at least 5,000 feet thick, with a similar
thickness of grey sandstone between them and the Nahan horizon..
These beds of the Siwalik hills proper will be distinguished — the conglo-.
merates as Upper, and the sandstones and clays as Middle Siwaliks ; even
if the separation should not be maintained by fossil evidence, the
s^ratigraphical distinction will be always necessary.
Extra-Peninsular. ] the nahan-siwalik boundary. 537
The Nahan-Siwalik boundary.— The junction of the Siwalik and
Nahan groups is first described, because it clearly exhibits important
characters that will be less confidently appealed to in the case of other
boundaries. The topmost beds (conglomerates and clays) of the gi-eat series
of deposits forming the outer hills, dip steadily towards the base of the
higher hills, formed of massive sandstones, and subordinate red clays of the
Nahan zone. The strike in both rocks is the same, but the dip is generally
higher on the inner side. Where the Markanda crosses the boundary
under Nahan, the general effect is well seen, and it closely resembles a
continuous ascending section ; so much so that the early discoverers of
the Siwalik fossils accepted it as such, taking the inner beds to be the
newer.
Upon a first recognition of the outer rocks as the newer, the imme-
diate conjecture would be that of a fault ; it is the explanation usually
applied to junctions such as this. The dips might first suggest a doubt,
for they certainly are not such as would, under ordinary conditions, result
in connection with faulting. Further examination raises other doubts :
the conglomerates of the outer beds are largely made up of stones very
like that of the rock forming the contiguous hills, which at once
suggests a break other than by faulting. Again, if the feature is due to
a fault, it must be one of great throw, but the outline of the boundary,
as traced through the hills, exhibits great and sudden irregularities, such
as are almost incompatible with a great master-dislocation. One
other test remains — that of the actual contact, which it is so rare to
find exposed to observation : at a short distance to the east of the
Markanda, and close to where the first symptoms appear of the begin-
ning of the Kaiarda dun, a clear section of the contact was found in
a gully at the base of the inner hills, shewing the tilted Siwalik
conglomerates abutting against a steep weathered surface of the older
sandstones, proving that at this point any faulting whatever is out of
the question.^
This is quite a crucial section, and until it is disposed of, it must
take a ruling part in our consideration of this great boundary question.
In any civilised, or even more accessible, country so critical an
observation would have been examined by many experts since it was
first noticed. That this has not been done is only an extra reason for
laying stress upon the point. A conjecture has been offered (by Mr.
Theobald) that the newer beds at the contact here are not true Siwaliks,
but the same as some beds at the top of the series in the Siwalik hills
east of the Jumna, and differing somewhat from the usual type of the
1 Mem. G. S. I., III., Pt. 2, p. 108.
538 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXII.
Siwalik conglomerates. This hint is worthy of notice, but it scarcely
affects the question at issue, for the beds indicated, whether we choose
to call them Siwalik or not, must be closely related to that series, as
being at least apparently conformable to it, and having undergone the
same disturbances, and must be totally distinct from any deposits formed
subsequently to the elevation of the outer range.i Thus we may say
that, for this portion of the ground, all the evidence, with one exception,
suggests that this boundary is not due to faulting. The exception is
the reversed lie of the plane of contact ; and it is evident that this
condition might be produced by lateral pressure upon an originally
normal face of deposition.
Another important point in the discussion of this boundary is, that no'
satisfactory identification has been made between beds on opposite sides of
it in this section at Nahan. If this should be correct, that in the great
thickness of rocks outside this boundary none of the inner rocks are re-
presented, the consequences that follow upon either interpretation of the
junction are rather startling : if it be a fault, the throw must amount to
several thousand feet ; and, if it be an original boundary, disturbance of
Sub-Himalayan (Siwalik) rocks, with denudation to a prodigious ex-
tent, must have taken place within the Sub- Himalayan (Siwalik) period,
involving great unconformity here between the upper and lower groups.
A compromise may be yet made out j but any possible identification of
the beds of the inner zone, in the rock-series of the outer zone, must be
low down in this latter series, and so would still leave a large break to be
accounted for by the fault or the unconformity, as may be ultimately
decided. It should be remembered that in such rapidly forming diluvial
deposits as those of the Siwalik formation, very great discrepancies might
occur between synchronous beds within short distances, so that great judg-
ment and a full consideration of many circumstances are needed in
deciding this question. An explanation of this peculiar unconformity
will be suggested in describing its disappearance westward, in the
Kangra region.
The most westerly point at which the peculiar Nahan-Siwalik junc-
tibn has been observed is in the SursuUa, below Kalka, where the
1 Because of doubts expressed regarding this section, although no one, that I know
of, has examined the spot indicated, I have wished much for an opportunity to re-
visit it. Such an occasion, after a lapse of 18 years, has occurred within the last three
months, since the ahove remarks were written. The position lies on the path to Khairwala
from the Eajah's garden on the Markanda, near the village of Tib. I was disappointed to
find that no section of the contact is now exposed, but on this point I never had any doubts
of the accuracy of my original observation. I have, however, satisfied myself again that
the outer rocks at the contact are the regular Upper Siwalik strata. — H. B. M.
Extra-Peninsular. ] THE NAHANSIRMUR BOUNDARY. 539
massive horizontal Upper Siwalik conglomerate, forming the surface
of the Pinjor diln, takes a strong dip towards its junction with the
highly inclined sandstones of the inner zone. Beyond this no contact-
section of the Upper Siwaliks has been observed on the north side of
the dun for more than 50 miles, to near the Sutlej, where everything is
changed, and the conglomerates are nearly vertical, having a slight
south-westerly underlie, and are thus in apparent continuous sequence
with hard Lower Siwalik rocks forming the ridge of the inner zone.
This Sutlej section belongs to the Kangra area.
The continuation to the east is more doubtful : at this end of the ex-
posed contact in the Ndhan hills, the tilted conglomerates at the boundary
pass on to form the crest of the range on the south side of the Kaiarda
dfin, and flatten out to form its floor ; but no near sections of the junc-
tion with the rocks of the Nahan zone are visible.
The Nahan-Sirmur boundary.— Within the Nahan area the junc-
tion of the Siwalik and Sirmur series corresponds with what we shall con-
stantly refer to as the main houndary ; for we may fairly give this name
to the most persistent and striking structural feature of the whole
mountain region — the abrupt junction of the slaty or schistose rocks of
the mountains with the rocks of the Sub- Himalayan zone. The correct
interpretation of this line of junction is a first step towards understanding
the history of the mountains. The scarcely disputed admission, that the
Sub-Himalayan deposits are in great part made up of Himalayan debris,
is at least suggestive that the present boundary may have had some-
thing to do with the original one ; but the closer inspection of the
feature seems always to deter from any further encouragement of this
view : the appearance is nearly always that of a reversed fault, the outcrop
of the plane of junction in the bottom of the valley being generally
inside a line connecting the outcrops of the same plane on the adjacent
spurs j and consequently this plane of junction between tertiary and
Himalayan beds is inclined towards the mountains. It is only through the
Sirmur rocks iu the Simla region that we can bring any direct argument
to bear upon this question. Elsewhere there are no terms of comparison
between the rocks on opposite sides of this sharp line ; whereas here the
beds on either side unquestionably belong to the same great tertiary
series. We have seen that the upper Sirmiir beds themselves exhibit
strongly the type of the Sub-Himalayan deposits, and are also presum-
ably derived from the same source — denudation of the Himalayan area.
The question again turns upon the part taken by faulting. If this
main boundary is a joo«<-Siwalik fault, we might expect to be able
to identify some of the beds on opposite sides. The conditions are
640 GEOLOGY OP INDIA-SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXII.
altogether favourable for such a recognition : the highest beds on the
upthrow side are sufficiently distinctive, and the beds on the down-
throw side are thoroughly turned up and eroded ; yet there is no
approach to a resemblance ; on the contrary, clays become more and more
frequent as we get deep in the Lower Siwalik (Ndhan) group, and we-
have seen that the top beds of the Sirmurs are exclusively sandstone. No
trace of the very distinctive nummulitic clays has ever been seen south
of the junction, or as fault-rock in the supposed faulted boundary.-
These arguments may, of course, be met by magnifying the throw
of the supposed fault, so that the Sirmur rocks should be completely
buried out of sight to the south : or a more plausible objection might be
raised, that as the outcrops we bring into comparison are for the most
part at a considerable distance from the fault, and at a still greater
distance from each other, the correspondence cannot be expected; for
theoretically, the agreement demanded only holds exactly for the beds
originally continuous across the dislocation. It might thus be sug-
gested that the plant-bearing sandstones of Kasauli belong to the same
horizon as the Lower Siwalik clays, or the lignite sandstone. Those
who have examined the rocks are least disposed to adopt this supposi-'
tion ; and unless one or other of these views is adopted, the argument is
binding in favour of this main boundary being an original line of junc--
tion, however modified by the subsequent compression to which even
the Upper Siwaliks have been subjected.
This conclusion would establish for the middle Himalayan region
a very great unconformable break between the upper and lower ter-
tiaries — the Siwalik and the Sirmur series. It would shew that a great
elevation took place, with deep erosion, along the margin of the Lower
Himalayan region, in the interval between these formations.
In the case of the Nahan-Siwalik boundary in the Simla region
another argument, besides that founded on the contrast of the strata
on opposite sides of the junction, was used to shew that the present
boundary coincided with the original margin of deposition, and was not
a line of fault. This argument was, the very broken direction of the
boundary-line. Similar observations apply to the main boundary : the
Dehra dun occupies a great bay in the Lower Himalayan area, so that a line
joining the termination of the Sirmiir beds in Sirmdr to the small outlier
of the same beds east of the Ganges, would touch the Siwalik range south
of Dehra; and within this bay the main boundary exhibits several sharp-
bends, not traceable to cross-faults. Such twists would be scarcely com-
patible with a great dislocation having several thousand feet of throw, as
this boundary must have, if it is to be regarded as a post- Siwalik fault.
Extra-Peninsular. ] JUMNA-GANGES AEEA, 541
The Jumna-Ganges area. — Althougli few of the Siwalik fossils
were obtained east of the Jumna, it was here the name took its
origin, as adopted by Colonel Cautley from Shih-wdla, the native name for
the range separating the Dehra dun from the plains. A more typical
Siwalik range could not have been chosen. The axis of the normal anticlinal
flexure runs close along the outer edge of the ridge, the beds to the south
of the anticlinal having been much denuded, except at the end near the
Ganges, where there is a pretty full remnant of the steep southerly
dipping beds, gradually becoming vertical in the conglomerates of the
little hills west of Hardwar.
Composition in relation to the great rivers. — By comparing
this range with its representative in the adjoining region to the west, we
find an illustration of the fact already mentioned, — how the Siwalik depo-
sits vary according to their position relatively to the great rivers. The con-
trast between the rocks of the outer range on opposite sides of the Jumna
is so great, that it has been doubted if they can be equivalent ; to the west,
throughout the Nahan area, clays enter largely into the section, and the
conglomerates are made up of the debris of the rocks forming the higher
hills immediately to the north, principally the sandstone of the Ndhan
and the Sirmur groups ; whereas in the range between the Ganges and
Jumna, clays are very subordinate, and the conglomerates are composed
of the hardest quartzite pebbles, just like the shingle now. found in the
great mountain torrents. This portion of the range is, in fact, an ancient
diluvial fan of the rivers Tons, Jumna, and Ganges. The Jumna, after
its confluence with the Tons, now flows very obliquely across the dun, and
passes through the outer range far to the west of the point, where it
leaves the high mountains, having had to double round the immense accu-
mulation of hard materials it had formerly laid down in front of that
gorge. The passes of both the Jumna and Ganges in the Siwalik range
are now strongly marked by cross-fractures of the rocks, -with contrast-
ing dips on opposite sides ; but it is more likely that the rivers helped to
determine the position of these fractures, than the reverse; for the rivers
have not ceased to flow here since pre-Siwalik times : when the first
elevation Set in, the rivers had to take to channels of erosion; and when
the fracturing forces took effect, these lines of erosion were the positions
of least resistance.
Identification of beds in the two zones.— The identification made
by Colonel Cautley^ of certain beds at the south base of the cis-Jumna«
1 Trans. Geol. Soc, London, 2nd Series, Vol. V, p. 271 ; J. A. S., B, 1834, Vol. III. 528.
a The prefixes cU and Uans are used in Upper India with reference to the older British
possessions in Eastern India. Cis- Jumna consequently means east of Jumna ; trans-Jumna,
west.
542 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SUB-HIMALA.YAS. [ Chap. XXII.
ransre with, some beds of the inner zone at Nahan is- well worth
attention. Taking the Nahan beds, by reason of their apparent position,
as the highest in that section, he accounted for the non-appearance east
of the Jumna of the more f ossiliferous strata of the west, by the smaller
upheaval in the former position. As already explained, the reverse is the
case ; and the beds in question, in which fossils were found, at the entrance
to the Kalawala pass (cis- Jumna), the same as in the Nahan beds, are
probably older than any in the outer range trans-Jumna. A closer
search might detect the suspected unconformity between these beds -at
the south end of Kalawala pass and the overljnng Siwalik sandstones.
The greater abundance of fossils in the range trans- Jumna than cis- Jumna
may easily be due to the contrasting nature of the deposits.
Suggested connection of the two zones in this area. — The
complete confirmation of the identification mentioned in the last paragraph,
need not disturb the view given of the equivalence of the outer ranges
on opposite sides of the Jumna ; but this equivalence has been questioned.
Throughout th.e dun east of Dehra there is no representative of the
Nahan range, any remnant of these rocks being covered by a great
bank of detritus ; but in the western dun this inner ridge of the Sub-
Himalayas is well defined, and in the Nun, under Mansuri (Mus-
sooree), there is a peculiarly puzzling section. The stream, as usual,
has cut a steep narrow gorge through the flanking ridge of the massive
lignite sandstone, here nearly vertical, but with a slight inward underlie ;
and just below the gorge there is in the low banks a nearly continuous
section of seemingly conformable beds, in which the sandstone becomes
pebbly, and gradually alternates with strong beds of tonglomerate, the
northerly underlie being steady throughout. According to the universal
order in all normal sections, conglomerates always increase in the upper
beds, so this section in the Ndn must be an inverted series, and it
most resembles that in the range south of the ddn.
If this link should be confirmed, we should have to recast the view
sketched above regarding the relations of the cis- and trans-Jumna
Siwaliks ; for there is every reason to suppose that the massive sandstone
of the Niin is the same as that of Nahan, with which it may be said to
be continuous. There would then be much plausibility in the view once
advocated by Mr. Theobald (in an unpublished report), that the original
Siwalik hills are chiefly composed of Nahan rocks, and that the more
fossiliferous and newer ti'ans-Jumna Siwaliks are not represented to
the east of the river, having been denuded away, or else never upheaved.
The alternative interpretations, to reconcile the Niin section with
the current opinion of the equivalence of the outer Siwaliks on both
Extra-Peninsular.] NEPAL AREA. 543
sides of the Jumna, would be — to suppose that theNiln conglomerates are
true top beds of the NShan group, and quite different from those of the
outer range ; or else, to suppose a break, by a concealed fault, in the
apparently regular sequence between them and the lignite sandstone.
The question must be worked out on the ground : though it is needfid
to point it out, it would be out of place to discuss it further in these
pages.^
The Gahewal and Kumatjn akba. — These hill districts correspond
with the Biohilkand division of the plains, between the Ganges and the
Nepal frontier. This ground has sSarcely been looked at. "Within ten
miles east of the Ganges the Siwalik rocks proper are well represented,
and a. narrow belt of Nahan beds separates them from the slaty rocks of
the Lower Himalayan mountains. Further east, the outer range, and the
rocks forming it, seem to be generally absent ; and the inner hills, formed
of the massive sandstones supposed to belong to the lower Siwalik or
Nahan group, become very prominent. The steady north-easterly dip pre-
vails, wherever observations have been made. In General Strachey's
paper on this part of the Himalayas ^ a very important observa-
tion is recorded, that the trap-rock of the Lower Himalayas enters the
sandstone of the Sub-Himalayan zone. The position is in the Gola
river south of Bhimtal. No fact of the kind has been noticed elsewhere.
Operations have been undertaken to smelt iron on a large scale from
an ore concentrated in the red clays at the base of these hills under
Naini Tal. Similar ferriferous clay is known to occur near Ndhan, and
again in the same rocks far to the east in Sikkim.
Nepal akea^.— For a length of 500 miles the kingdom of Nepdl
completely arrests all study of Himalayan geology, with the exception
of the single track to Kathmandu (Katmandoo), and a small area around
the valley. On this track very complete representatives are found of the
two Sub- Himalayan ranges and their intervening ddn or mdri, as the
valley is called here. The Churiaghati range is structurally a facsimile
of the original Siwaliks. At the outer base, at Bichiako, there are some
earthy rusty beds, all greatly crushed. The dip soon settles down to 30° to
north-north-west, maintaining the same angle steadily to the top of the
pass.
1 Salt-pans were once set up on a small scale in the gorge of the Nun : it is not
known whether this enterprise was started on the strength of the name nun. (salt), or on
account of the efflorescence that is often locally abundant on exposed Surfaces of the lignite
sandstone, or on the trust of some tradition of the occurrence of rock-salt.
= Q. J. a S., L, 1851. Vol. VII, p. 296.
3 Kec. G. S. I., 1875, VIII, p. 93.
544 GEOLOGY OF INDfA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap, XXII.
This is the typical structure of these detached Sub- Himalayan ranges,
the flat inner half of a normal anticlinal flexure. The range is about four
miles wide, which would give an aggregate thickness of about 10,000 feet
of rockr The pass, as is universal in these ranges, follows the broad bed of
a torrent to near the summit, where the road turns up a steep gully,
partly artificial.
The lower half of the section is sand, and the upper half conglo-
merate. In the Siwaliks of the North -West the passage between these
two rocks is gradual and alternating ,■ in the Chiiriaghati section it
was noticed that the change is rapid and complete, from an almost
unbroken mass of fine grey sand to an equally uniform mass of pale
yellowish-brown conglomerate. This may not be a point of any import-
ance ; but special notice was made of the exceedingly fresh aspect of
these deposits as compared with the rocks of the original Siwalik
range, — a point that may have some meaning in connexion with Mr.
Theobald's suggestion, already mentioned, that the latter rocks may
belong to the Nahan horizon. In this respect the rocks of the Chiiria-
ghati range more resemble those of the outermost hills of the trans-
Jumna region.
This same newness of aspect may be noticed in comparing the
Churiaghati rocks with those of the inner Sub-Himalayan range on
the north side of the dun at Etaunda (the rest-house on the road to
Kathmandu) , in order to represent the apparent impossibility of the
two ranges being a repetition of the same rock-series; and hence the
presumption that their junction is not a fault. In the Rapti, immediately
under Etounda, there are outcrops of the rusty sandy clays and
greenish-grey hard sandstone at the base of the section to the north.
They dip at 60° to north by east. Wherever observed along the
road, this dip (with slight variation in amount) was found constant, and
there is but little change in the character of the rock. Clays occur,
but very subordinately ; the sandstone becomes somewhat softer in the
higher beds, and there are here several layers of thin conglomerates.
It is clearly a normal ascending section, and in no particular is there
any near resemblance to the series of the outer range. The section
here is about two miles wide, which would give a thickness of about
10,000 feet, there being nothing to suggest repetition by faulting or
flexure. As usual, the contact with the rocks of the mountain is
concealed.
Regarding the interpretation of this section : we might explain the
• actual difBerence of composition by the presumable difference in successive
zones of one great belt of torrential deposits) and the actual differences of
Extra-Peninsular.] UPPER ASSAM AREA. 545
texture by the presumable greater induration of the inner band, and
thus make out that the two rock-series were originally continuous and
equivalent, and that their present relation must be due to a great fault.
The impression made on the observer was decidedly against that equiva-
lence J and hence, that the present relative position is, like that in
the Nahan section, to a great extent aboriginal.
SiKKiM AND Bhijtan akbas.^ — Throughout the Sikkim and Bhdtdn
Du^rs there is no representative of the Siwalik hills (the outer zone of
the Sub-Himalayas) ; and in two places the Sub- Himalayan rocks are
altogether absent, or concealed.^ One of these gaps, about 10 miles wide,
is just south of Baling Fort, and corresponds to a marked promontory of
the older rocks of the mountains. The other gap is much longer, from the
Jaldoka to beyond the Tursa, a distance of 40 miles, and throughout this
area also the base of the mountains is prominent and irregular. It seems
probable (see p. 522) that the absence of the tertiary sandstones in this
ground is due to their partial removal, and the complete concealment of
the denuded outcrops by the great gravel deposits that are here accu-
mulated at the foot of the hills. There is nothing in the old rocks
to suggest their former greater extension in this position : the Damuda
rocks also are absent, but here, as elsewhere, the same belt of slaty
formations separates the gneissic rocks from the plains.
Inclose proximity to these gaps, the hills and rocks of the inner Sub-
Himalayan zone are in full force, shewing no tendency to thin out
towards those blank areas. In the Mahanadi the thickness is estimated
by Mr. Mallet as 11,000 feet, and the characters are the same as noticed
elsewhere ; soft massive grey sandstone being the prevailing rock, with
occasional clunchy clays, especially towards the base, where these are
sometimes highly ferruginous. Nests of poor lignite, and even small broken
seams, occur in the sandstones. The upper beds are often conglo-
meratic, sometimes coarsely so. In all there is a prevailing dip towards
the mountains, so the highest beds occur next the main boundary, but
no actual contact- section of this feature has been described. It is clear,
however, that whatever explanation of it can be made out elsewhere
wiU apply here also.
Upper Assam aeea.— To the east of Bhutan the Himalayas north
of the Assam vaUey are occupied by various tribes of savages, and the
only observations worth mentioning of that ground are those made by
' MaUet : Mem. G. S. I., 1874, XI, p. 45.
' First noticed by Colonel Godwin-Austen, J. A. S. B., XXXVII, p. 117.
k1
5-16 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap., XXII.
Colonel Grodwin- Austen^ in the Daphla hills of the Dikran^ basin, ad-
joining the Parrang and Lakhimpnr districts of Upper Assam. Here
again there are two well-marked ranges of Sub-Himalayan hills, with
an intervening ddn. Each range is formed of a normal anticlinal
flexure, directed from the mountains,^ just as at the. base of the North-
western Himalayas j and the inner range is, at least in great part, formed
of older beds than the outer one. Here, too, nests of lignite are of
frequent occurrence in the sandstone. ^
The same lignite sandstones have been observed more to the east,
north of Dibrugarh, with the usual high northerly dip.^ '
1 J. A. S. B, 1875, XLIV, p. 35.
' i. «., having the axis-plane sloping towards the mountains (see note, p. 528).
= Mem. G. S. L, IV, p. 393.
Extra-Peninsular.] TERMINAL SUB-HIMALAYAS. 54,7
CHAPTEE XXIII.
EXTEA-PENINSULAR AEEA.
SUB-HIMALAYAS — {contiwued.)
Tekminal SuB-HiMAtiXAa : Thb KisraBA abba — Genei;al structure — The Ghambar-
Basauli fault — The Kosari and Badsar-Nurpnr faults — Extinction of the Nahan-Siwalik
boundary — The Sutlej at Bubhdr — Local extinction of the N&han-Sirmiir boundary
— Difficulties of classification in the Kangra area — Bubh6r and Beldspur sections
compared — Doubtful beds in the Sirmur zone — Want of fossils — The base of the
Dhauladhdr — North-western termination of tlje Kingp-a area — The Mandi rock-salt.
The Jamtj abba — Boundaries — Special feature — Sirmfir zone at the Ravi —
Western expansion of the Sirmur zone — Inliers — Characters of the Subithu group —
Tertiary-palaeozoic relation — Compaj-isott with sections of the Simla region — Doubtful
newer rocks of the Sirmur zone — Other general features of the Sirmur zone —
Sirmur-Siwalik boundary — The Basauli-Naiishera fault — Eiassi conglomerates — The
outer SiwaUk zone. . Summaet.
Terminal Sub-Himalayas : Kangra area. — In the last chapter
the Sub-Himalayan rocks were traced from the typical Simla area
to ^their eastern extension in Assam ; we have now to return to the
North-West Himalayas and examine the sections to the west of the Simla
region,'' The great and rapid expansion of the tertiary zone to the
north-west corresponds with the extinction of the Lower Himalayan
region. Erom about half-way between Ndhan and Kdlka the " main
boundary " bends steadily inwards, and continues this northerly course
for nearly 80 miles, to the base of the Dhauladhar ridge, which is
directly on the prolongation of the main snowy range of the middle
Himalayas. The Sub-Himalayan ranges are for the most part unaffected
by this bend of the main boundary; and thus the grbund on the
prolongation of the Lower Himalayas is occupied by tertiary rocks, 60
miles wide inside. Hoshiarpur. , The greater part of this area, up to
the Ravi, is in the Kangra district ; but this geological field, designated
as the" Kangra area, must be understood to begin east of the Sutlej,
1 It would be impossible to give any idea of the structure of this ground without
mentioning features and localities that are not iridicated on the small map accompanying
this work : it wUl therefore be difficult to foUow these descriptions without reference to a
larger map (see note, p. 560),
548 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXII.
about the east end of the Pinjor (or Kalka) ddn. The Sutlej and the
Bias flow westwards^ across the terminal boundary of the Lower Hima-
layas, and traverse the duns and ridges of the Kangra area in very
zig-zag courses.
General structure. — The outer SiwaHk range of the Kangra
area is continuous with that of the Nahan area j so it will appear that
the great spread of tertiary rocks to the north-west takes place for the
most part on the prolongation of the ^ahan, or inner Sub- Himalayan,
zone of the middle Himalayan region. Both boundaries of this zone,
as lines of contact of dissimilar rocks, change in character and disappear ;
and in the middle of the expanded zone new features supervene, flexures
and great faults, unlike anything as yet observed in the ground to
the east.
A more peculiar feature of the terminal Sub-Himalayas is the intro-
duction of an inner zone of oldest tertiaries, not represented at aU ia
the middle Himalayas, but on the prolongation of, and actually con-
tinuous with, the Sirmlir series, on the margin of the Lower Himalayas
iri the Simla region. The Sutlej may be given as the point where
the Sirmiir rocks take their place as belonging to the Sub-Himalayas ;
and a great change rapidly supervenes in the aspect of all the rock-
features. In all the zones the introduction of apparently higher beds
to the north-west is the rule.
It has been already observed that our representation of the Sub-
Himalayan series depends mainly upon the interpretation put upon
certain leading structural features peculiar to ^ueh mountain regions,
and which are markedly homologous in all the formations ; our atten'
tion must therefore be principally turned upon those features ; and as
their characters are perhaps best exhibited ia their less extreme form,
among the newer rocks, the rule observed in this work, to proceed
from the oldest to the newest, cannot be followed.
The Ghambar-Basauli fatilt. — At the east end of the Pinjor
dun, in the section of the Mangrad, south-south-east of K^lka, the
Nahan zone is scarcely a quarter of a mile wide ; the strata are vertical,
and aU of the lower type noticed in the Nahan section, hard purpUsh
sandstones and red clays. North-north-west of Kalka, rocks of this
stamp, in a very contorted condition, form a confused congeries of hills
in the Mailog and Nalagarh States. About Khadi,- close to the main
boundary, on the Subathu and Budi road, higher beds occur, paler,
softer, coarser sandstones; and there is the beginning of a distinct
feature, a' faulted synclinal flexure, diverging steadily from the main
boundary to the north-west. In this direction the character of the
Extra-Peninsular.] THE KANGRA AREA. 549
dislocation becomes rapidly developed, and in the valley of the Ghambar
it is perfectly defined as a great fault, thick conglomeratic sandstones
dipping steeply to the north-east towards, or under, deep red clays and
hard sandstones. It follows a remarkably straight course across the
Sutlej, through the Kangra district, to Basauli on the E,dvi, and thence
to Riassi on the Chinab, where it again joins the outer Sirmur boundary,
after a course of nearly 200 miles. It is well seen at many places, as in
the Banganga river near the main road to Kdngra ; about Kotleh on the
Bhagsu-Nurpiir road, and at Basauli on the Ravi. The actual contact is
always disguised, but there can scarcely be a doubt that it is a great
fault, of the reversed order that is most usual in these mountain
sections : the strata on opposite sides are nearly parallel to each other,
the upthrow is persistently on the inner side, and so the newer rocks
in .normal order (i. e., not inverted) actually underlie the older; as if
in a double folded flexure the upper side of the anticlinal had subsided
on, or been pushed over, the lower side of the synclinal limb, the contor-
tion itself having been removed by denudation.
At Jualamuki on this line of fissiire there is a temple buUt in which
flames issue continuously from the ground round the base of the idol.
At Lunsu, under Dalhousie, there is a mineral spring on this same line of
dislocation.
The Kosari and Badsar-Nurpur faults. — South of the
Ghambar, the complex range of the Ndlagarh hills continues up to the
Sutlej, where two lines of dislocation take their rise and result in
steady, well-defined ridges to the north-west. The southernmost of
these lines is known as the Kosari fault, from a village on the bank of
the Sutlej at the north end of the Bubhor gorge ; it is comparatively
a minor feature, running down the centre of the compacted group of
ridges into which the Parwain range is divided on the south-east. The
Badsar fault, called after a village 30 miles from the Sutlej, at the
north base of this same range of hills, is a principal structural feature
of the trans-Sutlej Sub-Himalayas, being continuous for 300 miles up
to and beyond the Jhelum. It clearly originates in an anticlinal
flexure, and is again recognisable as such at several points of its course,
as at Nurpiir ; sometimes the dislocation is small, but, as a rule, there is
much faulting ; and towards the Sutlej the downthrow is on the north
side. The Nadaun dun lies in a trough between the Badsar and
Ghambar faults.
These great lines of dislocation determine the chief features of the
upper tertiary zone of the North-West ; and we have seen that they are
quite unconnected with any feature of the tertiary zone of the middle
550 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
Himalayas. With, the intrbduction of these new features, characteristic
of the north-western region, the two chief structural features of the
Sub-Himalayas in the middle region — the N^han-Siwalik and Nahan-
Sirmur boundaries — become extinct. These boundaries have siheady
been interpreted as primarily unconformities, marking decided divisions
in the tertiary series ; and thus we already find established, in the middle
of the Kangra area, the difficulty to be confronted throughout the tertiary
Series of the North- West, the absence of any well-marked stratigraphi-
cal horizons.
Extinction of the NahaniSiwalik boundary.— This boundary, as
described to the east (p. 537),;witTi top Siwaliks abutting at various angles
against crushed Nahan beds kloiig a very zig-zag' line of junction, con-
tinues all along ihe Pinjor dlin to beyond Nalagarh, 16 miles north-east
6f Rupar (Roopur), where lofty terraces of brown Siwalik clays lie flatly
close up to the ridge of crushed red N^han rocks. Seen in such juxta-
position as this, the possibility of a conformable transition between the
two would appear out of the question j yet <such is apparently the case
within 15 miles to the north-west. North of Anandpur, low flanking
hills, formied of these same upper Siwali|c strata, turned up and vertical,
rise in front of the ridge of the red rpeks. A section is recorded just
north of Nanowal (close to Anandpur), where the very strata forming
the dKn turn up, within a spa<3^^ 100 yards, from being horizontal to
a dip of 80° to south-west ; in the section to the north they pass down
into the ^rey rocks bf the middle Siw'aliks. On this section, under
Naina Devi peak, 'there is still an abrupt, probably faulted, contact of
the grey arid the red rOcks, all being parallel and vertical ; but on the
continuation of the same strike, where the Sutlej cuts a deep gorge
through the ridge, and the section is fully exposed, it is impossible to
draw a line between the two types of rock. Within 10 miles farther
to the north-west any semblance of a coritinii'ation bf the original Nahan-
Siwalik' boundary is lost j the dip flattens, and the Naina Devi ridge, as
defined by a core of the harder rocks, disappears, all the strata rolling
over round the end of the ridge.
In the annexed figures an attempt is made to. illustrate the inter-
pretation put upon the observed facts. Throughout the western region
superficial features of the same character as those on section B, between
a and c, are interpreted as great faults ; where beds several thousand feet
apart in geological position are found in abrupt contact. The reasons
for taking such a totally different view of like features in the eastern
sections are : 1st, that the horizontal features (the outlines in plan)
of the jimction are strikingly difEererit ; in the west they observe a
Sxtra-Peninsular. ] THE kangra area. 551
straight or very flatly curved course throughout great distances, while in
the Simla region the Nahan-Siwalik boundary is extremely and sharply
irregular in dire'ction ; and 2ndly, one section of the actual contact was
observed here, giving independent and absolute evidence against faulting
in that position. The reading to be taken from these sections is, that the
disturbance began earlier, or progressed much more rapidly, in the east, and
took effect as elevation over a broader area, entailing a greater denuda-
tion of the lower group along the axis and in its neighbourhood ; while in
the west the disturbance took effect as greater compression of the flexure
and a more contracted elevation. In both cases deposition progressed
continuously and conformably in the adjoining ground, and the latest
accumulations gradually overlapped the denuded eastern area, pro-
ducing extreme local unconformity along a narrow belt of outcrop,
while the same beds in the western section became involved in the
continued compression of the flexure at that point.
The Sutlej at Bubhor. — The explanation just given of the change
in the Nahan-SiwaJik boundary, and its disappearance westwards, may
seem somewhat fanciful, invblAring extreme unbonf ormity and continuous
sequence of strata within a very narrow space ; but we find in this very
ground, in one of the sections compared (that of the Sutlej through the
Naina Devi ridge at Bubhor), most remarkable independent proof of that
slow, creeping action of the disturbing forces which is all that is required
for the result claimed. The same facts will furnish a very striking
instance of the statement akeady made regarding the composition of the
Siwalik rocks in relation to the actual rivers, and the pre-Siwalik age of
the segreat drainage channels.
The Upper Siwaliks at Bubhor are entirely formed of coarse
conglomerates, just like the shingle in the river bed; and the grey
middle Siwaliks are pebbly throughout, all being vertical as in the
figured section Aj while within 5 to 10 miles on either side of the
river, common brown clays constitute the bulk of the upper group, con-
glomerates being quite subordinate. The same distribution of deposits
is observable in the outer Siwalik range, the case being analogous to
that already described for the Jumna and the Siwaliks of Dehi-a (p. 541). ^
Instead df making a passage through the strong conglomerates opposite the
gorge at Bubhor, the river has crept round by Rup£r, where the strata
forming the range are altogether clays. It seems impossible to avoid
the inference, that the Siwalik conglomerates of Bubhor were formed when
already the Sutlej had been fixed in its present position by a gorge
in the axis of the Naina Devi ridge, formed of the tilted Nahan, or
Lower Siwalik strata, which are still an apparent conformity with the said
conglomerates.
552 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
This is not a conjectural inference, as in the case of the boundaiy,
but one that scarcely admits of an alternative ; as it would be more
wonderful still to suppose that the river kept its position throughout all
that disturbance, without any initial obligatory point in the neighbour-
hood above Bubhor. Besides, the deposits in question are such as are
only found near the mouth of a torrential gorge. After that gorge was
first marked out in the rising flexure of the Nahan strata, the river must
have scattered its boulders and gravel over a wide space on either side ;
while at the same time the flexure was steadily encroaching, and so slowly
as not to break the continuous parallelism of the series, the lowest bed
of which may have been vertical before the highest was deposited. The
required result can easily be imagined with the aid of the figured section,
page 550: a greater concentration of the flexure would change the local
overlap-unconformity in figure B into the apparent conformity of
figure A.^
This conclusion as to the age of the Naina Devi ridge, the second (from
the outside) of the Siwalik ranges on the Stitlej, must bear some weight
in the discussion of the equivalence or otherwise of certain analogous
or homologous deposits, external or internal to that range. But it must
not be forgotten in this connexion, that this case of the Nahan-Siwalik
boundary has suggested a longitudinal as well as a transverse progressibn
in the disturbing action, so that analogous deposits on the same continu-
ous zone need not be, or cannot be, strictly equivalent in time, any more
than exactly similar deposits in the several successive homologous
zones.
Extinction of the Nahan-Sirmur boundary— The Nahan-Sirmrfr
boundary of the Simla region and of the Nahan area is one and the same
as the main boundary of the middle Himalayas (p. 528) — the junction of the
tertiary Sub-Himalayan formations with the old rocks of the higher moun-
tains. The presence of the Sirmdr outlier on the Lower Himalayas of the
Simla region does not alter this condition, which continues in force for
some distance into the Kangra area. For a length of 20 miles near
the Sutlej a ridge of old limestone, along this junction, separates the
Sirmur outKer from the Sub- Himalayan zone. Near Belaspur this ridge
trends to east of north, and Sirmur rocks take its place at the boundary,,
while the ridge crosses the Sutlej at Dihar; but just beyond the river
it dies out in the raidst of nummulitic clays.
The presence of the Sirmiir rocks, composed in their upper measures
of distinctly Sub-Himalayan deposits, enabled us to discuss the nature of
1 The necessary distortion of these sections, to make the lines visible, gredtly reduces the
verisimilitude of the features.
Extra-Peninsular. J THE KANGRA AREA. 553
this main boundary, with the result that it is probably of pre-N5han
origin. Evidence to the same effect is found on the continuation of the
boundary up to the Sutlej. Although the lower Siwalik (N^han) rocks
of the MaUog and Nalagarh hills are greatly disturbed and deeply eroded,
no trace of the distinctive rocks of the contiguous Sirmurs has been
detected ; on the contrary, we find here strong additional evidence of the
asserted unconformity in the eastern region. Although clearly on the
prolongation of the Niihan_zone, the rocks of the Mailog hills do not
olosely resemble the corresponding rocks of the Nahan areaj the massive
lignite sandstone is not developed, red clays and hard sandstones pre-
vail, like those at the base of the section at Nahan, and where higher beds
occur, they are different from any seen to the east. They come in gradu-
ally along the , main boundary, and are in force in the valley of. the
Gamrola and at the Sutlej. They consist principally of thick conglo-
meratic sandstones, and the debris is largely composed of Sirmiir rocks^
including the Subdthu nummulitics. Thus it is clear that the older
tertiaries were indurated and undergoing denudation at the time when
these Gamrola conglomerates were deposited. Whether these latter are
really of lower Siwalik age is a point upon which some remarks will be
presently made.
The boundary continues in a very direct line nearly due north, for some
20 miles beyond the Sutlej, into the basin of the Bias. The contrasting
■characters are well displayed nearly^ to the end, soft grey conglomeratic
sandstones dipping flatly eastwards, close up to dark red clays and hard
purple sandstones of the Sirmur zone, with a high dip in the same
direction. At one spot, near Dubrog, a contact is obscurely seen : coarse
conglomerates, here containing well-rounded boulders of quartzite and
pneiss, 2 feet in diameter, shivered to splinters in situ by the crushing
they had undergone, are found jumbled together with the red rocks, and
not confined to a definite vertical band ; the conglomerate occurs in situ
at 100 yards east of an outcrop of the red rocks, indicating a steep over-
lap or a broken fault. Higher beds come in rapidly to the north, on the
upthrow side, indicating the dying out of the dislocation ; and at last the
strata are continuous across the prolongation of " the main boundary " of
the eastern region, so that here- one can pass without any break from the
N^han zone into the Sirmur zone ; and the fresh-looking conglomeratic
top beds of the former appear to be in regular sequence with the Sirmur
series.
The invasion of the Sirmur zone by the rocks of the Nahan zone is
not however, complete. Another independent dislocation some 4 miles
to the east-takes the place of the extinct boundary^overlapping its end
554 GEOLOCtY OF INDIA~SUB-HlMALAyAS. [Chap. XXIII.
and running to the north-west in a broad curve, parallel to the shore of
the great bay of the tertiary formations, near the head of which the
JBias issues from the mountains. After a run of about 40 miles this
substitute dislocation ceases, and is again replaced near Barwarna (5
miles south of Palampur) by an exterior line of boundary, on about th^
prolongation of the old main boundary. The recurrence of a similar
feature on the same strike looks as' if an early line of upheaval had been
Tvorn down and overlapped by later deposits ; but this suggestion of the
Underground direct continuity of these equivalent boundaries on opposite
sides of the Bias may be only imaginary. It is perhaps more likely ithat
the peculiarly symmetrical arrangement of these structural lines near the
Bias should be a necessary adaptation of the planes of fracture in the
tertiary basin to 'the form of the compressing surface. From Barwarna the
restored Nahan-Sirmur boundary becomes again a very permanent feature,
traceable continuously through the Jamu hills to near the Jhelum. To the
north-west of the Sutlej, however, where the Sirmur series takes its place
in the Sub- Himalayan zone, this line of junction can no longer be styled
the main boundary ; this title must be reserved for the contact of the
tertiary rocks with the old rooks of the mountains (p. 539) j and although
the hills of the Sirmdr zone have a very markedly greater elevation than
those of the newer tertiary area, there is always a greater orographieal
contrast accompanying the change from the tertiaries to the old rocks.
DiflElculties of classification in the Kangra area.— We have now
lost sight of the features which enabled us to trace exact divisions in
the tertiary series in the N^han area. Even the great boundary which in
the north-west, as in the Simla region^ separates an inner zone of lower
tertiary rocks, is partially obliterated in the neighbourhood of the Bias,
where one can pass from conglomerates of Siwalik type down to nummu-
litic beds without apparent stratigraphical break. Unconnected virith those
boundaries we found in the Kangra area great persistent lines of separa-
tion, having more distinctly the stamp of dislocations. If one could
frankly accept these lines as faults, pure and simple, in a completed. series
of deposits, such as can be represented in a diagram, the cotrelation of
the fetrata would be an easy matter; for. in each area so cut off, we find
a sequence of deposits having a very decided general likeness, marked by
harder, redder beds at the base, and by conglomeratic beds at top. Two
considerations are, however, always present to sap one's confidence in
such ready identifications. There is the condition of the almost incred-
ibly slow creeping manner in which the features of disturbance were
produced; so that, although we must accept these lines of dislocation as
primarily fractures, there can be no certaiiity that the fault is of later
Extra-Peninsular.] THE kangRA area. 555
date than strata found disturbed in its immediate neighbourhood — that
the conglomerates on the upthrow side of the Ghambar fault are not older
than similar beds in unbroken sequence with fractured strata on the down-
throw side. And from the other point of view it is to be remembered,
that from late nummulitic times the conditions of deposition of these
tertiary rocks have been very much alike^rain and river accumulations,
on the margin, and from the debris, of the Himalayan region : so that
a conglomerate of an .early diluvial zone might be undistinguishable from
a very much newer rock in an outer zone of the same geological field, and
thus utterly stultify the prima facie conclusion of their geological equi-
valence.
A couple of examples will illustrate the difiiculty of any detailed
delineation of equivalent stratigraphical horizons in the Sub-Himalayas'
of the North-West.i
Bubhor and Belaspur sections compared.-^In the section on
the Sutlej above Bubhor, fossils are found rather frequently in the middle
Siwaliks, at a defined horizon, below some 4,000 to 5,000 feet of conglo-
merates. Proceeding up the river, we find, below and above Belaspur,
between the Ghambar fault and ' the main boundary, a succession of
strata that would in many respects answer to those of the Bubhor section :
the hard red beds at the base are exactly similar ; the middle grey beds
are only more massive in the Bubhor section; but the conglomerates
are quite different. The massive beds of Bubhor contain exclusively
the rounded" hard shingle only found in and near the great Himalayan
torrents, whereas the conglomerates along the Nahan-Sirmiir junction
in the Gamrola valley near Belaspur, even where cut by the Sutlej,
are made up of local debris, principally of the hard sandstones of the
Sirmurs, but containing also pieces of the softer fossiliferous num-
mulitic beds of the Subathu group. The lithological contrast is fully
exhibited on the spot, for all about Belaspur, up to 200 feet over the river,
there is a thick deposit of old Sutlej shingle, just like theSiwalik conglo-
merates of Bubhor, but probably of post-tertiary age, corresponding to
1 In the description of this area puhlished in 1864 (Mem. G. S. I., Vol. Ill) an arbi-
trary' compromise had to be made on this score, as time did not admit of a further study of
the ground. The Nahan zrone was distinctively coloured up to the Sutlej ; hut in the country
beyond, much the larger area being occupied by the higher beds, of presumably Siwalik age,
the whole of that area was coloured as Siwalik, rather than attempt to put in from memory
the outcrops of the lower horizons, presumably Nahan, along the several lines of upheaval.
A compromise on similar grounds was made in the prolongation of the Sirmur zone, on
account of the total depression of the bottom nummulitic beds, and the appearance of higher
beds, unlike any in the typical area. The paper referred to contains many more details
than can be given here.
556 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
the similar boulder gravel capping the low hills of the Siwalik beds at
Bubhor.
The easiest solution of the ease is to accept these Gamrola conglo-
merates as upper N^ban beds ; the fact, that Siwalik conglomerates ho^d a
like relation of apparent conformity to lower Nahan beds in the Bubhor
section, being disposed of through the peculiar conditions of deposition and
disturbance shewn to have obtained in the Sub-Himalayan region. The
case may be either complicated or simplified by the fact that farther
north, along the same boundary at Dubrog, as already mentioned, conglo-
merates of the coarse shingle type are in force. As these descriptions are
taken from a very cursory examination of the ground, it is likely that-
a proper survey will make all clear. ' Meantime such suggestions as are
.given may be of service to passing observers.
Doubtful beds in the Sirmur zone. — Our next example is taken
from the Sirmur zone. The structure of this rock- series in its typical
ground, the outlier on the Lower Himalayan border, is somewhat different
from what it is when forming an inner zone of the Sub-Himalayan
area, from immediately north of the Sutlej. In the former position the
lowest beds, the Subathu nummulitjcs, are always freely exposed in the
low ground at the edge of the area, and detached patches occur outside
the principal area ; whereas the nummulitie beds, north of the Sutlej are
last found on rather high ground in the middle of the band, in the
axis of an anticlinal flexure, and the highest beds of the series appear
along the innra- junction, dipping at a high angle towards the old rocks
of the high mountains. It is so at least till we approach the flanks of
the Dhauladh^r range. As already explained, this inner Sirmur line is
now the main boundary of the whole section, and its general regularity
of direction, combined with the features noticed, is suggestive of fault-
ing. According to the arrangement described, the top beds of all are
found at the apex of the curved inner boundary, a littlei north of the
Bias. Between DrSng and Haurbagh soft light grey sandstones, undis-
tinguishable from Siwalik rock, are succeeded by clays and conglo-
merates. The highest beds are exposed in the hill at Sih, and consist of
massive bands of coarse breccia, rather than conglomerate, being com-
posed of large and small angular debris of the cherty limestone and of
the pink sandstone occurring in the ridge close by, towards which the
conglomerates dip at 40".
The peculiarly local character of these top deposits is very puzzling.
It suggests some almost necessary modification of the simply faulted
nature of the boundary, for the proximity to the old rocks at the time
of formation must have been somewhat like what it is now. But the
Extra-Peninsular.] the kangra aeea. 557
strangest fact is, that although made up entirely of the Himalayan rocks
recognisable in the ridge close by to the east, the most abundant rock of
that ridge is not represented in the breccia, although in the actual talus
of the ridge it asserts its necessary predominance. That rock is eruptive.
The suggestion is very strong, that the iatrusion of the igneous rock is
of later date than these tertiary deposits ; and this is the only observa-
tion by the Survey confirmatory of that made by General Straehey in
Kumaun (see page 543), that the trap-rock of the Lower Himalayas is of
tertiary age. No case of intrusion amongst tertiary beds has been noticed
in the Bias area, where trap is in great force in the higher hills of Mandi.
It is worth mentioning that no debris of tertiary rocks was found in these
conglomerates of Sih.
Thus again here, within the inner zone of tertiary rocks, at the main
boundary with the old rocks of the Lower Himalayas, and 50 miles from
the outer zone of the SiwaUks, there are rocks which confront us as being
possibly of Siwalik age ; but the presumption is that they are older.
Want of fossils. — That so much disquisition should have been ex-
pended upon this diflBculty, is already an admission that fossil evidence has
hitherto failed us. But even this negative fact must at present have
some weight in the argument. There is no recorded case of a fossil being
found in these innermost beds of upper tertiary aspect, nor indeed in any
upper beds inside the Ghambar fault, although that area includes a large
portion of the Kangra district, and the whole of the ground known as
the Kangra valley, where for many years Europeans have been accus-
tomed to reside. The greater part of that area, moreover, between the
lower tertiary zone and the Ghambar fault, is occupied by rocks
which, but for the stratigraphical difficulties mentioned, would be taken
at once as equivalents of the accepted Siwaliks of the Bubhor section.
Whatever horizon those beds belong to, it may be confidently expected
that fossils are to be found in them ; but it is well to emphasize the
significance that may belong to any organic remains obtained from
the Kangra valley.
The base of the Dhauladhar range. — The features of the
tertiary contact-zone, on the north of the Kangra district, along the base
of the Dhauladhar, present peculiar features of interest. Nowhere else are
these late deposits brought so near to the oldest Himalayan rocks. , Above
the sanitarium of Dharmsala, which stands on the Sirmur zone, the space
is not more than one mile between the tertiaries and the "central
gneiss," which rises precipitously in the rugged crest of the Dhauladhar
to above 16,000 feet in elevation. As might be expected, the general
stratigraphical features are different in such a position from those of the
558 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
Lower Himalayan region. The general view suggested at first sight
is, that the -gneigsi occupies the axis, of a huge folded flexure, in which
even the Siwaliks partook. This view would agree with, the opinion
sometimes expressed, that the whole Himalayan mountains have been
upraised since a late tertiary date ; and indeed the prodigious, disturb-
ance the tertiary rocks have undergone is sufficie^it testimony of the
great changes that have been effected- within that time. It would,
however, be most difficult to maintain that the tertiary rocks had ever
extended much beyond their present limits. This can at least b^
asserted for the beds immediately outside the Sirmur zone : the enormous
accumulation of tertiary river-shii;igle conglomerates along the base
of the range west of Bhagsu to beyond the Ravi implies the proximity
of an area of erosion to the north.
The case is difEerent f6r the Sirmur series ; and increasingly so to
the west. At Dharmsala these rocks afEect a synclinal structure next
to the majn boundary, but the junction is well defined. At some spots
to the west, as along the Chaki, the Sirmur beds are scarcely, if at all,
represented ; and at the western extremity of the range, over the Ravi,
they are so crushed together with the older rocks as to be inseparable from
them, or else so altered as to be unrecognisable. The particular section
referred to is at the head of a great fan on the left bank of the Ravi
below Simliu, where the Sirmdr beds pass transitionaUy into a green
pseudo-amygdaloidal trappoid rock, very similar to a rock of the Pir
Panj^l that is currently axjcepted as trappean. The section is so distinct
as to have suggested that the Panjal rock would turn out to be ^tered
Sirmurs. This conjecture has not been confirmed; but it illustrates
the degree to which the lower tertiary rocks are implicated in the
structural features of the Dhauladhar. It is worth mentioning that on
an outer outcrop in this position, a bed with obscure leaf marks was
found, exactly like that of Kasauli, and so far suggesting the integrity
of the Sirmur group.
The Mandi rock-salt.> — As it is still a disputed point whether the
rock-saltof Mandi belongs to the Sub-Himalayan orthe Iiower Himalayan
rocks, it will be most appropriate to notice it in this section treating
of the Kangra district. The rock is known in the country as " black,
salt," in contradistinction to the pure mineral of the Salt Range. It has"
a dark, purplish hue, is quite opaque, and contains about 25 per cent,
of earthy matter, the salt itself being nearly pure sodium chloride. It
is only used by the poorer classes, after being subjected to a purifying
1 Mem. G. S. I,, in, Pt. 2, p. 6a
5xtra-Peninsiilar. J THE kangra area. 559
process by fire and water. Small nests of crystalline salt occur, but
so rarely as to be reserved for the use of the Rajah and his household.
The mines or quarries are at Drang and Guma, 14. miles apart.
The salt occurs in a constant position, at a short distance within the
well-defined boundary between the tertiary sandstones and the slaty
calcareous rocks, apparently all belonging to the Lower Himalayan series,
which are here, on the margin of the Bias basin, in a state of extreme
disturbance, with abundant trappean intrusion. Its occurrence in a
constant position along the general strike of the associated strata,
and the distinct lamination in the rock itself, sufficiently prove its
sedimentary origiu. But besides the earthy matter, laminated or
difBused, the salt commonly contains small angular pebbles, principally
of pink quartzite ancj of limestone, very like the rocks of the adjoining
ridge j and where the salt itself is wanting, this character is often
found in a calcareous rock in the same position in the section, as in the
Suk^ti, a few hundred yards above its confluence with the Bias, and
again in the Kangra district, in the river east of Blr (Beer).
The presence of these pebbles may have suggested to Mr. Theobald
his opinion,! that the salt-rock o£ Mandi and the narrow band of rock
between it and the main boundary are of nummuHtic age. The fact
already mentioned, that the Subathu nummulitie beds are not found
in a recognisable form throughout the greater part of the Sub-Himalayan
zone in the Kangra area, gives at least negative support to this conjecture ;
and positive support may be found in the fact observed in this same
area, as mentioned in the preceding section, how the nummulitie rocks
here have been to some extent disguised beyond recognition, so as to be
more akin in appearance to the old rocks than to their real associates of
the tertiary zone.
North-western termination of the Kangra area.— The outer
Siwalik range of the Kangra area does not cross the Bias. The second
(Parwain) range, also of that region, ends at Pathankot, east of the Ravi.
This extinction in echelon of the outer Sub-Himalayan ranges is
structural, and not merely due to denudation. It will be shewn that the
termination of the Dhauladhar east of the Ravi is probably of a similar
nature, and the coincidence of these homologous features in the newest
and oldest rocks in this terminal Himalayan region is noteworthy,
although no very direct connexion can be suggested, except that the
reduction of dimensions of the mountain- features took place in a like
fashion in each zone, whether synchronously or not.
' MS. report.
560 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIIL
Tub Jamu aeea : boundaries.— Jamu (Jummoo) is the capital of
the Sub-Himalayan territories^ and the winter residence, of the Maharaja,
of Kashmir j and the name may appropriately be taken for this section of
the Sub-Himalayan zone, the limits of the area being also very well
marked by physical characters.^ The Jhelum is the western boundary,
where its course lies in the axis along which aU the strata bend at an
acute angle from their Himalayan strike into that of the mountains of
Hazara and of the Salt Range, on account of which fact it has been
chosen as the limit between the Himalayas proper and the Punjab hill
regions, described in the preceding chapter. The west boundary of
Jamu is the Ravi, which also coincides with a very marked stratigraphi-
cal node.
Special feature. — As the peculiar expansion of the Nahan zone
of the Sub- Himalayas in the Kangra area corresponded with the ex-
tinction of the Lower Himalayan region, so the most peculiar character
of the Sub- Himalayan region of Jamu, is the expansion of the Sirmiir
zone, taking its rise from the abrupt extinction of the Dhauladhar axis
at the Ravi. This inward step of the lower tertiary zone corresponds
with that of the outer zone : the two outer Siwalik ranges of the Kangra
area having died out, the outermost range of the Jamu area occurs on
the prolongation of the Badsar-Nurpur dislocation.
Sirmur zone at the Ravi. — The change of features from the
Kangra to the Jamu area is otherwise so decided, that it is remarkable that
the two master-dislocations of the Kangra area — the Ghambar-Basauli and
the Badsar-Nurpur faulted flexures — continue without a check or turn
across the Ravi. The contrast thgy present in this way with the
boundaries of the inner tertiary zone is very, sliriking : th,e . Sirmilr band
makes two abrupt, nearly rectangular, bends at the Ravi ; and the river
runs for about 7 miles in a south-south-west direction along, not across,
the local strike, where the whole series of formations bends round across
the termination of the gneissic axis of the Dhauladhar. The condition of
the Sirmur rocks at their inner contact suggests, as already described,
complete participation in the intense contortion of the older rocks ; while
on the outside, the Sirmiirs are in sharp contrast with comparatively fresh-
looking conglomerates. These are enormously thick, but not very coarse,
as the upper Siwalik conglomerates always are near the great rivers.
Debris of the Sirmur sandstone occurs in these old ' conglomerates,; but
• The maps published with the following papers are on the same scale, and, when joined
together, give a fair view of the feattn-es noticed in the text;— Sub-Himalayan Country
between the Ganges and the Ravi, Mem, G. S, I., Ill ; Jamu and Pir Panjal, Kec, G. S. I., IX j
North-West Punjab, Bee. G. S. I.,- X.
Extra-Peninsular.] the jamu AREA. 561
here again it was observed that the pseudo-amygdaloidal trappoid rock
is not represented,, although it constitutes at present the most abundant
detritus at the surface. These outer rocks, too, are greatly disturbed,
being for the most part vertical along the south-south-west strike, so
that we cannot say that they have not been, subjected to the whole
disturbing action ; and the abrupt contact of beds of very different hori-
zons would suggest faulting. Taking everything into consideration,
however, it seems probable that this line of junction is not primarily a
fracture, or at least that its form has been determined by local features of
the surface, in the same position as those now so conspicuously developed.
It is an illustration in this ground of the slow process of growth of the
mountain structure, already illustrated from other sections.
Western espansiou of Sirmur zone. — The suppressed and dis-
guised condition of the Sirmur zone is one of the peculiarities of the
Sub-Himalayas of Kangra, where the Subathu (nummulitie) group has
not been detected throughout a distance of more than 100 miles south-
east of the Rdvi. The expansion of this zone and the free exposure of
the bottom group, and even of the supporting rocks, are, on the con-
trary, the most marked features of the Sub-Himalayan area of Jamu.
In this last respect the Jamu tract resembles the original Sirmur area
in the Lower Himalayas of the Simla region, except that in the
latter instance the tertiary strata lie as outliers on the old rocks of the
mountains, whereas in Jamu the old rocks appear as inliers in the
Sirmur zone. This comparison might only imply a relation of degree
in the amount of denudation the two areas had undergone; but the
case is far otherwise : there is a great difference in the stratigraphical
relations of the two rock-series in the east and in the west, confirm-
ing in a very marked way the opinions arrived at, from the study of
the upper tertiary groups, regarding the growth of the> mountain-
system. It ,is also to be particularly remarked that in Jamu as in
Kangra, but not in the Sirm,ur area, the nummuhtic rocks never occm-
at the inner boundary of the zone.
At the R^vi the Sirmdr band is less than a quarter of a mile wide.
It expands gradually to nearly 20 miles at the road from Jamu to
Kashmir; at Rajauri it is reduced to 12 miles; and farther on, at the
Punch, it is nearly 30 miles wide. As in the case of the upper
tertiaries of the Kdngra area, this expansion and irregularity is due to
the unsteadiness of the inner (main) boundary — a character which
appears to shew that that boundary is more probably due to original i
features of the ground, than to subsequent faulting; while the outer
' See note, p. 528.
L 1
562 GEOLOaY OP INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
' boundary is very steady in directionj and is clearly connected with faulted
flexures. This latter feature dies out in an anticlinal axis to the north-west
of Kotii on the Pdnch^ before reaching the Jhelum j and to the south-east,
except for its concealment at the Bias, it is more or less continuous with
the Nahan-Sirmiir boundary of the Simla region, the "main boundary^'
of the tertiary zone in the middle Himalayan region. This resemblance
or even correspondence with the main boundary of the Lower Himalayas
east of the Sutlej is further increased by the appearance of the
great limestone inliers along this line in Jamu ; yet the discussion of
the feature in the Simla region seemed to be against its being primarily
a fault there.
Within 15 miles of the Ravi, above the village of Marun, over the
Pain (Pine) river, a thin calcareous layer with nummulites was observed,
high in a thick section of red shaly clays at the outer edge of the Sirmur
zone. The occurrence of even these upper Subdthu beds along this
boundary is not, however, constant. On the contrary, something like
a regular succession of high and low beds, occupying alternating inter-
vals across the Sirmur zone, as of waves along the strike, is very observ-
able in the Jamu area. It is well exhibited in connexion with the
great inliers.
Inliers, — These protruding masses of old rocks within the Sirmur
zone occur in two pairs: the Lapri and Sangar-Marg ridges on the
Chinabj and the Ranjoti and Debigarh ridges near the Punch. ■ They
are formed of hard limestone, conjectured to be of palseozoie age, with
subordinate flaggy sandstones, and they stand out high above the
surrounding tertiary strata, — a result due proximately to denudation.
Lapri has an elevation of 9,914 feet, and seems to be protruded abruptly
through the red beds of the Sirmurs, no distinctively Subathu beds having
been observed near it. Sangar-Marg, 6,676 feet high, is the largest of
these inliers, being more. than 30 miles long, and 5 to 8 miles wide; the
Chinab passes by a deep gorge exactly through its centre, just above
Biassi.
Characters of the Subathu group.— The marked character of the
bottom Subathu ■ beds makes it easy to distinguish the base of the ter-
tiary series. The composition of this group* in the Jamu area differs
from that exhibited where the formation was originally described in the
Simla region. In the latter ground the calcareous element is very sub-
ordinate and scattered, whereas throughout the Jamu hills all the lime-
stone is concentrated in a steady and purely calcareous band near the base
of the group. It is constantly underlaid by a band of carbonaceous shales
not found in the Simla region, and often including a cpaly layer. Thus it
Extra-Peninsular. J THE JAMU AREA. 563
would be very easy to distinguish lithologically an upper and a lower
division o£ the Subathu group in this western area. But the most con-
stant rock of all is the pisolitie ferruginous clay already mentioned as the
bottom rock in the Subathu section, an exactly similar bed to which is
found in the same position all through the Jamu hills ; and the same
occurs again in the Salt Range, where, at the east end at least, the
nummulitic group is represented by these three bottom bands of the
Subathu group of the Jamu region. This fact is noticed here in
order to record a suggestion regarding this peculiar bottom bed : in some
respects it very much resembles a form of the high-level laterite of the
peninsular area, the differences being easily attributable to contin^
gencies that have affected the Himalayan rocks ; its remarkable constancy
over so large an area is also a strong point of similarity with the laterite,
in which this uniformity, at great distances and when surrounded by very
different rocks, is so puzzling a character ; and lastly, this Subdthu
bottom bed is on the geological horizon, already suggested ' as probable
in the case of the high-level laterite formation of the peninsula, and a
similar rock has been already noticed on the same horizon in Guzerat,^
Kachh,^ and Sind.*
Relation of tertiary to palesozoic rocks. — In Sangar-Marg and
in the western inliers the original relations of the tertiary series to
the old rocks is fully exposed, and in all it presents itself as perfectly
. parallel superposition. It is diflBcult to conceive that a junction of palseo-
zoic and tertiary strata can really be conformable, and a close examination
will no doubt reveal some discordance j but it is certain that through
all the contortions exhibited in these rocks the same contact beds
are found together over large areas, and are, locally at least, quite
conformable. This local conformity is exhibited at the very crest
of the ridges ; so these must be altogether due to disturbance of post-
nummuUtic date.
At many points all over the Sangar-Marg, ridge, the SubSthu bottom
bed rests upon a brecciated sandstone, associated with the great palaeozoic
limestone of the inliers. An ochrey iron ore has been extensively extracted
from nests in these shattered top beds of the old formation, having pro-
bably been derived by infiltration from the coaly and ferruginous beds below
the nummulitic limestone. In- this great limestone itself the bedding is
1 Ante, p. 364. The chapter on laterite had unfortunately been printed ofB before this
remarkahle confirmatory evidence of the theory there put forward as to the origin of high-
level laterite had been recognised,
2 Ante, p. 340.
3 Ante, p. 345.
• Ante, p. 457.
564 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXIII.
often very obscure^ but with such characteristic junction beds the relations
of the two formations are very well seen : how the old limestone, as yet
uncontorted, must have formed the floor of the nummulitic deposits,
and was brought up and exposed on the axes of great complex anti-
clinal flexures, the cpvering beds having been more or less removed dm-ing
the process of upheaval.
At the north-west angle of Sangar-Marg the axis of one of these
flexures is very well seen, the old limestone disappearing under a saddle of
the nummulitics, which continue exposed for many miles in the valleys to
the west, a middle rib of the old limestone appearing again at two points of
the outcrop. Copious hot sulphurous springs occur at Barmandal in the
nummulitic coaly beds close to this axis, and again hotter springs at the
point of the Eanjoti ridge, on the banks of the Prfnch, where a corre-
sponding anticlinal feature is well seen. Along the valley of the Choti
Tawi, east of the Chinab inliers, and to the west, in the valley of the
Bari Tdwi, between the two groups of inliers, much higher beds of the
Sirmlir series are found, on the very strike of the older rocks, thus shew-
ing longitudinal undulation of the disturbance, as already mentioned.
Oompared with sections of Simla region. — The contrast between
the relations of the Subathu group to the older rocks of the Jamu inliers
and of the Simla region is a very noteworthy point in the history of
the Himalayan region. The full effect of the evidence depends a good
deal upon the identity of the old limestones of the two regions, and
upon this, as wiU be explained, different conjectures have been offered ;
but even supposing the Jamu rock to be carboniferous, and the Krol
limestone to be triassic, the difference would still be important. In both
areas the parallel superposition shews that the contortion of the old rocks
occurred after the depositioii of the eocene strata ; in the Simla region,
however, the nummulitics were deposited close to the limestone, but on
beds a thousand feet below its horizon, i. e., on an area where the lime-
stone had been deeply denuded : whereas in Jamu the same nummuli-
tics were laid down evenly over the limestone itself. Supposing the
limestones the same, the facts would imply that the eastern area had
been for long exposed to denudation as a land surface, while the western
had been by some means protected from erosion. Analogous conclusions,
as to an earlier elevation of the Lower Himalayan area, have been already
strongly suggested from a comparison of the Nahan-Sirmur and Siwalik-
Nahan relations to east and west of the Sutlej.
Doubtful newer rocks of the Sirmur zone.— In the Sirmur zone of
the Jamu hills we have again to encounter a puzzle noticed in the Kdngra
area. Passing west from the Ravi along the inner (main) boundary, higher
beds in the tertiary series are found, not accounted 'for by difference of
Extra-Peninsular. ] the jamu area. 565
elevation, apparent conformable sequence being observed throughout.
At several places in the upper Tdwi valley, below the Bindi gap, coarse
massive conglomerates are nearly vertical, close along the boundary.
The peculiarity of these beds as compared with those noticed in a like
position at Sih (page 556) is, that the partially rounded shingle of the
Tawi conglomerates, containing some blocks 2 feet in diameter, is made
up almost exclusively of bottom tertiary sandstone.
The question whence was derived this ancient tertiary debris, at the
present inner edge of the tertiary area, is of much interest. The con-
glomerates occur just where the river, within 10 miles of its rise on the
Kiind-Kaplas mountain, 14,241 feet high, crosses the main boundary
from the north-east. This mountain ridge has not been examined, but
all the detritus in the river at present is of metamorphic rocks, and there
is no known occurrence of tertiary sandstones to the north of the Sub-
Hiinalayan boundary nearer than the basin of the upper Indus in Tibet.
Their sub-angular condition and size give a strong presumption that the
blocks of comparatively soft sandstone forming these conglomerates
have not travelled fer ; and these fragments may possibly have been
derived from some tertiary rocks exposed by a line of early disturbance
in the area to the south. The probability seems, however, in favour of
the blocks having come from the northwards, beyond the present main
boundary ; and what we know of the processes of disturbance in these
mountain sections, would admit of a very limited range to this former
extension of the tertiary deposits. The rocks at the edge of the supposed
tertiary basin may have been slowly, but abruptly, turned up along a
monoclinal flexure ; as thus indurated and exposed to denudation, their
debris may have been laid down in conformable sequence upon their
undisturbed main area, until the fracture supervened, which resulted in
the present steep contact with the ancient supporting rocks. Or it
might be possible to derive these blocks from the exposed top of
an anticlinal flexure in a former great spread of these lower ter-
tiaries to the north, possibly continuous with the very similar deposits
of the Indus valley in Ladak. Independently of geological considera-
tions the law of parsimony (to favour the least laborious process) inclines
to the former supposition; and in any case it is highly probable that the
area of denudation was close by when these conglomerates of coarse
sub-angular debris were formed.
The question of the age of these conglomerates of the Sirmur zone
is rendered more difficult in this position from the fact of their containing
Sirmdr debris. Independently of this, the great thickness of the series
implies a great difference of age (in years) between the top and bottom
56S GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SUB-HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXIII.
beds ; and it is evident that under the synchronous jsan passu operations of
disturbance and deposition, as urged for the whole Sub-Himalayan zone,
the presence or absence of even great local unconformity is of compara-
tively little import, and thus some ordinary stratigraphical criterions of
relative age fail us here. There are other beds in this zone that would
even more directly suggest a much later age than any Sirmilr beds of the
standard area ; as on the band of depression of the Choti Tdwi, there is a
considerable thickness of soft pale clays north of Chineni, more like
upper Siwaliks than anything else. They are topmost beds, but in apparent
sequence with all the other strata of the Sirmur zone. It would be very
rash at present to say that any of these rocks are Siwalik j yet it is seem-
ingly awkward to include, as Sirmur, beds made up of middle Sirmur
debris. Fossils only can decide these questions, and as yet none have
been found in these beds.
Other general features of Sirmur zone. — Such very fresh looking
rocks as those on the Chota Tawi have not been observed elsewhere in the
Sirmdr zone of this area, but large portions of the ground have not even
been traversed. On the Chinab section only low red beds are exposed,
higher beds prevailing again on the Rajauri section. The course of the
Jhelum in the Sirmdr zone below Uri is with the strike of the rocks
along a broken anticlinal, having the usual upthrow to the north. A
continuation of this feature is traceable southward towards Rajauri ; and
■ east of the dislocation, in the ridge of the Haji Pir, there is an outcrop
of Subathu limestone. The principal deformity of the direction of the
main boundary is north of Rajauri, where there is a broad angular
projection of the rocks of the Pir Panj^l ; it is in such positions that test
sections of the true nature of the contact are most likely to be found.
No study has yet been made of that remarkable feature at Musafar-
abad, close to the confluence of the Kishenganga and the Jhelum, where
the main boundary, with the strike of all the rocks and the course of
the Jhelum, bend at an acute angle (35°) from the direction of the
Himalayan ranges. The position seems approximately coincident with
the introduction or expansion of the nummulitic limestone to the
westward ; and for some little distance on the Himalayan side of the
bend this rock occurs at the boundary. Such coincidences of original
with induced stratigraphical characters are often very suggestive of cor-
rect interpretations. To the south-west of this point, in the Hazara hills
the whole character of the bottom tertiary zone is changed : instead
of a continuous main boundary, separating all the tertiary deposits
from the rocks of the higher range, as in the Himalayan region, we
find the nummulitic beds folded up promiscuously with the underlying
Extra-Peninsular. ] THE jamu arka. 567
formations, resulting in a very patch-work appearance of the outcrops,
as shewn in a map. Thus the nearest physical equivalent of the main
boundary of the Sub-Himalayas should be near Abbottabad rather than
near Murree.^ This contrast might, of course, be due simply to greater
elevation and denudation of the western area ; but it is probably further
connected with other original points of difference between the two
areas, besides the one already mentioned : in the trans- Jhelum ground
other formations (Jurassic and triassic) are introduced between the
Subathu group and any representative of the palaeozoic limestone of
the Jamu inliers.
The Siwalik-Sirmur boundary. — Pending the palseontological
determination of the equivalent horizons in these several zones of
similar rocks, little more can be done than to describe these mere rock-
features. The outer boundary of the Sirmur zone of the Jamu area,
on the prolongation of the main boundary of the Lower Himalayan
region, has ali-eady been noticed as mainly a fault-line. This is strongly
suggested by the straightness of the feature; and everywhere along '
it, beds of different horizons are in contact, till at last, within a few
miles of the Jhelum, it dies out in an expanded anticlinal flexure, where
again, as on the JBias, one can pass from the Siwalik to the Sirmur zone
without a break. Thus this feature, whether > dislocation or not, of
principal magnitude and persistence throughout the whole Himalayan
border, comes to an end within the Himalayan limits, not like the more
simple features of disturbance, recognised as primarily faults or flexures,
which are continuous with like features beyond the Jhelum. There is one
remarkable irregularity of this boundary at the Chinab ; and the normal
direction of the Siwalik zones imdergoes a corresponding deflection in
this position. At Riassi, where the river passes through the Sarigar-
Marg inlier, there is a wide bay in the south face of the limestone ridge,
making a very marked indent in the course of the outer Sirmur
boundary.
The Basauli-Naushera fault. — On the Ravi, where a much more
abrupt twist affects the inner tertiary (Sirmur) zone, it was noted that
the great dislocations in the SiwaHk zone swept past it with little or no
deviation. It is not so at the Chinab : the Grhambar-Basauli fault curves
northwards into apparent, or actual, continuity with the eastern face of
the Ridssi bay, thus cutting off the inner Siwalik zone of Udampur
and Kdngra. This effect is, however, not permanent, for an equivalent
dislocation emerges in continuity with the western side of the bay,
1 In the North-West Punjab Map, referred to in the note, p. 560, the boundary west of
the Jhelum, continuous with the main boundary to the east, is probably a junction of upper
and lower Subathu beds.
668 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SUB-HIMALAY AS. [Chap- XXIII.
and forms the Naushera faulted anticlinal, with the Kotli synclinal dun
between it and the Sirmiir zone, representing the Udampur dun to the
east. The Naushera dislocation is as important as its eastern representa-
tive ; it curves round across the Jhelum, north of Mount Narh, passmg
south-westwards towards Rawalpindi.
Riassi conglomerates. — The actual continuity of this Basauli-
Naushera dislocation, round the edge of the Riassi bay, may possibly
be maintained. There are no observations to settle the point, or to
shew the relation of this dislocation with the outer Sirmrlr boundary,
where the two are confluent at the base of Sangar-Marg. Thus
it would seem that the conglomerates on the • Chinab, in the Riassi
bay, belong as much to the middle as to the inner Siwalik zone ;
and there is strong presumption that they correspond in age to the conglo-
merates of the inner zone on the Ravi, north of Bksauli. In both cases
the conglomerates occur in force only near the great rivers.
The outer Siwalik zone.— The Riassi bay is most marked in the
outer Siwalik zone. The Badsar-Nurpur anticlinal, which is a conspicu-
ous feature throughout the lower hills of Jamu to beyond the Jhelum,
where it bends south-westwards to Kahilta, makes a deep swerve north-
wards at the Chin^bj so that the outermost Siwalik range north of
Jamu runs due north and south for some distance. This corroborates the
suggestion that the Basauh-Nausl^era dislocation does actually run up
to the inner boundary under Sangar-Marg. The elucidation of this
very exceptional feature, in connexion with the great inlier, would form
an interesting study.
Outside the Badsar-Ndrpur flexure there is no great continuous dis-
location passing across the Jhelum from one direction of strike into the
other, as in the deeper sections to the north : a number of local independ-
ent flexures pass off more or less obliquely from the Himalayan strilfc, to
terminate in a reciprocating manner with the flexures of the Salt
Range system.^ This arrangement exhibits, in even a more convincing
manner, a synchronous action in both directions of disturbance. In this
struggle for room the Salt Range system seems to have had the best of
it : flexures belonging to it are more persistent in overlapping the
Himalayan series. The last example of this is the Pabbi or Kharian
anticlinal ridge, consisting of Siwalik rocks, striking due north-east close
up towards, and at right angles to, the Sub-Himalayan ranges at
Bhimbar ; its prolongation for 18 milfes would thus strike the great Siwalik
dislocations on the Bari Tawi, more than 50 miles from their diversion
on the Jhelum. This outlying Kharidn flexure is altogether east of the
1 See maps quoted in note, p. 660.
Extra-Peninsular.] summary. ' 569
Jhelum, and forms the only exception to this river forming an exact
boTindaiy of the Sub-Himalayan system.
Summary. — As other considerations made it necessary or desirable
to break up the description of the Sub- Himalayan zone into sections of
areas iflore or less natural or arbitrary, we must now endeavour to in-
dicate connectedly the chief points of evidence upon which inferences
have been based regarding the history of the mountains.
1. Special Himalayan disturbance altogether post-eocene.—
Where the original relations of the lowest tertiary deposits, the Sub^thu
nummulitic group, to the very ancient (palseozoic) rocks of the moun-
tains are exposed in the Simla region (p. 532) and in Jamu (p. 563), we
learn that these old rocks had then undergone no ■ contortion, where
now contortion is extreme. We might thus infer that the Himalayas,
as a region of special distwrhance, had then made no beginning, and for
this southern zone of the mountains this inference is conclusive j but there
are other facts to qualify it as regards an earlier stage of Himalayan
elevation.
2. Eocene Himalayan land. — ^The remnant of lowest tertiary
rocks preserved on the margin of the Lower Himalayas in the Simla
region, reveals other original relations not elsewhere discoverable — (a) the
old rocks had here been deeply denuded (p. 533), as by subaerial denuda-
tion; {b) the Subdthu beds here are very variable in thickness (p. 533),
suggesting proximity to a hmiit of deposition to the north-east ; (c) the
marked deficiency in these Sub-Himalayan nummulitics of open sea
deposits or organisins (p. 531) suggests at least estuarine conditions; [d)
the regular succession here of deposits of true Sub-Himalayan type
(pp. 525, 530) carries on this suggestion, implying that bef6re any special
contorting action had set in, the general conditions of Sub- Himalayan
deposition had been established by a general (continental) elevation of
the Himalayan area. The presence of terrestrial plants in the Kasauli
beds also proves the proximity of land.
3. Doubtftd extension over the Lower Himalayan area. —
Even in the Simla region, the border of that eocene Himalayan
land is only approximately and conjecturally indicated. The inner
boundary of this Sirmur outlier is quite different from any line of junc-
tion in the Sub-Himalayan zone (p. 534) : these latter are universally, to
some extent or other, special features of Himalayan disturbance, forming
single continuous lines of boundary ; whereas the former is the outcrop
of an irregular surface of deposition that had subsequently undergone
simple corrugation and denudation. As regai*ds the country to the north-
west the absence in the old rocks of Jamu (p. 564) of the denudation
which is so marked in the Simla region, suggests tjiat the long pre-
570 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SUB-HIMALAYAS, [Chap. XXIII.
tertiary elevation of the Lower Himalayan region had not extended to
the north-west. The features of the boundary in this direction also
leave it an open question how far the tertiaries may have extended : we
find these either amalgamated with the older rocks in their most extreme
condition of disturbance (p. 558), or in abrupt faulted contact (p. 565),
both states implying some former extension ; so there remains only the
fact of composition to suggest that there, too, there was a neighbouring
eocene land.
4. Actual Himalayan border defined in middle tertiary times.
— To the east of the Simla region the case is the reverse of that de-
scribed to the west : no trace of lowest tertiary rocks has been found
in the Sub-Himalayan zone in this direction (p. 534) ; the Sirmiir rocks
seem to have been uplifted, and more or less completely removed by denuda^-
tion, in early tertiary times (pp. 534, 540), when the present Himalayan
border was defined. The only connection suggested for the Subathu group
in the east is the strikingly similar nummulitic beds in the Garo hills, at
the west end of the Assam range (p. 535).
5. Its partial extension to the north-west.— This first great act
of Himalayan disturbance in tertiary times, as just recorded, again resulted
in the elevation of the Lower Himalayan as compared with the north-
western area, producing the Nahan-Sirmilr unconformity, and the main
boundary of the whole middle Himalayas. In the north-west the
Nahan-Sirmiir boundary is the most important structural feature within
the Sub-Himalayan zone ; and there, too, it is doubtfully a feature of
simple dislocation (pp. 560-1). The elevation in the east seems to have
taken place earlier : seemingly newer rocks occur in the Sirmur zone
north of the Sutlej than in the Simla region (p. 556).
6. Himalayan river-gorges in Siwalik times same as now.—
The great accumulation of conglomerates, and their marked variation
in quantity and quality in relation to the gi-eat Himalayan torrents,
are most marked in the outer Siwalik zone (pp. 541^, 551) ; and
the fact admits of no other explanation than that the gorges of these
torrents in the adjoining mountains were then in the same positions as
now, and have not been sensibly changed by the prodigious disturbance
to which these latest Siwalik deposits have been subjected (pp. 541, 551).
In the north-west similar accumulation and distribution of conglo-
merates are found iif the inner Siwalik zones (p. 568). Whether or
not these prove to be of the same age as those on the outer zone on
the same section, the fact is again suggestive of the earlier elevation and
separation of the zones in the middle Himalayas.
7. Extreme slowness of disturbing action.— The extreme slow-
ness with which such great operations of disturbance were accomplished
Extra-Peninsular.] SUMMARY. 571
is sufficiently attested by the fact related in the preceding paragraph
regarding the great rivers ; the inference being especially illustrated by
the case of the Sutlej at Bubhor (p. 551). This ease illustrates, too, a
constant puzzle in these Sub-Himalayan sections — the close conformable
sequence between strata that were virtually strongly discordant. The
same process of simultaneous deposition and disturbance gives us some
explanation of the prodigious thickness of these deposits — a thickness
that would appear excessive if the measurements had to be understood as
vertical dimensions.
8. Elevation preceded compression.— One important inference
upon the theory of mountain-formation is apparent from these observa-
tions on the Sub-Himalayan zone. Special Himalayan disturbance is
now nowhere more strongly marked than in this fringing zone ; and it has
all occurred since a middle tertiary date, for the oldest rocks were then
unplicated in this position. Yet a considerable Himalayan elevation had
occurred in pre-tertiaay and early tertiary times ; and this elevation
must, therefore, have been of the nature of a simple protuberance
(bossellementj ,ox warp, as suggested in De Beaumont's theory of mountain-
formation ; while some more modern theories seem to require that com-
pression with contortion should be a first stage in the process of special
elevation.
572 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
SIWALIK FAUNA.
The later tertiary vertebrate fauna — Siwalik moUusca — Homotaxis of mammalia —
Eeptiliaii evidence — Siwalik fauna probably pliocene — Stratigraphical evidence of
age of SiwaBks — Survival of miocene forma in Siwalik beds — Pliocene fauna of
Pikermi in Attica — Migration -r- Effects of change of climate — Comparative poverty
of recent mammalian faunas — Relations of Siwalik to Perim Island fauna — Comparison
with Irawadi fauna — Comparison of Siwalik and recent faunas.
The later tertiary vertfebrate fauna.— In several of the pre-
ceding chapters reference has been made to the mammalian fauna
found in the upper tertiary beds of Northern and Central India, and in
five instances, — the post- pliocene faunas of the Gangetic plain ^ and of
the Narbada valley,^ the older pliocene mammalia of Perim Island,* and
the miocene faunas of Sind* and of Kushalghar^ in the Punjab, — lists of the
species identified have been given. By far the most important collec-
tion of mammalian remains found in any Indian formation is, however,
that of the Siwalik beds ; and as many of the species found elsewhere
recur in th? Siwalik ar^a of the North- West Provinces and the Punjab,
it will be useful in the present chapter to give a general account of the
later tertiary vertebrata of India and Burma.* The following is a
complete list of all species' hitherto identified in the miocene, phocene,
» Ante, p. 402. i " P. 471.
2 P. 385. 6 P. 514.
s P. 343. I
5 Crania and teeth of several species, and in two instances, Astragali, are figured in
Plates XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XX. Eef erences are appended in the list of species.
? The majority of the tertiary vertebrata of India, discovered by Falconer, Cautley, '
Baker and Durand, were described by Falconer, most of whose writings, published and
unpublished, are collected in his posthumous " Palseontological Memoirs." The greater
portion, of the following notes are taken from Mr., Lydekker's papers on the Siwalik fauna j
Kec. G. S. I., IX. pp. 42, 86. 144, 154 ; X, pp. 30, 76, 225 ; XI, p. 64 ; and Pal. Ind., Ser. X,
Pts. 2 and 3 ; and from some MS. papers by Mr. Theobald, who has collected a large number
of the fossils described by Mr, Lydekker.
Extra-Peninsular. ]
THE LATER TERTIAEY VERTEBRATA.
573
and post-pliocene deposits of British India and its dependencies^ the
distinctly miocene forms of Sind and the Punjab being distinguished by the
letter M, and the post-tertiary mammals by PI being affixed. To all
forms that have been found in the Siwalik area, irrespective of horizon, the
letter S is added ; the species from Perim Island are distinguished by a
V, and those from the Irawadi valley by I.
S. Macacus sivalensis.
S. M., sp.
S. Semnopithecus, sp.
MAMMALIA.
PRIMATES.
S. ? Semnopiiheeus suhhimalayanus,
PI. XIX, fig. 11.
PI. 8., sp.
CARNIVORA.-
S. Felis oristata.
S. F. paltBotigris.
PI. F., sp.
S. Mach<Brodus sivalensis.
S. Pseudcelurus sivalensis.
ViVEEEiDa; —
S. Ictitheritim sivalense.
S. Syeena sivalensis, PI. XIX, 'figs.
8,10.
Canid^ —
S. Canis (Vulpes); sp.
Uesidj! —
S. M. AmpMcyon palceindicus, PI.
XIX, fig. 4
S. Ursus, sp.
I. U., sp.
PI. U. namadicus, PI. XX fig. 6.
S. Syanarctus sivhlensis, PI. XIX
fig. 9.
S. M. palceindicus,
MiTSTBLIDa:
S. Mellivora sivalensis.
S. Meles, sp.
S. Lufra paleeindica.
S. Enhydriodon sivalensis, PI. XIX,
fig. 5.
PROBOSCIDEA.
ELEPHANTIDiE —
S. Elephas (Euelephas) hysudricus,
PI. XVII, fig. 5.
PL E. {Euelephas) namadicus, PI.
XX, figs. 5, 8.
S. E. (Loxodon) planifrons.
PI. S. E. (Stegodon) insignia, PI.
XVII, figs. 1, 1.
PI. S. E. (Stegodon) ganesa, PI.
XVII, fig. 2.
S. E. {Stegodon) sinensis.
S, E. (Stegodon) bomhlfrons.
S. I. E. (Stegodon) cliflii.
S. I. M. (Pentalophodon) sivalensis,
PI. XVII, fig. 6.
S. I. P. M. Mastodon (Tetralo-
phodon) latidens, PI. XVII, fig. 4.
S. P. M. M. (Tetralophodon) peri-
mensis, PI. XVII, fig. 3.
PI. ? M. (Trilophodon) 'pandionis.
S. M. M. (Trilophodon) falconeri.
DlNOTHBBID^ —
P. Dinotherium indieu}n.
M. D. pentepotamite.
574
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [ Chap. XXIV.
UN6ULATA.
A. PJEBISSODACrrLA.
Rhinoceeotidj; —
S. Rhinoceros platyrhiniis,
S. M. R. sivalensis, PL XIX, figs. 1, 3.
• S. M. R. palcsindictis.
S. R.planidens.
I. R. iravadieus, PI. XIX, fig. 2.
PI. R. namadicus, PI. XX, fig. 9,
PI. R. deccanensis.
S. R. 2 sp.
I. R. sp.
M. R. 2 sp.
S. P. I. Acerotherium perimet^se.
Tapibid^ —
I. TapirUtS, sp.
M. Listriodon pentepotamiee, PI. XIX,
fig. 7.
S. L. theobaldi.
S. Hqutcs sivalensis.
S. E. paltBouus.
I. K sp.
PI. £'. namadicus, PI. XX, fig. 4.
S. Sipparion antelopinum, PI. XIX,
' fig. 6.
S. M. S. theobaldi.
S- ABTIODACTTLA
HiPPOPOTAMIDa; —
PL Hippopotamus (Tetraprotodon)
paleeindicus, PL XX, fig. 7.
S. S. (Hexaprotodon)
PL XVIII, figs, 1, 6, 8.
I. H. {Sexaprotodon) irdvadicus.
PL H. {Sexaprotodon) namadicus,
m. XX, fig. 2.
S. Sippopotamodon sivalensis.
Tetbaconodontid* —
S. Tetraconodon magnus,
SciDJE —
S. Sus giganteus, PL XVII, fig. 9.
S. 8. punjahiensis.
S. P. M. S. hysudricus.
PL S. sp.
M. Sanitherium schlagintweiti.
S. Sippohius sivalensis, PI. XVII,
fig. 8.
S. S. sp.
M. Syopotamus paleeindicus.
Anoplotheeid^—
S. Chalicotherium tivalense, PI.
XVIII, fig. 4.
Anthbacotheeid^—
M. Syotlierium sindiense.
S, I. Merycopotamus dissimilis, PL
■ XVII, fig. 10.
M. Anthracotherium silistrense.
Chmromeryx silistrensis.
M. Semimeryx, sp.
M. Sivameryx, 2 sp.
Ceetid^ —
S. Cervus latidens.
S. O. triplidens.
S. O. simplicidens.
PL C. namadicus.
I. C. sp.
S. M. Dorcatherium majus, PI. XVIII,
fig. 3.
S. M. D, minus.
Ca'melopaedaIiID^ —
8. Camelopardalis sivalensis.
S. C. sp.
P. C. sp.
S. Siratheriam giganteum, PL XVIII
fig. 7.
P. Brahmatherium perimense, PL
XVIII, fig. 5.
S. Hydaspitherium megacephalvm,
S. S. grande.
S. fi^. leptognathus.
I. Fj»AM«<Ae>.j«»» iravadicum.
Extra-Peninsular. ] THE LATER TERTIARY VERTEBRATA.
575
B. ABTIOBACTTLA—cojitiiiaei.
BoviD«—
♦ S. Bos acutifl'ons.
S. S. planifroiis.
S. B. platyrhinus.
I. B., sp.
PI. B. namadieus, PI. XX, fig. 3.
S. B. (Bison) sivalensis.
PI. S. B. {Buhalus) paleeindicus,
PL XX, fig. 1.
S. B. {Buhalus) platycerus.
S. Peribos occipitalis.
S. Ainphibos acuticornis, PI. XVIII,
fig. 2.
S. Hemibos iriquetncerus,
XVIII, fig. 1.
S. Antilope sivalensis.
S. A. patuUcornis.
S. A. porrecticornis.
S. A. palteindica.
P. A. sp.
PI. A. sp.
S. Capra sivalensis.
S. C. sp.
P. C. perimensis.
S. OwJs, sp.
S. Camelus sivalensis.
PI.
MuEIDiE —
S. Mus, sp.
PI. M. sp.
S. Crocodilus crassidens.
S. C leptodus.
S. C. palustris,
P. C. perimensis.
RODBNTIA.
SPAlACIDa;
■ S. Bhizomys sindiensis.
Hysteicid^ —
S. Bystrix sivalensis.
EDENTATA.
M Manis sindiensis.
AFES.
S. Argala falconeri.
S. Other bones belonging to the order Grallie.
REPTILIA.
CROCODILIA. .
M. Crocodilus, sp.
PI. a sp.
I. C. sp.
S. I. Gharialis gangeticus.
LACERTILIA.
S. Varanus sivalensis.
OPHIDIA.
S. M. Vertebra indet.
CHBLONIA.
S. I. Colossochelys atlas.
S. I. Testudo, sp.
S. Bellia sivalensis.
PI. S. Emys tectum
PI. T. sp. cf. gangeticus
S. .£^. (Batagur), sp.
PL jBm^^s [Batagur), cf .
S. I. Emyda, sp.
S. I. Trionyx, sp. '
576 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. , [Chap. XXIV.
Siwalik moUusca. — The few moUusea which haye been found be-
long solely to fresh-water or terrestrial forms, and the only comparison
hitherto made^ was carried out under circumstances so unfavourable,
with so poor a collection of recent species from India, and at a time
when the latter were sO imperfectly known, that but little weight can be
attached to the conclusions formed. No good materials for comparison
have been procured of late years, and the few specimens obtained are in
poor preservation, but all the forms collected since the recent fresh-water
shells have been better known have proved to be either identical with
living species, or closely allied to them. Amongst those hitherto identi-
fied, the only land-shell is Bulimus instilaris, ^ a species which ranges
at the present day from Africa to Burma, whilst amongst fresh-water
moUiisks, the two common Indian river-snails, Faludina bengalensis and
P. dissimilis, have been recognised, and forms of Melania, AmpuUaria,
and Unio also occur.
So far as the evidence extends, therefore, the few moUusca of the
Siwalik s tend to shew that the beds must be of late tertiary date ; for it
is difficult to conceive that no important change in the species of fresh-
water mollusca would have taken place had the strata been of miocene
age. But the evidence afEorded by the mollusca is imperfect, and both
closer comparison and a larger series of fossil specimens are desirable
before any Very positive assertions can be made as to the antiquity of
the formations on the data afforded by the Invertebrata. In investi-
gating the question of age, we are consequently forced to depend, ji/rst,
upon the Vertebrata, and especially the Mammalia ; and secondly/, upon such
geological evidence of connection with other formations of known age
as the rocks afford.
Homotaxis of mammalia.— The first question, th.en, is the homo^
taxial relation of the Siwahk mammalian fauna. The preceding lists,
it should be repeated, embrace the whole of the collections of Vertebrata
from the later tertiary beds of India; in dealing with the Siwaliks
alone, we ^ have therefore to omit all forms found solely — (1) in the
lower Manchhar beds of Sind, and their probable representatives in the
' Prof. B. Forbes, in Falconer's Palseontological Memoirs, I, p. 389.
2 Theobald, MS. As in this and the following paragraph Mr. Theobald's view of the
affinities of the Siwalik moEusca has been accepted in preference to the high authority of
Prof. E. Forbes, it is only just to say that Mr. Theobald has a far more extensive knowledge
of living Indiau fresh-water shells than it was possible for any naturalist in Europe to'
acquire at the period when Prof. E. Forbes' note was written. Indeed it is evident from
Prof. Forbes' remarks that the collections of recent Indian shells examined by him were
too imperfect to enable him to form a competent opinion. Mr. Benson, a far better author-
ity on this particular subject than Prof. E. Forbes, considered the most, if not the whole, of
the Siwalik mollusca identical with existing species : Falconer, Pal. Mem., I, pp. 26, 181.
Extra-Peninsular. J HOMOTAXis OF mammalia. 577
Western Punjab;— (2) in the localities of Perim Island, the 'Irawadi
valley, and certain beds of Sylhet;— and (3) in the post-tertiaiy clays and
gravels of the Jumna, Narbada, Godavari, and other Indian rivers, so
far as all such forms are unrepresented in the Siwalik area. This
leaves a fauna composed of the following 45 genera, each represented
by the number of species noted, the total number of specific forms
being 84 : extinct genera are marked with an asterisk :—
Peimates —
Macacus, 2 ; Semnopithecus, 2.
Cabnivoba —
Felis, 2 ; MachcBrodus* (Drepanodon), 1 ; Pseudcelurus* 1; Ictitherium* 1 ;
Myeena,!; Canis {Vulpes), 1 ; Amphicyon,* 1 ; Ursus, 1 ; Syanarctus,* 2;
Mellivora, 1 ; Meles, 1 ; Lutra, 1 ; Enhydriudon* 1.
Peoboscidba —
Elephas, 7; (Eueleplias, 1; Loxodo'n, 1; Stegodon* 5;) Mastodon* 4.
(Pentalojphodon,* 1 ; Tetralophodon,* 2 / Trilophodon,* 1).
Ungtjlata peeissodacttla —
Rhinoceros, 6 ; AcerotJierium,* 1 ; Listriodon,* 1 ; Equus, 2 ; Sipparion,* 2.
Us GULATA AETIODACTTIA
Hippopotamus (Sexaprotodon*), 1 ; Mippopotamodon* 1 ; Tetraconodon,* 1 ;
Sus, 3 ; Hippohyus,* 2 ; Chalicotheri'um,* 1 ; Merycopotamus,*! ; Cervus, 3 ;
Dorcatherium,* 2 ; Camelopardalis, 2 ; SivatAerium,* 1; Sydaspitherium,*
3; Bos, 6; {Bos restricted, 5; Bison, 1; Buhalits, 2;) Ferihos,* 1;
Amphihos^ 1; Memibos,* 1 ; Antilope, i; Copra, 2 ; Ovis, 1 ; Camelus, 1.
EODENTIA — .
- Mus, 1 ; Shizomys, 1 ; Systrix, 1.
Of a large proportion of the species only very imperfect information
exists as to the exact horizon in the Siwalik series at which the bones
have been found, but the great majority are from the upper and middle
Siwaliks, none in the typical area being known to occur in the lower
or Nahan sub-division. It is, however, by no means certain that some of
the specimens from the North- Western Punjab are not derived from beds
of the same age as the Nahan group. The mammals of Kushalghar have
already been excluded from the list, because they, like the lower Man-
chhar species of Sind, evidently belong to an older formation than
the f ossilif eroiis portion of the Siwalik beds ; and Nurptir in the Punjab,
the only other locality, besides Kushalghar and the Laki hills of Sind,
M 1
578 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
whence AmpTiicyon has been obtained, may also be upon older strata. It
is highly probable that some other forms with middle tertiary affinities
would be found to be confined to lower Siwalik beds, if the precise
horizon of all the bones collected were known.^
On the other hand, one post-tertiary form. Bos {Bulalus) palaindioui,
has been found in the highest Siwalik strata, associated with Camelus
dvalensis, Colossochelys, &c. ; and two species of elephant belonging to
the sub-genus Stegodon, viz., E. insignis and E. ganesa, range throughout
the upper Siwaliks, and recur in the post-tertiary deposits. The species
of proboscidians generally appear to have had a more extensive range,
both in space and time, than most of the forms belonging to other
mammalian orders ; but Eos palcsindicus is an animal of exceptionally
recent aspect, even in the post-tertiary mammalian-fauna, since it is
only distinguishable from the living Bos buhalus (Bubalus buffelus v.
B. ami, auct.) by comparatively trifling and unimportant osteological
details ; it must evidently have been a very near ally, and, in aU pro- .
bability, the not very distant progenitor of the buffaloes which now
inhabit the Ganges valley, Assam, and parts of the Central Provinces
of India.
The Siwalik forms, however, which might be excluded on account of
belonging to an older or a newer fauna, and of being supposed, on
more or less strong evidence, to be confined to either the lowest or
the uppermost portions of the series, are too few in number to affect the
general facies, and there are unquestionably several miocene types and
some post-tertiary species found in the highly fossiliferous upper Siwalik
beds. It is best therefore, for the present, to include all the forms
enumerated.
Proceeding, then, to classify the genera above given, it will be found
that 24) comprising 53 species, still ^ exist (the living species being how-
ever all, so far as is known, different), whilst 21, with 30 species, are
extinct. If, instead of reckoning the larger genera, Elepkas, Mastodon,
Hippopotamus, and Bos, their sub-genera are counted, the result will be
slightly to diminish the proportion of recent genera, the recent generic
types becoming 26, with 47 species, the extinct 25, with 36 species.
The former plan of classification is however, on the whole, preferable,
because such distinctions as those between Euelephas, Ldxodon, and Stego-
don, for instance, are scarcely of generic value, the majority of the genera
named, e. g., Eelis, Rhinoceros, Gervus, Antilope, have not been sub-divided
> A very large proportion of the Siwalik remains have been obtained by native collectors
employed in the search, and of course the precise locality of the bones is in most cases
doubtfiil.
Extra-Peninsular.] HOMOTAXIS OP MAMMALIA. 579
like ElepAas and Bos; and the affinities of the fauna are best understood
by grouping the forms in somewhat .larger sub-divisions than the sub-
genera of older and the genera of many modern writers.
Taking the extinct genera first, the following ten are peculiar to
the Indian tertiaries, so far as is hitherto known : —
Cabnitoka — •
Snhi/drlodon.
Unguiata abtiodacttla —
Hippopotamodon, Tetraconodon, Hippohyus, Merycopotamus, Sivatherium, ■
Sydaspitherium, Peribos, Amphihos, Memibos.
Of the remaining eleven genera, four, viz., Pseudcelurus, Am'phicyon,
Listriodon, and Dorccdherium, are only known in Europe from miocene
beds, Pseudeelurus being also found in pliocene rocks in America ; whilst
Macharodus, Hymnarctus, Ictitherium, Mastodon, Acer other ium, Chalicothe-
rium} and Ripparion are both miocene and pliocene ; the first and fourth
ranging into post-pliocene beds also ; the former in Europe, the latter
in America.
Of the other extinct forms, two, Kippohyus and Merycopotamus, belong
to the less specialised types characteristic in ■ general of the older and
middle tertiaries. Several others, such as Tetraconodon, with its enor-
mously developed premolar teeth, and the huge four-horned Sivatherium,
differ widely from anything now existing ; but being highly specialised
forms, there is nothing in their organisation to indicate that they are
of earlier age than newer tertiary.
Amongst the recent genera represented in the Siwaliks, eight, viz.,
Felis, Hyana, Canis, Lutra, Rhinoceros, Sus, Cervws, and Antilope, are
known to range as far back as upper miocene, and in one or two cases even
further ; ten, viz., Macacus, Semnopitheaus, Ursus,Elephas, Eqims, Hippopo-
tamus, Camelopardalis, Bos, Rystrix, and Mus, are known from the European
pliocene beds, but not earlier ; and several are poorly represented, or only
known in newer pliocene strata ; whilst the following, Mellivora, Metes,
Capra, Ovis, Camelus, and lihizomys, have hitherto only been found recfent,
or in post-pliocene deposits.
This examination of the relations between the Siwalik genera and
the distribution of similar forms in European tertiaries leads, as might
be anticipated, to a somewhat uncertain result. The proportion of living
to extinct genera is greater than is found in most miocene deposits, but
not more than appears to exist in the characteristically middle tertiary '
1 Acerotherium and Chalicotherium are found in pliocene beds at Pikermi : see page 583.
JcUtherium occurs in the pliocene of Pikermi, and in miocene beds in Bessarabia and in
France.
580 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV
ossiferous beds of Sansan in France.^ The presence of four extinct
genera not known to range above the mioeene period elsewhere is con-
trasted with the occurrence of sixteen genera not found elsewhere at a
lower horizon than pliocene or post-tertiary. There is perhaps rather
more probability that early , forms like Chalicotherium and Aw/phicyon
should have survived longer in India than they did in Europe, just as
rhinoceroses, tapirs, and elephants still exist in the tropics, associated with
a faUna amongst which they appear antiquated and out of place, than
that such eminently specialised types as Macacus, Bos, Capra, or Egtms
should have lived in mioeene times ; but the argument is of small value,
for the mioeene Cervus and Antilope were in all probability as highly
specialised, or nearly so, as the Siwalik genera. The fact, however, that
the recent 'genera contain more species than the extinct forms is of some
importance, since it is probable that types which were dying out
would be represented by few.er species than those which were supplanting
them, and which might fairly be credited with the vitally important
power of producing distinct specific stocks by variation. A stronger
argument for the newer age of the Siwalik beds is to be found in the
close approximation between some of the mammals and the living
species of the same genera, the most remarkable of all being the con-
nection, already noticed, between the fossil bufEalo of the uppermost
Siwalik strata, that of the post-pliocene Jumna and Narbada beds, and
the common Indian species now existing.
Reptilian evidence. — The evidence afforded by the few species of
reptiles sufficiently known to be of importance is decidedly in favour
of attributing to the Siwalik beds a later age than mioeene. Only
six species are sufficiently well known to be 'fairly comparable, and
three of these, Crocodilus palustris, Gharialis gangeticus, dioAJEmi/s tectum,
are common living forms now inhabiting the same area ; whilst Mmys
{Bellia) sivalensis ^ is very closely allied to a living Burmese species,-
M. crassicoUis, CrocodUus orassidens and Colossocheli/s atlas differ consi-
derably from all living forms, and CrocodUus leptodus is very imperfectly
known.
Siwalikfaunaprolaablypliocene.— Putting together the whole
data derived from Mammalia, Reptilia,, and Mqllusca, it is impossible to
deny that the balance of evidence is in favour of a pliocene age. This is
opposed to the general consensus of European geologists hitherto,^ and it
1 Gervais, Zool. Pal. Franc, p. 338.
2 Theobald, Eeo. G. S. I., X, p. 43.
3 It appears at first sight, also, to be in direct opposition to Dr. Falconer's conclusions,
but a study of his writings leaves it doubtful whetlier he ever expres.sed any decided con-
viction on the subject. He repe9,tedly noticed the close connexion between some Siwalik
Extra-Peninsular.] STRATIGRAPHICAL EVIDENCE OF AGE. 581
would therefore be put forward with very little confidence if it were not
supported by some stratigraphical data. As the approximate age of the
Siwalik rocks is a necessary element in any argument founded upon
their fauna, it will be best to shew how the stratigraphical evidence
supports th^ view that these beds are of pliocene and not of mioeene
age, before proceeding to notice some other interesting points of con-
nexion between the Siwalik and other faunas, recent and extinct.
Stratigraphical evidence of age of Siwaliks. — The stratigra-
phical data as distinguished from the purely homotaxial relations just
discussed depend entirely upon the connexion between the typical
Siwaliks and the Manchhar beds, of Sind. The position of the latter
has been already described in Chapter XIX,i where it was shewn that
the whole of the Manchhar group, comprising, where thickest, but little
less than 10,000 feet of strata, rests upon the tniocene Gaj group, the
age of which is determined by the far more satisfactory data afforded
by marine organisms, and is shewn to be more probably upper than
lower mioeene. The lower Manchhar beds pass down into the Gaj
rocks, so that it is reasonable to believe that no difference of age of any
importance exists between the two. It has also been shewn that the
mammalian fauna of the lower Manchhars, although containing several
species in common with the Siwaliks, is altogether older in aspect;
and that the majority of the forms hitherto recognised belong i,o the
peculiar types of even-toed ungulates allied to Merycopotamus and
Anthracotherium, intermediate in character between pigs and ruminants,
and peculiarly characteristic of the mioeene epoch. In these lower Man-
chhar beds also there is found a form of Dinotherium, another mioeene
type unknown in the Siwaliks proper, though found (the species being
distinct) in the beds of Perim Island. Now, there can be no reasonable
doubt that the Manchhar beds of Sind, as a whole, correspond with the
Siwalik formation of Northern India ; for the two are portions of one con-
tinuous band of upper tertiary rocks, and, viewed ■ in this light, the
relations of the faunas are very striking, the fossiliferous lower beds
of the Manchhar group corresponding to the unfossiliferous Nahans, and
forms and those now found in India, and appeared for iv long time (Pal. Mem., 1, p. 28)
rather disposed to consider that the tertiary mammalia of India " lasted through a period
orresponding to more than one^of the tertiary peviods of Europe " than to class the Siwalik
fauna with the mioeene of Europe. In his later writings he certainly spoke of the Siwalik
fauna as mioeene, but only incidentally; whilst in some of his latest papers he argued in
f of man having been a probable contemporary of Colossochelys and the Siwalik mam-
Y —an idea which it is diiEcult to reconcile with the mioeene age of the fauna.
1 See aiile, p. 466.
582 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIWAL IK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
the almost unfossiliferous upper Manchhar beds to the ossiferous strata
of the SiwaHks. It has ah-eady been shewn, how extremely difficult
it is to trace particular zones amongst the confused and contorted
mass of the newer tertiary deposits in the Sub- Himalayan ranges and
the Punjab ; but, so far as the evidence extends, it is certainly in favour
of a close correspondence between the Manchhars and the Siwaliks,
the upper Siwaliks being represented in Sind by the conglomerate,
less fully ■ developed 'there than to the northward, at the top of the
series, whilst a large proportion of the lower Manchhars is made up of
the grey sandstone, so well developed in the Nahan group. If, there-
fore, the lower Manchhars of Sind are upp6r miocene, so is the Nahan
group of the Punjab ; and it is impossible, either on stratigraphical or
palseontological grounds, to class the fossiliferous middle Siwaliks lower
than pliocene, the upper Siwaliks, which contain £os {Bubalus) palcsin-
dicus, being probably upper pliocene. Briefly stated, the evidence is
that the Siwalik fauna is newer than the Manchhar fauna, and found in
higher beds, and the Manchhar fauna is not older than upper miocene.
Survival of miocene forms in Siwalik beds. — If the views
expressed in the preceding paragraphs be admitted, it will be seen
that we have represented Lq the Siwalik beds a pliocene fauna,
containing an abnormally large miocene element; and although the
presence of this older element may be partially due to an undetected
admixture, by the collectors, of fossils from lower beds, it is certain that
this explanation will not suffice to account for all the older types of
Siwalik mammals; for the locality and horizon of several typically
middle, tertiary forms, such as Dorcaiherium, are well known to be middle,
or even upper Siwalik. An admixture of European miocene forms,
though to a much smaller extent, is fpund in the older pliocene of North
America. There is, however, a good reason for believing that European
miocene forms survived to a later period in India than in Central Europe,
because several genera not known in beds of later age than the miocene
• of Europe are found living, or are represented by nearly allied forms,
in the tropics of Asia and Africa. It has even been suggested that
of the two most important faunas in the tropics of the Old World, the
Indo-Malayan (exclusive of that inhabiting the Indian peninsula) and
the Ethiopian, the former is allied to the lower or middle miocene,
the latter to the upper miocene of Europe.' Thus in the miocene
beds of Central Europe, besides a monkey very like Semnopitheciis, there
' Fraas, Wiirttemberg'sche naturw. Jahreshefte, XXVI, 1870, p. 297j v. Pelzeln,
Africa-Indien, Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien., 1875, p. 61 ; and Ueber die Malayische Sange-
thier-fauna; Festschrift, 25 Jahr. Zool. Bot. GeseUsch., 1876, p. 19; Wallace, Geographical
Distribution of Animals, I, pp. 114 to 124.
Extra-Peninsular. J PLIOCENE fauna OP PIKERMI. 583
are found two genera of apes, Pliopithecus and Bryopithecus, allied
to the gibbons [Hylohates] of Assam, Burma, and the Malay countries ;
there is an insectivore nearly affined to Tupaia (Indian and Malay),
and forms of deer closely resembling Cenulus (another Indo-Malay
genus) occur, besides the living genera Viverra, Rhinoceros, and Tapirm ;
the two latter, however, being also found in European pliocene beds.
Pliocene fauna of Pikermi in Attica. — There is, however, one
European fossil fauna which is of singular interest from its resemblance
to that of the Siwalik beds. In this collection of extinct mammalia,
which has been discovered at Pikermi in Attica,^ not only is there a re-
markable admixture of typically miocene forms with other species which
have a later aspect, but there is the same remarkable abundauce of true
ruminants as in the Siwaliks. In the mipcene strata, although ruminants
occur, they are in general but little, if at all, superior in number to the
other artiodactyle ungulates; but in the Pikermi beds there are 15
ruminants to one pig and one Ckalieotherium ; in the Siwalik fauna, 28
ruminants and but 10 other artiodactyle ungulates. Another point of
similarity in the two faunas is the absence of small mammals.
The following is a list of the genera found in the beds of Greece,
vrith the number of species belonging to each genus : —
Primates —
Mesopitheeus, 1.
Caenivoba —
Simocyon, 1 ; Mustela, 1 ; Promephitis, 1 ; IctitheriurA, 3 ; Hycena, 1 ; LycycBwn,,
Hymnictis, 1 ; Machcerodus, 1 ; Felis, 4.
Peoboscidba —
Mastodon, 2 ; Dinotherium, 3.
Ungtjlata peeissodacttla —
Rhinoceros, 3 ; Acerotherium, 1 ; Leptodon, 1 ; Ripparion, 1.
UlfGtrlATA AETIODACTTLA
Sus, 1 ; Ckalieotherium, 1 ; Dremotherium, 2 ; Antilope, 3 ; Palceotragns, 1 ;
Palmoryx, 2; Tragoceras, 2; PalcBoreas, 1 ; Antidorcas, 1 ; Gazella, 1 ; Cam-
elopardalis, 1 ; Kelladotherium, 1. '
RODENTIA —
Hystrix, 1.
Edentata —
Ancylotherium, 1.
Of birds, a Fhasianus, a Gallms, and a Grus have been identified : of
reptiles, bpnes of Testudo and Far anus. Of the above 30 genera of
mammals, 13, besides Helladotherium, which is said to be scarcely distin-
1 Gaudry : Animanx fossiles et goologie de I'Attique.
584 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
ffuishable from the female of SivatAerinm, are found in the Siwaliks of
India : besides this^ the fauna bears in many respects the same similarity to
that of Africa at the present day as the Siwalik mammals bear to their
living Indian representatives. Now, this Pikermi fauna is constantly
quoted as upper miocene, and its connexion with the miocene beds in other
parts of Europe is unmistakable, no less than 15 species being undistin-
guishable from those found in various miocene deposits. Several of these
species are doubtfully identified, but amongst the number are such
characteristic forms as Machmrodiis cuUridens, Mastodon turicensis, and
Hipparion graeile. 'But, as M. Gaudry points out in the clearest manner,'
the ossiferous beds of Pikermi contain at their base, and below the
horizon whence the bones have been obtained, a layer with pliocene
marine fossils, and all the beds containing the bones, together with the
pliocene marine beds, rest unconformably on lacustrine miocene rocks.
There can be therefore no reasonable doubt that the Pikermi fossils,
like the Siwaliks, are of pliocene age, and that the quotation of them
as miocene is an error.'*
Migration. — The points of similarity between the European miocene
faunas and the animals now inhabiting either tropical Asia or Africa south
of the Sahara may be due either to migration and survival^ in a more
favourable climate, or to the fauna having been formerly more uniform
over large areas, and to the modified descendants continuing to live in one
region, whereas they have died out and been replaced by distinct types
in other parts of their old province. On the latter hypothesis we may
suppose that the fauna of Central Europe and Malayasia was more or
less uniform in the lower miocene period, and that Greece and Africa
formed a single zoological province in pliocene, days j but that the gibbon-
like apes, Tupaiadcs and other Malay types, died out in Central Europe,
and the girafEes, antelopes, &c., in Greece, whilst the descendants of their
relatives survived in the Malay countries and Africa respectively. The
theory of migration presents, on the whole, fewer difficulties, and is rather
1 Tom. oit., pp. 426-435.
2 For the theory adopted by M. Gaudry to account for the survival of these miocene
animals in pliooerfe times, see "Animaux fossiles et geologie de I'Attique," p. 431. It appears
simpler to believe that the miocene fauna of Europe migrated to the southward, and that
mnny species survived in Greece after they had died out north of the Alps. Hence the
admixture of pliocene and miocene types.
, ' It is assumed in the present and in other arguments employed in this work
that similarity of organisation implies relationship of descent, i. e., that animals having
similar structure are descended from the same ancestors more or less remotely. The
theories pf evolution and of origin of species by descent with modification are now
so widely accepted amongst naturalists that it is unnecessary to explain or defend
them.
Extra-Peninsular. ] EFFECTS OF CHANGE OP CLIMATE. 585
in accordance with the little we already know of the Indian miocene
(Manehhar) fauna, in which living tropical forms appear to be less repre-
sented than they are in the deposits of that age in Europe. It is not
unreasonahle to suppose that some of the forms' nanied, and especially
the ruminants, migrated into Southern Asia at the close of the miocene
period.
Effects of change of climate. — It is true that amongst the
marine invertebrates there is a well-marked resemblance between the
miocene genera of Europe and living tropical forms. The Indian and
African land faunas of the early and middle tertiaries are as yet too
imperfectly known for any comparison to be made between them and those
of the same epoch in extra-tropical regions. It is not improbable that
there may prove to have been a greater similarity than exists amongst
the terrestrial forms living - at present, and it is also probable that if
such similarity existed, it will be found to have consisted mainly in the
greater richness of the extra-tropical fauna in middle tertiary times, and
in a number of types now extinct or confined to the tropics having been
represented in both tropical and extra-tropical zones of climate. This
last probability is founded on the fact that the temperature of Europe
in the miocene epoch was in all probability nearer to that of the present
tropics than to the temperate climate of recent times, and that conse-
quently whole families of animals, and of plants intolerant of. cold,
then ranged io much higher latitudes than they now do. That
this was the case with plants is shewn by the well-known miocene
(or eocene?) flora of Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Alaska,^ and by
the species found in such marvellous abundance in the miocene beds
in Central Europe.
It is by no means an improbable inference that the representation of
so many European miocene genera in the Indian Siwaliks is due to
changes caused by the gradual refrigeration of the earth in later tertiary
times and to the migration of the fauna towards the tropics. There is
o-ood reason for believing that Europe and South-Eastern Asia were con-
nected by land after the eocene period ; and as it is certain that a great
portion of the disturbances affecting the Himalayan strata are of pliocene
or post-pliocene date, it is reasonable to conclude that at the close of the
miocene epoch no such mountain barrier as exists at present separated the
Indian peninsula from Central Asia. There is independent evidence in
favour of the view that the elevation of the Tibetan plateau is of post-
Siwalik date • for remains of Bhinoeeros and other large mammals occur
' Heer : Flora fossilis Arctioa, Vol. Ill, Ft. 4, &e.
586 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
at an elevation o£ 15,000 feet in Tibet,^ and it is not probable that these
animals lived in so elevated a region. ^
Comparative poverty of recent mammalian faunas. — But
the immigration of the European mioeene forms may not be the only-
way in v^hich the Siwalik fauna vras affected by the secular refrigera-
tion of the eartVs surface, culminating in the glacial epoch. It is true
that there is a considerable amount of similarity between the Siwalik
fauna and that of India at the present day ; but, nevertheless, there is a
very striking distinction — a distinction due less to change and re-
placement than to disappearance. Even after making allowance for
the fact that the whole assemblage may not have existed contem-
poraneously, there is nothing so striking in the fauna of the Siwalik
epoch as the wonderful wealth and variety of forms. It must be
recollected that we know little or nothing of the smaller mammals,
and that animals of size inferior to a pig or a sheep are scarcely
represented. It would be premature to infer that, as at the present
day,, the more minute forms exceeded the larger types in abund-
ance ; for the conditions of intermediate ages may have affected the more
bulky animals far more than the minute Rodentia, Insedivora, Chiroptera,
&c. Still it is only reasonable to suppose that the ancestors of the present
Micro -mammalia lived in the same profusion as they do now ; and it is
incredible that the living rodents and inseetivores can play the parts on
the modern stage and fulfil the functions of the great ungulates and
carnivores of past times. Comparing like with like, and especially pass-
ing in review the Camimra, Frohoscidea, and Ungulata, all represented,
and all, except the Proboscidea, well represented in the living fauna of
India, indeed better than in most other parts of the world at the
present day, it is impossible not to be struck with the comparative poverty
in variety of the existing mammalian types. We have of course but an
1 There is, on the other hand, a probahility that the elevation of the great plateau of
Central Asia dates from a period prior to the glacial epoch, or at least antecedent to the
close of the cold period, because, in the first place, there are numerous signs of ice having
formerly occupied a much greater area than it does at present ; and secondly, there is a very
remarkable change in several species of migratory birds between the forms found in
Western India (many of which are common to Europe) and those found in Eastern India
and Burma, many of which are peculiar to Eastern Asia. The two groups meet in India ;
and although stragglers are found to the east and west of the limit, they are not common.
The contrast is easily explained if the breeding places of the representative races have been
separated for' ages through the elevated regions of Central Asia being so covered by snow
and ice as to be unfitted for birds, and especially for insectivorous birds, to breed in. Amongst
examples of the representative races, Motacilla alba (v. dukhunensis) and Ert/tkrosferna parva
of Western India, replaced by M. luzoniensis and E. albicilla to the eastward, may be quoted.
' Falconer, Pal. Mem., I., p. 173.
Extra-Peninsular.] POVERTY OF recent mammalian faunas. 587
imperfect knowledge even of the larger Siwalik animals, and remains of
Carnivora are rare, so much so that probably many species remain undis-
covered; but even at present the known Siwalik carnivores are more
numerous than the living forms of similar size in the same area, and the
ungulates exceeded their living representatives in number in the proportion
of more than 5 to 2, there being 50 known Siwalik species and only 18
recent. The superior wealth of the older fauna is both generic and epe-
cifie ; not only are the types more varied, but there is a greater variety
of forms in many of the genera ; thus 6 species of Rhinoceros existed
where now there is only 1, or, including Eastern India and Burma, only
3 ; and no less than 11 extinct elephants and mastodons are represented
by a solitary living form. Even such modern types as Bos have dwindled
in numbers from 6 to 2.
This great impoverishment of the recent mammalian fauna is not
peculiar to India. It is found in other parts of the Old World and in
America, wherever remains of animals have been preserved in sufficient
quantities amongst the deposits of the later tertiary epochs for a good
idea of the fauna to be presented. ' In the words of Mr. Wallace, " we
■ live in a zoologically impoverished world, from which all the largest and
fiercest and strangest forms have recently disappeared ; " and he makes
the happy suggestion,' that this enormous reduction in the numbers of
the greater mammals is due to the glacial epoch. Thus for a second time
we find the action of this great physical change reflected in the Siwalik
fauna ; and we have an addition to the arguments urged in the sixteenth
chapter ^ in favour of India- having been affected by the cold period
which immediately preceded the present day.
The post-pliocene Narbada fauna is very poor compared with the
Siwalik. It is true that the former comprises two species of elephants and
two of hippopotamus; but only two bovines have been detected, one deer,
and one antelope. This difference may be partly due to imperfect know-
ledge, to the much smaller, range, both in area, and in time as represented
by thickness, in the case of the Narbada beds ; but none of these circum-
stances can possibly account for the whole distinction ; for large collections
of Narbada bones have been made, and more ruminants would surely have
been detected, had many existed. It is probable that the Narbada fauna
is posterior in date to the main operation of the agency, whatever it may
have been, that caused so many of the Siwalik mammals to die out.
The further diminution in the numbers of Proboscidea, and the complete
disappearance of the genera Hippopotamus and Rhinoceros from Central
■ Geographical Distribution of Animals, I, p. 150,
2 Ante, p. 372.
588 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
India, may perhaps have heen partly due to the agency of man, who, if
the evidence of the chipped quartzite implement already mentioned ^ can
be trusted, must have been a contemporary of the Narbada fauna.
Relations of Siwalik to Perim Island fauna. — Before quitting
the subject of the relations between the Siwalik and other fossil faunas^
two other Indian deposits containing mammalian remains require notice,
besides the mioeene beds of Sind and the Punjab, and the post-pliocene
formations of the Ganges valley and the Indian peninsula. These two
deposits are those of Perim Island in the Gulf of Cambay, the known
species from which locality have already been quoted ^ and are marked
P in the preceding list of tertiary fossil vertebrates, and those of the
Irawadi valley in Upper 'Burma marked I.
The known mammals from Perim Island comprise ten species, of
which four, viz., MasfMon latidens, M. perimensis, Acerotherium peri-
mense, and Sus hysudricus, are eomriion to the Siwalik beds. All these
forms are, however, found in other fossil faunas ; Mastodon perimensis and
Sus hysudricus being met with also in the lower Manchhar beds of Sind
Acerotherium perimense in the Irawadi deposits, and Mastodon latidens
in both, so that all the forms common to Perim Island and the Siwaliks '
are clearly species of wide range. The absence of Mephas and its
sub-genera, and of bovines, and the presence of Binotherium, tend
strongly to make the Perim Island fauna appear of greater age than
the Siwalik generally; but, on the other hand, the presence of so
highly specialised a genus as Capr'a, if the generic determination be
accepted,^ the occurrence of Cam.elopardalis and Antilope, and, above
all, the absence, so far as is known, of any of the Anthracotheridm and
other older ungulate types so abundant in the mioeene beds of Sind
and the Punjab, are opposed to the idea that the Perim Island rocks
can be of higher antiquity than pliocene. They possibly occupy an
intermediate position between the Siwaliks proper and the Manchhars
of Sind, but they are more nearly allied to the former.
Comparison with Irawadi fauna. — It will be necessary to revert
to the mammalian remains found in the Irawadi valley when' describino-
the rocks of Bui-ma. JMI that it is now necessary to point out is that,
although the proportion of species identified with Siwalik forms is
rather less than in the case of Perim Island, only four species, viz., Stego-
don cliftii, Mastodon latidens, Acerotherium perimense, and Merycopotamus
1 Ante, p. 386.
2 AntR, p. 343.
' It should not be forgotten that Ccvpra perimensis ia founded solely on a frontlet '
with the hom-casea, and that nothing is known of the greater part of the cranium, the
teeth, or the limb bones. See Lydekker, Pal. Ind., Ser. X, 3, p. 83-170, PI. xxviii, fig. 4.
Extra-Peninsular. J comparison with EECENT fauna. 589
dissimilis, out of thirteen, being known to be common to the Siwaliks
and the Irawadi beds, the general facias of the two, faunas is very similar.
Both contain a considerable proportion of living genera unknown in
the middle tertiaries of Europe, together with some older forms, such
as Acerotherium and Merycopotamns. The Irawadi fauna perhaps may-
be equivalent to upper Siwalik.
The Tibetan mammalian fauna ' already noticed is too imperfect for
comparison.
Oomparison of Siwalik and recent faunas.— Lastly, a few words
may be added as to the points of connexion between the Siwalik f aun^,
and that now found in India, Malayasia, and Africa. The most remarkable
distinction between the mammalian life of tertiary times and that of the
present day, the comparative wealth of the former and poverty of the '
latter, has already been noticed ; but jt is matter of some interest to trace
how far the Siwalik types are represented by animals now inhabiting India,
and how many of the tertiary genera, though still living on the earth^s
surface, are no longer found in the regions formerly inhabited by their
Siwalik alHes. As the fauna of India varies in different parts, it will be
best to take for comparison with the Siwalik mammals all forms now
existing in the IndorGangetic plain, from the Indus to the parallel of
Calcutta, together with those inhabiting the lower slopes of the Himalayas
up to 4,000 or 5,000 feet. This area comprises portions of three distinct
zoological sub-provinces, the animals inhabiting the Indo-Gangetic plain
to the westward exhibiting some distinctions of importance ' from those
occurring to the eastward, and the lower slopes of the Himalayas having
a very different fauna, distinguished' by the presence of numerous
Malay types. In this comparison, again, the minor generic or sub-generic
groups of many modern naturalists are not enumerated ; Rucenus, Rum,
and Axis, for instance, being considered merely forms of Cervus, and Bibos,
Bubalus, &c., of Bds. The following is a list lof the Siwalik genera
represented by species living in Northern India,^ the number of such
species being added : —
Pbimatbs —
Semnopifhecus, 2; Macacus, 1 (or 2).
Caenivosa —
Felis, 8'; SycBna,!; Canis, (including Vulpes), 4; Ursus, 1; Mellivora, 1;
Lutra, 2 (or 3).
1 Falconer, Pal. Ind., I, p. 173; Strachey, Q. J. G. S., 1851, p. 292.
' The living genera are taken chiefly from Jerdon's Mammals of India, a few alterations
and additions being made.
3 Five of these are of small size.
590 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-SIWALIK FAUNA. [Chap. XXIV.
Peoboscidea —
Elephas, 1.
UN0TTLATA PBEISSODACTYI.A —
Bhinoceros, 2 (both only found to the eastward, and the second species barely within
the area) ; Equus, 1 (also barely within the ar^, but to the westward).
UNaUIiATA AETIODACTTLA —
Sw (including PorcuUa), 2 (or 3) ; Cervus, 4 ; Antilope (including Gazella), 2 ;
Bos, 2 ; Ovis, 1 (in the Punjab only). Capra is not found living in the area
named, tut 3 species exist on the higher Himalayas, and two on the hill
ranges to the west of the Punjab.
KODENTIA —
Mus, many species; Jthixomys, 1 (only found to eastward) ; Hystrix, 2 (or 3).
The genera of Ungulata now found in Northern India and not re-
presented, so far as is known, in the Siwalik fauna are only four : Cenulus,
Portax, Tetracerus, and Nemorhedus. Some twelve genera of living Indian
and Himalayan Carnivora have not heen found in the Siwalik rocks, hut all
are of comparatively small size ; Viverra, Arctictis, Cuon, and Paradoxurus
being the largest.
Th6 Siwalik genera not now living in Northern India, hut still
existing elsewhere, are Meles and Camelm, now confined in the wUd state
to the palsearctic region, and Hippopotamus and Camelopardalis, both
surviving in Africa. AH the other living forms already enumerated
are common to India and Africa south of the Sahara, except Semno-
jpiikecus, Macacus, Ursus, Cervus, Ovis, and PJiizomys, whilst Hyoena,
Cams, Mellivora, Equus, Antilope, and Ovis are unknown in the Malay
regions. The genera common to the Siwalik fauna and Malayasia, but
not found in Africa, are Semnopithecus, Macacus, Ursus, Cervus, and
Bhizomys. The first two and the last of these are, however, represented
by allied forms in Africa, whilst no such near Malayan representa-
tives of any of the Siwalik-African forms, except Canis (replaced
by Cuon), can be mentioned. It may be added that of the twelve genera
of living Indian Carnivora. unrepresented in the Siwaliks, the majority
are Malayan forms inhabiting the Himalayas. It is clear that the
Siwalik fauna resembles that now inhabiting Southern Africa more than
it does the assemblage of living Mammalia now found in Malayasia,
and it is probable that this resemblance is due to both the pliocene
Siwaliks and the recent; Ethiopian faunas, together with a very large
proportion of the animals now inhabiting the plains of India, being
descended partly or wholly from the same ancestors, and perhaps from
their ancestors having originally migrated southward from the miocene
lands of Central Europe and Asia. We know nothing of the miocene
mammals of Southern Africa, but such information as we possess of the
Extra-Peninsulaj. ] COMPARISON WITH RECENT FAUNA. 591
upper miocene fauna of Northern India renders it probable tbat most of
the Siwalik mammals emigrated about the close of the miocene epoch,
and a portion of the descendants of the Siwalik immigrants may have
inhabited the country ever since. Many forms have, however, died out,
and it is probable that in comparatively recent times some of these
extinct forms have been replaced by Malayan types, either introduced
from the eastward, or spreading northward from the singularly isolated
Malayan faunas now inhabiting the Malabar coast and the Southern
Indian hills. Many, however, of the forms which at first sight appear
to have distinctly Malayan afiinities, such as Cenus [Bucervus) duvaucelU
and Bos gaums, despite their close alliance with living Malay forms,
and the want of related species in Africa, are probably descended from
Siwalik ancestors, and are not Malayan immigrants. Again, in a few
cases, as in that of the Indian gazelle, some of the species which, judging
by their range and their close connexion with forms inhabiting other
countries', are amongst the most recent additions to the Indian fauna,
come from the west and not from the eastward.
592 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-LOWER HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
LOWER HIMALAYAS.
Limits — General features — The terminal area — Classification of rocks — Correlation
of groups — Tlie gneissic series t- The slate series — The Simla slates — The Blaini
group — The Infra-Kr(51 — The Krdl group — The relation of the slate and gneissic
series. Special metamorphism and disturhance — Trappean rocks — The Chor mountain
— South-east of Simla. Kumaun and Gharwal. Nepal. The Sikkim area — Dar-
jiling gieiss — The Baling series — The Damuda series — Relations of the three
series — The Bhutan border : Baxa series — The Dikrang section. , SuMniET.
Limits. — The name "Lower Himalaya" does not spontaneously suggest
the area to which it is here restricted. This is not a mountain-zone of
medium elevation, continuous between tlie Sub-Himalayas and the Central
or Tibetan region; for, as already stated (p. 557), we find the tertiary
rocks in the Kangra district within a mile of a lofty ridge of " central
gneiss/' on the prolongation of the main Himalayan axis, and structurally
belonging to the Tibetan region. StUl, to any one who knows the ground,
the character " Lower " would suggest the area in question ; for the
ridges of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal, belonging to the Central
Himalayas, and overhanging the Sub- Himalayan zone in the north-west,
are much more lofty, rugged, and persistent than the mountains of the
Lower Himalayas, occupying the broad area, some 50 mUes wide,
between the great snowy range and the plains.
To the east this feature continues beyond the range of exploration, in
the mountains north of Assam : on the west it ends, or begins, abruptly
very nearly on meridian 77° E., a short distance west of Simla. Both
the Bias and the Sutlej flow from east to west across this terminal Ijound-
ary of the Lower Himalayan region, while the Tons and the Jumna are
the first rivers having a southerly course in this ground. The mention
of these rivers shews that the meridional watershed of India occurs here ;
but this is a fact of no significance ; for it is possible that almost
within historical times the Jumna may have flowed westward, instead of
to the Ganges.^ Simla stands on the Sutlej-Jumna watershed, and, as
• See page 417.
Extra-Peninsular. ] general features. 593
a well-known place, its name has been given (p. 529) to this terminal
region of the Lower Himalayas. I£ a politico-geographical name were
required for the Lower Himalayan region, the kingdom of Nepal would
furnish the most suitable, as it occupies the whole middle area for a
length of 500 miles; and the Gurkhas of Nep£ formerly held sway to
beyond the Sutlej.
G-eneral features. — The character chosen to designate this region of
the mountains is a superficial one ; yet it is an index of important
structural peculiarities : the low general average of elevation is due to
the irregularity of the disturbance that has affected the rocks, without
producing any dominant lines of dislocation or of upheaval ; being thus
in marked contrast with two other divisions of the mountains, where
steady outcrops are determined by continuous parallel axes of flexure and
of dislocation. There is, no doubt, a very decided prevalence of a strike
parallel to the general mountain- axis, and the dominant dip of the
strata is towards that 3,xis; but local interruptions are so frequent, that
the general result, as brought out by the drainage courses, is more like
that from the denudation of a homogeneous mass. It has been suggested ^
that the present rivers cross this area on lines of fracture ; but observation
lends no support to the opinion : the drainage channels, great and
small, are as devious as they could be worn through a promiscuous
mass of broken materials, J^ possible cause for this condition will be
suggested. •
The boundaries of the Lower Himalayas are, however, well defined.
On the north, so far as known from the west end, there is the great,
gneissic axis, with constant granitic intrusion, forming the main snowy
range. On the Sub-Himalayan border, along the " main boundary " of
the tertiary zone, there is also, from the west up to Nepal, some approach
to constancy in the older rocks. They are intensely contorted, but with
more steadiness of direction than in the interior of the area ; although
still there are numerous breaches of regularity, as at the sharp bends
of the main boundary east of Dehra, and again just east of the Ganges,
both of which coincide with twists in the strike of the slates. This
circumstance (the local strike of the strata at these points) is perhaps an
additional argument in favour of this boundary being primarily a
feature of denudation, or at least against its being a great master-disloca-
tion (p. 540).
Regarding the distribution and structure of the rocks in the Lower
Himalayas, our information is still more scanty than in the case of the
Sub-Himalayas, and our description must be correspondingly bare. For a
> Q. J. G. s., VII, p. 309.
594 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV.
length of 500 miles in Nepal, we have only notes upon one short section
in the middle ; and to the east of this, throughout the whole range, only
one narrow area has been examined, in Sikkim. It is in the north-western
portion that most observations have been made, and it is there that the
rocks are in the most favourable condition for study, as exhibiting least
metamorphism. This is apparently due to the position being a sub-
terminal one in the mountain area. However this may be, we find here
a continuous broad belt of unaltered limestones and shaly slates at the
edge of the mountains ; and at many points they extend far into the
interior. This border contracts gradually to the eastwards, being com-
paratively narrow, though still well marked, at Naini Tdl ; but on the Kath-
mandu section it has disappeared, and in Sikkim gneissic rocks come
very close to the southern or main boundary. ■ The relatioa of these
unaltered rocks to the gneissic series is the chief puzzle of the Lower
Himalayas. The boundary of the two is as irifegular as it can be, and
quite unlike any feature described in other Himalayan regions.
As in the case of the Sub-Himalayas, and for analogous reasons, we
must describe the Lower Himalayas in sections of areas, commencing
at the west end, with the terminal area already denoted as the Simla
region.^
The terminal area. — It is important to note at starting that the
termination of the Lower Himalayas, in about 77° of east longitude, is
sti'ictly a feature of the general mountain-structure, the boundary there
being more or less homologous with that elsewhere. The several rock-series
of the area do not continue with their general north-westerly strike up
to the terminal boundary, nor end there along a transversely denuded
outcrop, against the tertiary formations. Here, as elsewhere, the strike of
the old rocks conforms to the main boundary, even when almost at right
angles to the axis of the range ; and the same external band of unaltered
palaeozoic rocks intervenes continuously between the gneiss of the interior
and the fringing tertiary formations. This condition holds good for the
whole Western Himalayas, the strata forming throughout an independent
system of disturbance : at no point along the mountain border on this
side do the gneissic rocks touch the Sub-Himalayan zone, so they can
never (in, or since, silurian times) have been continuous with the crystalline
rocks pf peninsular India. This fact would be almost a corollary
from the statement already given (p. 569) , that the contortion of the
slates is of post-nummulitic date ; it may now be quoted as a confirma-
tion of that statement.
' For some particulars of this ground, see Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt. 2, 1864 ; and Eec.
a. S. I„ X, p. 202, 1877.
Extra-Peninsular. J CORRELATION OF GROUPS. 595
«
Olassiflcation of rocks. — The following petrographical groups are
distinguishable in the Simla Himalayas. It is convenient to consider
them as two series, although they may be in part equivalent ; the relation
between the two being the great puzzle of the geology of this region,
and the chief contrast between it and the Central Himalayas.
■A- — Outer, newer, or slate series —
Krdl : limestones, sandstones and shales . . .' 800 — 1,200
Infra- Krol : shales (often carbonaceous) and flags . 1,000—3,000
Blaini • : limestone, sandstone and conglomerate . 100
Infra-Blaini (Simla slates) : slates and flags . . over 5,000
Base not known.
B — Inner, older, or gneissic series —
Gneissose schists 6,000
Massive gneiss 100 — 600
Schistose gneiss ?
Correlation of groups.— The absence of fossils is one of the most
puzzling facts connected with the geology of this area, and the same
remark applies to these formations throughout their extension on the
southern face of the Himalayas, eastwards to Nepal and westwards to
the Jhelum. All the rocks of series A are such as might be expected to
contain organic remains ; they are fully exposed to view at some much
frequented localities, as in the hill stations of Mansiiri (Mussooree) and
Naini Tal, and on the road to Simla, — at all of which many skilled
observers have searched carSfuUy for fossils, but in vain. Only one
authentic case of organic remains from these rocks is on record : ' some
indeterminable casts of bivalve moUusks from a band of limestone in the
Tal, or Bheng, river, at the end of the Dehra Dun, east of the Ganges.
In the absence of fossils, an attempt at identification can only be
made through comparison with sections of known rocks, or by continuous
connexion with known sections. On the former grounds, the following
conjectural affiliation was made by Dr. Stoliezka, through a comparison
with the rocks described by him in Spiti, beyond the snowy range due
north of Simla. *
Simla. Spiti. Europe.
Krdl limestone. LiUng series. Upper trias,
Infra-Kr61. Lower trias.
Qnartzites and mica.
' schists at Simla. Kuling. Carboniferous.
Blaini. Muth. Upper Silurian.
Infra-Blaini (Simla slates). Upper Bhabeh. Lower silurian.
1 Formerly spelt "Blini": the first vowel sound is full, as in blind, so the correct spell-
iag is '■' Blaini."
2 Mem. G. S. I., HI, Ft. 2, p. 69.
3 Mem. G. S. I., V, p. 141.
596 GEdLOGY OF INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV.
On the same page (l. c.) Dr. Stoliczka mentions a prior recognition
of the infra-Kr61 beds as lower trias, from their being mineralogically so
very similar to the Banter Sandstein of Europe ; and no remark is so fre-
quently repeated in Stoliczka's later Himalayan notes as the resemblance
of the semi-oolitic triassic limestone to the Krol rock. An apparent
confirmation of the age assigned by Dr. Stoliczka to the Krol group was
published about the same time ^ in Professor Giimbel^s description of a
specimen, from the Schlagintweit collection, said to have been obtained
at Dharampur near Solan in the Simla district, containing three fossils,
Idma Imedta and Natica gaillardoti, found also in the Muschelkalk in
Europe, and a new species, Nat. simlaensis (Giimb). In view of all the
circumstances,^ however, it seems safest to doubt the authenticity of this
specimen. The well.-known locality Dharampur, in the neighbourhood
indicated, is certainly on nummulitic rocks, and there can be but little
doubt that the specimen in question came from some tbtaUy different
ground, possibly from Tibet. (
The method of connected observations has suggested a different
correlation of the upper members of the Simla series. These rocks, as
has been said, are continuous, although locally much contracted and ob-
scured, along the Himalayan border up to the Pir Panjal, and the lime-
stone there occurring, like that of the Simla region, at the top of the
slate series, has been satisfactorily identified by Mr. Lydekker ^ with the
carboniferous limestone of Kashmir (the Kuling limestone of Tibet),
and quite distinct from the triassic limestone, which also occurs in the
valley. He also thinks that the infra- Krol is carboniferous, leaving the
"Blaini group and the Simla slates to represent the Muth and Bhabeh
rocks of Tibet, as silurian. In the Pir Panjal and Kashmir, as in the
Lower Himalayas, these lower rocks have as yet proved unf ossiliferous ;
but there can scarcely be a doubt of their representing the infra-carbon-
iferous slates of Tibet in which silurian fossils have been found.
The gneissic series. — The gneissie and schistose rocks, even in the
Simla region, occupy the largest portion of the Lower Himalayan area
south of the great snowy range. That range, westwards from Nepal, has
been described by different observers as formed of, or supported by, gneiss,,
with e:!}tensive intrusion of granite. In describing this gneiss between
the Sutlej at Wangtu and the Bhabeh- pass, north-east of Simla, Dr.
' Sitzungster. bair. Akad. d. "Wiss., 1865, II, p. 354.
2 So many serious errors have been found to exist in the localities assigned by the
Messrs. Schlagintweit to their reptilian and other collections, that no dependence can be
placed upon any specimen collected by them.
Kec. G. S. L, XI, p, 63,<1878.
Extra-Peninsular.] THK QNEISSIC SERIES. 597
Stoliczka distinguislied it as the " central gneiss/' asserting that, geologi-
cally speaking, it had nothing to do with the gneiss of the Lower Hima-
layas to* the south of it.^ It is presumable that there was some better
ground for this opinion than the presence of an eruptive rock in the gneiss
along this mountain axis ; but however this may be, it has been shewn
beyond reasonable doubt by Colonel McMahon^ that the crystalline series
forming the peaks south of Wangtu, of which the Simla watershed is an
offshoot, is the same as that of the main range.^ The massive granitoid
gneiss which, although subordinate, is the most conspicuous member of
the series, and thus was unfortunately made its representative member,
passes into the north base of these soifthern peaks above Sangla on the
Baspa (which joins the Sutlej south of Chini), at an elevation of about
10,000 feet; and it emerges on the south base at Lorot (20 miles due
south-west from Sangla) at the head of the Pabar valley, at an elevation
of about 8,500. In the intervening mountains of Bisahir, crossed by the
Borendo and Eupinu passes, the stratification lies flatly, and there must, be
some 6,000 feet of the gneissose schists overlying the more granitoid
rock. Although no granite has been observed here, these are no doubt
the same as the schistose gneiss, having a high northerly dip, described by
Dr. Stoliczka in the Bhabeh section {I. c, p. 14) and distinctly included by
him in his " central gneiss." The opinion that this gneiss was restricted
to the main mountain axis was, no doubt, a principal reason for the
name given to it, which is certainly not altogether appropriate to the real
state of the case. " Lower gneiss ■" would have been a better designation
for it, as it is probably the oldest rock in the whole Himalayas. In the
Tibetan region we shall find gneiss that is probably an altered silurian
rock ■ whereas the junction of the Lower Himalayan gneiss with the
silurian slates on the north side of the main range is represented as
abrupt, if not Unconformable ; although the granite is said to penetrate
even up to the overlying secondary rocks.*
This determination of the Lower Himalayan gneiss in the Simla
region to be the same as that of the main range, is a point of great
importance ; as it at once disposes of the conjectures that had been
hazarded, as to its being possibly of later age than the Krol rocks ; and
it is only fair to suggest that those conjectures may have influenced
1 Mem. G. S. I., V, p. 15.
2Eec. G. S. I., X, pp. 216—221.
» It should be recollected that Dr. Stoliczka did not himself survey the Simla region,
and that his examination of the gneiss in this part of the Himalayas can only have been of
the most cursory description.
4 I. c, p. 12.
598 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWEB HIMALATAS. [Chap. XXV.
Dr. Stoliczka's decision upon the distinctness o£ the two gneisses. Suppos-
ing the massive band of granitoid gneiss to have an approximately fixed
position in the series, as is implied for this area by the foregoing' observ-
ations, it will be of great service in tracing the position of the gneissic
series and its relation to the slate series. On the secondary ridge, and
principal watershed, running west-south-west from the Bisahir peaks to
Simla, this gneiss forms the crest at Hatu (10,469) ; and it is very pro-
minent below the crest in the southern branch, forming the Shankan
ridge, from which it passes eastwards into the valley of the Pabar. A
low east-north-easterly dip is the general lie of the gneiss in this position.
Hatu would seem to be on the cre'st of an anticlinal, and 8 miles to the
north, in the Sutlej (3,000), the same gneiss, or what we are supposing to
be the same, forms the banks of the river from Kamarsen bridge, nearly
to Rampur, the capital of the Bisahir State. North of the Sutlej, in the
Jalori ridge, running from the snowy peaks of Kulu west-south-west-
wards to the Cheru summit (10,134), within 12 miles of the tertiary zone,
a massive granitoid gneiss again occurs, with a prevailing low easterly
dip.
AH these gneissic rocks of the interior are continuous with the crys-
talline mass of the main chain ; and the principal feature to notice about
them is their small disturbance as compared with their state in that
chain, or with the condition of the newer rocks forming the outer zone
of the Lower Himalayas. But there is one mass of granitoid gneiss
difBerently circumstanced in the Simla area, forming the Chor mountain
(11 982 feet high), 25 miles south-east of Simla, and 20 miles from the
main boundary at Nahan. Lithologically, the rock forming the Chor
is the same as the massive gneiss of Hatu and elsewhere, but in the first-
named mountain it is quite surrounded by the rocks of the upper series.
It will be described further on.
The slate series. — Although true slaty cleavage, distinct from
lamination and jointing, is of rare occurrence in the Lower Himalayas,'
the prevailing type of rock in the newer series, indicated on p. 595, is that
best described as slaty; and it will be convenient to speak of these rocks
collectively as the slate series, as distinguished from the lower metamor-
phic series. Locally, the texture is below this standard of induration,
and the rock is rather shaly than slaty, as in the Infra- Krol shales at the
base of the Krol mountain. Locally also, and more frequently, crystalline
foliation is well developed, where the rock is rather schistose than slaty,
as in those same Infra- Krol shales on Jako at Simla.
> Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt. 2, p. 72.
Extra-Peninsular. J THE slate series.
599
The normal order of this series is nowhere so svu-ely displayed, with
so little disturbance and alteration of the strata, as in the Simla region,
just inside the Sirmur rocks of the standard area, on the main road to
Simla. From the Solan rest-house the Krol mountain (7,406) on the-
north, the Boj on the west, and Kanoj on the south-east, are within easy
walking distance. They are formed, above the road level, of massive
hmestone, more or less isolated upon a base of earthy slates, thus leaving
no doubt that the limestone is the latest of the series. The Blaini stream
rises just west of Solan; and in its channel the small, but highly distinct-
ive, group that bears its name is repeatedly exposed, sometimes in con-
tact with the nummulitie clays. Considering its persistent small dimen-
sions, this Blaini group has a remarkably wide distribution, having been
traced in typical form as far as the Krol limestone itself; and thus a
much-needed horizon can be recognised in an immense thickness of rocks
that could scarcely otherwise be separated, and a clue is furnished whereby
to unravel and delineate the very complicated disturbance to which
these outer rocks have been subjected.
So far as can be, or at least has been, made out in the outer zone of
the mountains, there is conformity between the several groups of the
upper series ; but in discussing the relations of the two series, facts will
be observed involving the overlap of the upper groups at or about the
Blaini horizon.
The Infra-Blaini rocks (Simla slates). — In the neighbourhood of
Solan, where the three upper groups of the slate series are typically seen,
the Blaini rocks occur in the lowest ground, so the underlying formations
are not exposed. These may be well seen near Simla, below the Blaini
outcrop on the easb in the valley of the Ussan, and on the north towards
the Sutlej. They consist of finely laminated slaty shales and thin sandy
flagstones, with occasional beds of earthy sandstones. The lamination
is sometimes fine enough and the induration sufficient to produce service-
able roofing slate, but much inferior to true cleavage slates. From the
Blaini rocks at the Lakri Bazaar there is an apparently unbroken succes-
sion of the Simla slates to Naldera (the ridge above Bassantpur), where
the limestone of the Sutlej valley begins; the dip is steady, and there is
no trace of a flexure; 5,000 feet is a low estimate of the thickness of such
a section. The limestone just mentioned is supposed to be the Krol lime-
stone, brought down by faulting ; and, as in every other known section, the
actual substratum of the Simla slates has not been observed in this region.
The Blaini group. — This group consists of two very distinct mem-
bers, each of which seldom exceeds 50 feet in thickness, and is gene-
rally much less. The upper rock is a fine, compact or micro-crystalline
600 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV.
magnesian limestone/ of pale-grey and pink tints, thin bedded, but often
amalgamated into a single mass. It rests upon a quartzite sandstone,
often a clear quartzose rock, but sometimes rusty and more or less earthy.
In whole or in part this lower band is very often highly conglomeratic,
with well-rounded pebbles and small boulders of white quartz and vari-
ously-tinted quartzites, and sometimes partially-rounded debris of slate
rocks. Pebbles of crystalline rocks have not been observed in it in this
region. Although often crushed together, mixed and inverted, these two
rocks seem never to have been interstratified originally; and it is possible,
notwithstanding their so constant association, that they were considerably
sepai-ated in age. The persistent occurrence of two thin bands of such
different types of rocks over so large an area is a remarkable circumstance,
but a most fortunate one for the geologist who undertakes the study of
this difficult ground.
Infra-Krol group. — This is a provisional form of nomenclature, and
it is not improbable that " lower Krol " group would be more appropriate;
but until the connexion can be based upon palseontologieal facts or more
extended observation of the strata, it is safer to adhere to the more vague
expression of the relation. At the base of the Krol, north of Solan, the
soft black infra- Krol shales are very well exposed. The carbonaceous
element is the most striking character of the group, but it cannot be
adopted as an essential one, or even perhaps general. Sometimes this
character extends down to the beds overlying the Blaini limestone, as in
the outcrops on the Ghambar between Kiari Ghat and Sairi ; but often
it is wanting in beds that seem to belong to this horizon, as along the
Solan watershed, on the crushed anticlinal between the Krol and the Boj.
In the absence of faulting, or of an outcrop of the Blaini limestone here,
all the beds should belong to the inf ra-Krol group, but they are not car-
bonaceous. It may perhaps be questioned whether this can be attributed
to a subsequent removal of the carbonaceous ingredient, or to an original
inequality of distribution. This carbonaceous ingredient of the shales is,
however, very widely spread, being well seen at Mansiiri (Mussooree), and
other places at a distance from the Simla region. The shiny black .
crushed rock, so common in faulted ground in this region, is presumably
derived from the carbonaceous beds pf the infra-Krol gronp.^
J McMahon : Bee. G. S. I., X, p. 210.
' Suhathu Coal. — The coaly aspect of this carbonaceous shale, especially where made
glossy in crashed ground, has often raised expectations of finding coal. In 1862, Colonel
Fyers, in spite of warnings, made an attempt at mining upon an outcrop of this crushed
rock near Suhathu, expecting to find coal to the deep. The sttifE contains sometimes as
much as 25 per cent, of fixed carbon, besides 11 per cent, of volatile matter, partly hydro-
carbons.
Extra-Peninsular.] RELATIONS OP THE SLATES AND GNEISS. 601
In the neighbourhood of the Krol or at Simla, a thickness of about
1,000 feet would include the beds between the Blaiui limestone and the
base of the Krol group ; elsewhere there is a much greater apparent
thickness, as from the base of the Tara Devi quartzite at Man Ghat sum-
mit, to the Qutcrop of the Blaini group in the Ussan, where the thickness
would seem to be 3,000 feet. But in all these sections the strata are
greatly affected by small slips ; and these interfere with any attempt to-
estimate the dimensions of the groups, and tend either to exaggerate, or to
diminish the true thickness.'
The Krol group.— On the Krol mountain, from which it takes its
name, the top group consists almost entirely of limestone, a pale-grey
(Compact or crypto-ciystalline rock, "sometimes dark and locally oolitic ;
but even here there are subordinate shaly beds, sometimes pale pink, and
at the base there is a variable band of clear coarsish quartz sandstones.
The calcareous element is decidedly the prevailing character of the group,
as compared with the imderlying slate series, which is remarkably deficient
in this ingredient. The sandy element, however, is often very pro-
minent. As an expansion of the bottom band, this fact is well exempli-
fied at Simla, in the massive quartzites of Boileauganj, and of Tara Devi
ridge to the south, overlaid by a remnant of the Krol limestone at Jutog,
Elsewhere, as south of Guma peak in Sirmiir, the limestone itself is
rather a calcareous sandstone, or occurs as subordinate bands in a mass of
sandstone. When the ground comes to be worked out, these variations
will be useful, as suggesting local conditions of deposition; and the estab-
lishment of this character in the standard area will facilitate conjectural
identification of the group elsewhere, as in Nepal.
The relations of the slate and gneissic series.— No special ac-
count has been given of the distribution of each group, nor of the struc-
tural features of the ground, because the little that is known of either will
be fully exhibited in discussing the difficult question of the relation of the
two rock-series. The structural peculiarities of the Lower Himalayas
are best shewn by contrast with those of the other regions of the moun-
tains. .All the boundaries hitherto noticed were determined along what
are clearly Himalayan lines of disturbance. Even in the middle region,
where both the bottom tertiary and middle tertiary junctions were shewn
with some probability to be aboriginal, i. e,, primarily (as junctions)
lines of deposition, these had previously been determined as lines of erosion
by the early results of Himalayan disturbance. In the North-West, again,
where the Sub- Himalayan and Central Himalayan features come toge-
ther there is complete con-espondeuce between the structural features in the
' Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Ft. 2, p. 37.
602 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-LOWER HIMALAYAS. . [Chap. XXV.
gneissic axes o£ the Dhauladhar (the range just north of the Kangra valley)
and the Pir Pan jal (the range south of Kashmir), which are constructed on
the same pattern as the latest ridge of the Siwaliks. The change is im-
mediate where, at the east end of the Dhauladhar, the Lower Himalayan
region begins : the boundary of the slate and the gneissic series here does
not run even approximately parallel to the main boundary ; it bends east
and then north, round the point of a ridge of gneiss, up the valley of
the Bias towards Sultanpur, and thus all round the basin of the river
and its tributaries to the south, where it runs to south of west along the
Jalori ridge of gneiss, separating the Bias from the Sutlej, and then
round the point of this ridge and along its south flank to far up the
valley of the Sutlej.
Other changes are commensurate with this remarkable one in the out-
line of the boundary : from being a single naiTow outcrop along the base
of the Dhauladhar, the slate and limestone series spreads into a wide area
(some 20 miles by 30) in the Bias basin, and similarly on the Sutlej.
The structural features in the two positions are equally discrepant : along
the Dhauladhar the strata are vertical, or underlie towards the gneissic
axis in inverted ordtr ; whereas in the great river basins of . this termi-
nal area of the Lower Himalayas, the confused contortion of the rocks
within the basin is beyond description ; but at the boundary the dip on all
sides is towards the overhanging ridge of gneiss, and in normal order,
the great or Krol limestone being uppermost.^
The appearance is as if the slate and limestone series really passed
beneath the gneiss, and were older than it ; but if this gneiss is the same
as that of the main range, such a view would be untenable. The sup-
position which would best represent the facts to the imagination is, that
these deep and precipitous valleys in the gneiss had existed in pre-silurian,
or at least pre-carboniferous times, and had become filled with deposits
of those periods. Under subsequent compression the disturbance would
principally take efifect upon the softer later deposits, and in' a man-
ner corresponding with the features described. It is doubtful indeed
whether any other supposition will iit the case : the structural features
may almost be said to be incompatible with the view of their formation
by faulting or inversion, produced by lateral thrust upon any parallel
sequence of strata, the very difEerent results of which processes are so
well illustrated in neighbouring areas.
An apparently complete refutation of the objection just stated, against
the explanation by faulting, is found in the Sutlej basin. The Shali
mountain (9,420'), which forms such a picturesque object in the land-
' Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Ft. 2, p. 50.
Extra-Peninsular.] RELATIONS OF THE SLATES AND GNEISS. 603
scape from Simla, is formed of limestone, and it stands within the special
basin of distm-bance in question. Above and east of the gap connecting
the Shall with the watershed-ridge east of the Sutlej, there is an outcrop
. of the Blaini group, dipping north-eastward; and from the Shall the lime-
stone passes to the south-east, and round the head of the valley under
Thiog, Fagu, and Mahasu, into the Naldera ridge, where, we have already-
seen (p. 599), it apparently passes southwards under the base of the Simla
slates. Thus on the south side the rocks of the Sutlej valley behave
towards the slate series of the typical area, as they do to the gneiss on
the north side ; and it would seem that the 'crucial evidence, whereby to
judge the whole case of these valleys full of the latest beds of the series,
were to be found here, where ■ the horizons of the contiguous rocks are
more comparable.
The question turns upon the point, whether the limestone of the Shall,
and of the Sutlej and Bids valleys, is the same as the Kr61 rock ; and, so
far as our observations go, the answer is in the affirmative. The general
resemblance of the two rocks is sufficiently marked, and the differences
are no greater than have been observed in the Krol rock within its standard
area. Carbonaceous beds also are found in both of those valley's ; and in
one case an outcrop of the Blaini group has been marked, north of the
Sutlej, on the spur north-west of Bihul ; where, in contact with a broad
dyke of trap, there is a small thickness of coarse quartz conglomerate,
overlaid by slate and thin-bedded limestone.^
Accepting this identification, we are then bound to suppose a disloca-
tion and downthrow of great magnitude in the Sutlej valley, or an up-
heaval of the ground at Simla and to the west of it. The Blaini outcrop
north of Simla passes westwards along the flank of the ridge to Dhamini,
where it turns south and then south-east, following a devious course to
near Haripur on the old road to Simla.* Thus the form of this inevitable
dislocation is quite on a par with that of the boundary with the gneiss
between the Sutlej and the Bias. We cannot, however, reasonably apply
this crucial evidence all round, without consideration of the objections
already noted. We have seen how regularly even the oldest rocks can
conform to the lines of Himalayan disturbance — a fact which implies
some approach to original homogeneity of disposition in the strata so
affected; and, in like manner, it seems obligatory to account for such
very abnormal lines of dislocation as that under notice by supposing a
1 Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt. 2, p. 56.
2 For the observations here quoted, and for others to follow, as well as for a fuller
discussion of this puzzling question, see Colonel McMahon's excellent paper on the Simla
Himalayas, Eeo. G. S. I., X, p. 204,
604 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. C Chap. XXV.
corresponding discordance of original relations in the masses subjected to
the disturbing action. For the case in hand no supposition seems so
plausible as that already made, that these upper rocks in the actual
valley basins were originally laid down in similar deep hollows formed
by subaerial erosion m the gneissic series ; and that the dislocated up-
heaved mass of Simla slates, forming the ridge on the south of the Sutlej,
was determined in form by an underlying original ridge of the support-
ing gneissic rocks. The presence of this massive gneiss in the Chor, on
the axis of this curved dislocation, is perhaps some support for the ex-
planation offered of the latter feature. This mode of action is also sup-
ported by observations made elsewhere, from which it was inferred that
compression has a tendency to increase original inequalities of surface.^
The junction of the slate and gneiss series in this regi&n is not,
however, all of the sharply defined form described in the Sutlej vaUey,
where the massive unaltered limestone dips abruptly towards the massive
gneiss. The observation already mentioned, of the Blaini group on a
high point north-east of the Shall, and having a low north-easterly dip,
gives us cause to expect that the Kr61 rocks occur in the ascending section
in the direction of the high mountains, lofty spurs from which are at no
great distance. The same Blaini outcrop has been traced by Colonel
McMahon to the south-east across the Thiog ridge into the valley of the
Giri, east of which it passes under the Paternala ridge, formed of Krol
quartzites, to emerge again in the valley under Chepal, whence it is trace-
able to the Tons at the bridge on the Simla-Mansuri (Mussooree) road.
The expectation to find the supra-Blaini rocks inside this line is natural ;
but the difiiculty of recognising them is indefinitely increased by the
greater or less metamorphism that all the rocks have imdergone in this
direction.
A very important first attempt to accomplish this task has been made
bj' Colonel McMahon. He considers that the calcareous schists formino-
the summit north of Matiani, on the Simla watershed ridge, east of
Shdli, represent the Kr61 limestone ; and they pass on to Narkanda, close
under the Hatu summit, formed of the massive gneiss. Similar calca-
reous and carbonaceous rocks occur in the Sutlej valley, north of Hatu,
above and below Kotgarh, and close above the massive gneiss in the
gorge of the river. Other identifications have been made in like posi-
tions elsewhere, as at the base of the Shankan ridge about Kotkhai and
Tirhosh (Taroehe), and far «p the tortuous valley of the B.upin. The
degree of metamorphism these supposed Krol beds have undergone is
always markedly less than that of the gneissic rocks of the enclosing
> Eec. G. S. L, VII, p. 62.
Extra-Peninsular. J special metamorphism and disturbance. 605
ridges ; but the action has been sufficient to amalgamate the two rocks at
their junction, so that the detection of their original contact is most
difficult. Such crucial sections must, however, be sought for and found,
to complete the direct evidence for the proposed relations of the rocks.
Such observations as those now recorded — where top beds of the slate
series rest close upon the massive gneiss — ^imply, not only the removal of
the 6,000 feet of schistose gneiss, normally overlying the massive rock
in closely adjoining positions, but also the entire overlap of the Simla
slates by the Krol deposits in the inner area of the mountains ; thus
completing the picture of the primitive condition of the Simla area — as a
great mass of gneissic rocks, deeply eroded by atmospheric denudation,
and gradually submerged beneath the palseozoie waters. The idea of the
upper gneiss being the Simla slates converted, is hardly to be thought of ;
a much more probable equivalent for the infra-Blaini beds being found
in the silurian slates resting upon that gneiss in Tibet.
Special metmorphism and disturbance. — The extent to which
the top beds of the slate series have been locally metamorphosed under
different circumstances is well exhibited at Simla itself ; the garnetiferous
and hornblendic mica schists, with abundance of vein quartz, forming
Jako, being undoubtedly converted infra- Krol beds, overlying the Blaini
group, which is well seen round three sides of the mountain. This feature
is in itself most interesting, as shewing that advanced results of
metamorphism are brought about independently of any plutonic heat ;
the Simla slates underlying these highly foliated schists of Jako shew
no sign of crystalline metamorphismj although of course they must
have had the full benefit of any heat from below that can have been
instrumental in producing those effects on the upper rocks. This re-
markable case of special metamorphism at Simla was a strong point
in the suggestion that even the gneiss of Hatu and elsewhere might
really be a later formation than the Krol beds, which at so many points
seem to pass under it. That suggestion did not necessarily imply that the
Kr61 beds maintained their unaltered condition beneath the gneiss ; but
the proof (p. 597) that this latter rock is the same as the infra-silurian
gneiss of the main range, renders the suggestion altogether untenable.
In this connexion notice may be taken of a common structural fea-
ture of the hills in this region ; how, almost invariably, vertical or
highly contorted beds are found in the bottoms of the valleys, whether
transverse or longitudinal ; while in ascending the slopes the dips become
lower, and at top the beds are often quite flat. The usual explanation
of this would be that, as the valleys are the result of denudation,
erosion had taken place where the strata were most crushed. A quite
606 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV.
opposite interpretation of the facts has been suggested by Colonel
McMahon, to shew that more or less of the contortion of these rocks
has occurred since the hills and valleys assumed somewhat of their
present form : — that, lateral pressure, set up beneath a deeply eroded
surface, would take effect in the manner described, crushing the strata
in the positions of least resistance, the action being distributed in a
diminishing degree up the sides of the hills. Some confirmation of
this view may be derived from the fact that great contortion, the result
of lateral pressure, has been proved to have taken place in the- outer
hills since the main features of the Lower Himalayas were carved out
(p. 570) ; and it is by no means unlikely that at the same time some
action of the kind supposed occurred in that area.
There is always a risk in applying characters that are obscure, to
modify the interpretation of characters that seem plainer ; but in
complex questions no suggestion should be omitted. Thus the fact
that on a commanding summit, some of the highest beds of the whole
stratified series are- found in a high state of metardorphism, overlying
unaltered rocks, and well removed from the area of general metamor-
phism, seems decidedly at variance with certain views put forward, on
page 569, regarding pre-tertiary Himalayan land and the late dis-
turbance of the slate series. The risk here lies in the imperfection of
our knowledge regarding the processes, of the metamorphism of rocks ;
but on any supposition, short of some innate form of metamorphic action
at this spot, we must connect the fact with the principal disturbance
and crushing to which these rocks have been subjected ; and it must
have been a form of disturbance very different from that suggested in
the last paragraph. The same considerations would suggest that, at the
time of their metamorphism, these rocks on Jako, and the valleys on
both sides, must have been covered by a thickness of deposits of which
no account has yet been taken. Or may we reverse the reasoning, and
take the fact of the rocks being altered on this peak as a proof of how
very superficial a matter thorough metamorphism may be ?
Trappean rocks. — The distribution of eruptive rocks in the Simla
region is not without its bearing upon the foregoing considerations.
On the best known section, that along the road through Simla to Nai--
kanda, only one thin dyke has been observed near the latter place ;
whereas in the same rocks of the adjoining area in the Sutlej valley,
and again in the basin of the Bias, we find profuse trappean intrusion,
evidently connected with the extreme crushing and disturbance the slates
and limestone have undergone in those positions ; and the same intrusion
occurs again freely to the south-east, under like conditions. Trap is rare
Extra-Peninsular. J THE CHOR MOUNTAIN. 607
in the gneissic series, unless in particular spots, as on the Sutlej between
Nogli and Rampur ; and its absence in the slates in the area indicated
may be due to an underlying mass of gneiss, such as has been just sug-
gested to account for the peculiar form of dislocation connected with the
elevation of that area.
This distribution of the trap, connected with the fact that the slates
had not been contorted when the Subathu deposits were laid down
(p. 569), has been taken ^ to prove that the trap of the Lower Himalayas
must be at least of post-nummulitic age. That it should so very rarely
penetrate the tertiary rocks is rather remarkable (p. 557). Can the ex-
planation of this apparent anomaly be, that the origin of this intrusive
rock is rather innate than hypogene ? *
The Ohor mountain. — The most conspicuous summit of what we
may still speak of as the Simla region is the Chor mountain, having
an elevation close upon 12,000 feet (11,982). It stands between /the
Giri and the Tons rivers, 25 miles south-east of Simla, and as near to
the plains as that station itself. Throughout the whole Lower Hima-
layas no summit of this elevation is known to occur so near the edge
of the mountains. The entire crest is formed of the most massive
granitoid gneiss, which, unless repeated by faulting or flexure, must be
here at least 5,000 feet thick. The area occupied by this rock
is about 10 miles long, from south-east to north-west, by 6 miles broad ;
it is surrounded by the slate and limestone series.
At first sight, and from the point of view of- the slates and the
metamorphic series forming an approximately conformable sequence,
the feature was most puzzling, as it had to be accounted for in some
manner as a protrusion of the basal rock through an enormous thick-
ness of overlying deposits ; and accordingly it was so accounted for ^ ;
a partial resemblance of the cross-section to that of the Dhauladhar
was allowed to overrule many almost incompatible facts recorded at
the same time,* and the Chor was presented as a protruded mass. All
the observations we possess of the ground are few and incomplete ; but
they seem to agree best with the view brought forward by Colonel
McMahon, that the Chor was already a mountain in palaeozoic times.^
The ground offers an accessible and compact field for the study of this
most interesting question of the relation of the two great rock-series.
1 Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt. 2, p. 71.
2 For a parallel case, see Mem. Q. S. I., VII, (201)— (203).
3 Mem, Gt. S. I., III., Pt. 2, p. 47.
* I. u., pp. 41 to 45.
5 Reo. G. S. I., X, p. 211.
gQg GEOLOGY OP INDIA^LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV.
The gneiss of the Chor is highly granitoid and massive. It is
certainly generally free from foreign rock, but vein granite has been
observed in it.^ The , bedding and foliation can, however, be traced,
indicating a low dip to north -north-east ; and other features shew this
to be the lie of the gneissic mass : on the north, the overlying schists
reach farthest up the spurs, and the gneiss farthest down the stream
beds ; while on the south the highest outcrops of the gneiss area are on
the spurs and the schists extend up the valleys. This latter disposition
requires that the gneiss to some extent overlies schists ; but it has not
been made out whether this is by normal superposition, or by inversion of
newer beds, or by deformation of an original junction, or by faulting.
On the supposition of this gneiss being protruded fi-om below
among the slates, whether in a partially plastic state or by faulting, its
neighbourhood should be a position of special disturbance. The contrary
is certainly the rule. In ascending from the Giri to the Chor, the
Simla slates maintain a moderate dip towards the mountain ; they
become gradually metamorphosed, and about Banalah and Sohana, close
to the gneiss, soft hornblendic garnetiferous mica schists, like those of
Jako, are nearly horizontal. Similar beds on the north side form the
spur between Mandera and Suran, where they rest upon the porphyritic
gneiss. If these beds are indeed of the infra-Krol group, the case of
overlap and complete unconformity would be established. On the south-
east side of the Chor the limestone is in great force, and the disturbance
is more marked.
South-east of Simla. — Although the fullest and clearest sections
of the upper groups of the slate and limestone series are found in the
Simla region, the most complete case of removal of these beds occurs in
the same ground; west of the Krol, up to Arki, the great Krol limestoiie
is wanting, unless it is represented by the narrow band at Kakarhati
on the old road to Simla, the pseudo-organic markings in which rock
have often led to a vain search for fossils. The absence of the limestone
here is apparently connected with the faulted elevation to the west,
described on page 603. South-eastwards from the Krol the limestone
range is very conspicuous, being sharply defined on the north by a great
faulted anticlinal that passes from Kandah Ghat, at the north base of
the Krol, down the deep valley of the lower Giri. Frofu the confluence
of the Palar with the Giri the limestone crosses to the north, .and
spreads over a large area east of the Chor, to the Deoban mountain (9,347')-
in Jaunsar. The boundary with the gneissic series has not been traced
' McMahon : I. c, p. 221.
Extra-Peninsular.] KUMAUN AND GARHWAL. 609
in that direction. Along the ridge at Mansiiri (Mussooree) the Krol
limestone occurs frequently, as on the Abbey and Camers-back summits.
On the top of Landour it is mixed with sandstones, and appears again
by itself on the Tapuban point. The Blaini limestone and conglomerate
are well seen on the flanks of the Sirkanda summit, and again in the
Ganges at its confluence ^th the Hinnalgar. Intrusive trap is not
uncommon in the slates at Mussooree.
Kumaun and Garhwal. — As the earliest British possession in the
Himalayas, the province of Garhwal and Kumaun was the first open to
systematic observation. Indeed, the first attempt at official geological
survey work in India was the mineralogical survey of this ground, under-
taken by Captain Herbert by order of the Governor General (Lord Hast-
ings). The work was finished in 1825, but was not published till 184^,^
nine years after the death of Captain Herbert. As the work of an
accomplished man, fairly versed in the science of his day. Captain Herbert's
report is of permanent interest for students of geology in India, as the
best local illustration of the state of geology at that time.
A quarter of a century later it was again on this ground that a
connected geological survey on a large scale was undertaken by Captain
Richard Strachey, of the Bengal Engineers, now General Strachey. His
map includes the same area of the Lower Himalayas as Captain Herbert's,
between the Sutlej and Nepal, with the important addition of a broad
band in the Tibetan region. A comparison of the two works gives an
instructive illustration of the advance made by geological science in the
interval. With some few exceptions, our remarks on this portion of the
Lower Himalayas are taken from General Strachey's observations.*
The section through Naini Tal and Almora presents some analogies
with' the Simla section. The ridge at Naini Tal is a great synclinal
range, with many local fractures and contortions, like its type the Krol
range. The great limestone that forms many of the summits to the
south of the lake is very like the Krol limestone ; and the pink, greenish
and dark-grey shaly slates associated with ' it shew the same aflSnities.
A conglomerate like the Blaini rock has been observed in the dark slates
forming the ridge north of the Kota dun. One observation, indeed,, has
been recorded throwing doubt upon this correlation : the Messrs.
Schlagintweit announced ^ the discovery " in the clay-slates in the neigh-
bourhood of Naini Tal of numerous Foraminifera, evidently identical
1 As an extra number of Vol. XI of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
The map to illustrate the report was issued with Vol. XIII, 1844.
2 Q. J. G. S., Vols. VII and X, 1851 and 1854.
3 J.A. S. B., XXV, p. 118.
610 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Cliap. XXV-
with those which accompany the eocene nummulitic foi-mation." It is
possible that these explorers may have hit upon a remnant of the
Subathu beds, folded up in the slates, like those mentioned in the Sirmur
area (p. 534), and the one case east of the Ganges (p. 535) j but it is also
possible that the oolitic or other concretionary forms, common in the
limestone at Naini Tal as at the Krol, may have been mistaken for fossils.
Numerous careful observers have searched the rocks in vain to verify the
Messrs. Sehlagintweit's discovery.^
North of the limestone range there is a great dislocation with up-
heaval tothe north, as at the Krol. But in Kumaun, at least on this
section, the line of fracture is filled with a basic eruptive rock, numerous
dykes of which occur in the range about Naini Tal. It is apparently on
the south-eastern continuation of this main intrusion that the igneous
rock which penetrates the sandstones of the Sub- Himalayan zone (p. 543)
is described as taking the form of a granite.^ It is stated that the
limestone occurs again to the east of this great line of intrusive rock.
North of the dislocation the contrast with the Simla section is most
marked : we come at once upon thorough metamorphic strata, genuine
schists, like the older series of the Simla region, rather than like any
known metamorphic condition of , the slate series. The strata maintain
a steady, moderate north-easterly dip, thus presenting a very marked
decrease of disturbance as compared with the newer rocks. This was
also a point of contrast between the two series in the Simla region. In
Kumaun, too, trap rock is comparatively rare in the gneissic series.
South of Almora (the capital of Kumaun) a broad band of granitic rock
occurs in the schists, and has a considerable range to south-east and
north-west. It seems to be in the main a massive granitoid gneiss ; but
some true vein granite occurs with it. Mica schists occur again north of
the granitoid rock, containing strings and nests of impure graphite, the
north-easterly dip being continued ; after a space the same beds turn
up, with a south-westerly dip. North of the synclinal there is a marked
line of disruption, with copious intrusion -of trappean rock and the intro-
duction of new strata— slates, conglomerates, and quartzites, with lime-
stone in force. Disturbance is, again, more varied and more marked in
these formations, and it is not unlikely that they may ultimately be
identified with the slate and limestone series of the Simla region, though
no specific attempt can now be made at affiliation. Beyond these, again,
' There is also a possibility, as in the case of the triassic limestone, said to have been
found by one of the same collectors near Solan, and in numerous examples amongst their
zoological collections, that there was a mistake about the locality of the specimen.
2 Q. J. G. S., 1851. VII, p. 298.
Extra-Peninsular.] nepal. 6]
there is a region of crystalline schists at the base of the great snoM
range.
Nepal. — From the borders of Kumaun we have to pags by a blank
250 miles to get our next glimpse at the rocks of the Lower Himalaya
on the Kathmandu section.^ The length of this section is about 30 mile
from the main boundary] which distance would nearly take us to tl
second line of dislocation and intrusion north of Almora in Kumaui
and as far as Narkanda in the Simla section. Except in the conjectiiri
identification of the formations, the features are mJike those described i
the western area.
The first rocks seen north of the tertiary sandstone are some eartl
schists, having a crushed dip of 50° to north-by-east, quite parallel :
strike to the sandstone and to the boundary. A thin band of bh
limestone occurs in these beds ; and further on, a thick band of blac
schistose slates, in which are some irregular layers of impure coa
matter. All these beds, though decidedly sub-foliated, are le
altered than any rocks to the north of them, and also less highly incline
After some special contortion and folding, connected with which a doub
fully intrusive trappoid rock was observed, the schists are succeeded 1
a broad band of quartzites ; and these again by a great mass of whi
crystalline limestone, all dipping at 70° to 80°, to north by east,
specimen of this rock proved to be not dolomitic.
This great band of hmestone would seem to end the ascending sectior
for over a broad area on the north this limestone and the quartzite are r
peated in broken confused masses, as if in a synclinal flexure, forming tl
most wild and picturesque portion of the Rapti valley, below Nimbua Tar
The resemblance of this series to that of the Krol and infra-Kr^
rocks, is quite sufficient to warrant the supposition of their connexioi
and even the form of the section, so far, is homologous with the corr(
sponding portion of the western sections. The greatly advanced meti
morphism and the excessive disturbance are the chief points of contrast.
At the head of the Rapti valley, about Bimphddi, there is an abru]
change of the strike, to north-35°-west, in flaggy quartzose schists
and in the Chessagarhi ridge these rocks are associated with thick banc
of porphyritic gneiss, which becomes dominant at the north base c
the ridge. On this side the change is abrupt, from the gneiss to a gree
series of flaggy and slaty schists occupying the Pinauni and Chitlon
valleys. The dips are in opposite directions in the gneiss and the sehisi
close to their junction, suggesting that the gneiss had been faulted u
iRec. G. S. I., Vni,p.93.
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXY.
along a broken anticlinal. With slight variations, there is a steady
ascending section of the flaggy schists up to the Chendragiri ridge, over-
looking the valley of Nepal ; and here again we come upon calcareous
rocks, which occupy the whole width of the Nepal valley. It is a broad
synclinal, with repeated minor compressed flexures of these upper rocks.
Pure limestone occurs chiefly towards the top of the series, as the white
crystalline rock at the summit of Phulehok (9,730') and elsewhere ; but
there is a great thickness of strata, in which the calcareous element is
subordinate, the prevailing variety being a massive, very fine, schistose
quartzite, with only a small percentage of carbonate of lime.
It is not a very forced supposition to conjecture that these Nepal
rocks are the same as those south of the Chessagarhi ridge, and represent
the Krol series. The change of composition is even analogous to that
observed between the Krol and the ground at and north of Simla.
The flaggy schists of Chitlong would fittingly represent the Simla
slates.
Crystalline schists rise again, tnore or less vertically, on the north-
north-east side of the valley, apparently in descending sequence with the
calcareous formation, and at first alternating with the coarse, f elspathic
gneiss forming the lofty Sheopuri ridge. To the north-west, slaty
schists come m again at the inner base of the Sheopuri ridge, and
have a decided soiitherly underlie towards the gneiss. In the valleys
of the Tadi and Trisulganga the strike of these schists changes to east-
north-east, and calcareous rocks occur with them. The Sheopuri gneiss
probably does not cross the Trisulganga.
It is doubtful whether the gneiss of the Chessagarhi or Sheopuri
ridges represents the old gneiss of the western sections. Its structural
relation to the schist and limestone series is quite different. No granitic
vein-rock was observed in connection with it. It is also noteworthy that
no trappean eruptive rock occurs in these sections, except in the doubtful
case already mentioned near the mam boundary, although the rocks are
so universally contorted. The fact is apparently adverse to the conjecture
hazarded (p. 607) upon the quasi-innate nature of trap in the western
region.
The Sikkim area.— Passing over another reach of forbidden ground,
250 miles long, in Eastern Nepal, the Lower Himalayas are again acces-
sible in Sikkim, and we find an immense change in the aspect of the
rocks. There is no calcareous group, and aU the rocks are more or less
metamorphic ; but their arrangement is very different from that seen in
the Kathmandu section, gnd superficially more like that of the Simla
Extra- Peninsular. ] the sikkim- area. 613
The first observation of importance in this ground was the discovery
by Dr. Hooker, hi 184.9, of rocks containing fossil plants of the Damfida
formation at the base of the Sikkim hills.^ This still remains the only
case of identification between the pre-tertiary rocks of peninsular India
and of the Lower Himalayas-; and while we are shut out from observa-
tion in Nepd,l, nothing can be done to follow up this clue towards a
fuller correlation of the formations in the two areas.
In 1874, Mr. F. R. Mallet was deputed to examine the ground with
a view to the possible discovery of useful coal-seams in the Damiida ropks.
Several seams of workable dimensions were found, but the strata have
been subjected to such compressioa and contortion, that the coal is every-
where reduced to a flaky crumbling state, so that it could only be used
after artificial consolidation. The broken condition of the rocks would
also make mining very difiicult. Mr. Mallet has, however, given a de-
scription of the rocks that deserves careful attention.^ His observations
extended along the fringe of the hills through tlie Wtestern Bhutan Duars
to the Sankos river, near longitude 90° ; but as there is a striking contrast
in the rocks to east and west of the Jaldoka, forming the boundary of
Sikkim on the east, the descriptions had better be given separately.
The Sikkim area is more than 90 miles long, from the Mechi on the
west at the Nepdl frontier, to the Jaldoka on the east. The Tista
(Teesta) river, flowing from the great snowy range, divides this area about
equally into the Darjiling division on the west and the Baling on the east.
North of Darjiling lies the broad and deep valley of the Ra-ngit ; while
the Tista and the Rangchu form a similar deep depression north of
the Ddling area, the combined effect being that of two broad lofty
spurs confronting each other on opposite sides of the lower gorge of the
Tista.
There are three series of rocks within the area specified : a gneissic
series forming the whole of the mountain masses above 3,000 to 3,000 feet
in elevation, and called the Darjiling gneiss; a great thickness of schist
and slate, called the Daling series, extending not only along the outer
border of the mountains, but up the gorge of the Tista and round into the
valleys of the Raingit and Rangchu ; and the Damiidas, forming the
third series of the Lower Himalayan rocks in Sikkim. The last-
named are only found at the outer edge of the mountains, their great-
est inward extension being a short way up the valley of the Tista, where
of course the deepest section of the rocks occurs. The Damuda out-
crop dies out within the limits of the Sikkim border : on the west it
> Himalayan Joiirnals, Vol. I, p. 402,
2Mem. G. S. I., XI, Pfc. 1.
614 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWER HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV
cannot be traced beyond the Balasan riverj 4 miles short of the Nepal
frontier. To the east it has not been with certainty traced beyond the
Chel, south of Baling, one of the positions already noticed where the
tertiary rocks have been totally removed or concealed. The Di'liag slates
at this point form a promontory, reaching quite up to the usual line of
the outer edge of the tertiary zone.
The Darjiling gneiss. — True gneiss is the preponderating rock of
the gneissic series, but it often passes into gneissose schist and mica
schist ; bands of quartzite occur rarely, and hornblendic rocks are ex-
tremely uncommon; limestone or dolomite is unknown, and the gneiss is
quartzose and never granitoid. Almost the only accessory minerals are
kyanite, schorl, and garnet. Several of these characters distinguish this
gneiss very decidedly from the gneiss of the peninsula, which is well
represented close to the Himalayan border in the hills of Lower Assam.
Except for the absence in Sikkim of the massive granitoid band, the
Darjiling gneiss would fairly represent the gneiss of the Simla region.
No observer in Sikkim has suggested the presence of two gneissic series.
In the snowy range near Kanchinjinga Dr. Hooker has described this
rock as penetrated by granite veins ; but this, as we have remarked
(p. 597), gives no grounds for its separation. The age of the gneiss
in the great range of the Eastern Himalayas has not been proved ; but
there is no presumption that it is different from the infra-silurian gneiss
in a corresponding position to the north-west ; and thus there is a decided
presumption against the Darjiling gneiss being formed of strata of the
secondary period, as it must be if its apparent relation to the other form-
ations is the true one. At the same time, the rocks of the two areas
have never been examined hj the same observer.
On the main northern road through Darjiling the gneissic area is 16
miles across, and the strata have the form of a broad flat synclinal, with
numerous minor internal foldings. On the eastern slope also, over the
Tista, the dip is inwards (westerly). Alike arrangement is observed in
the gneiss of the Daling' spur.
The Daling series. — ^^Pale-green smooth slates or clay-slates are the
prevailing rocks of the Doling series]) in its lower outcrops, next the
Damudasj but sometimes, in this position, they are quite schistose.
Darker bands occur, also some flaggy quartzites, and rare beds of horn-
blendic schist, which is sometimes calcareous or dolomitic ; but the almost
complete absence of lime is a character of the series. Beds of carbon-
aceous or graphitic schist ar6 occasionally found in the Daling series, as
on the road above Pankab^ri, and a little south of the cart-road at Kur-
, seong. West of the Mah&nadi the beds next the Damudas are more
Extra-Peninsular.] the sikkim area. 615
earthy and arenaceousj and a slaty conglomerate occurs near, or at, the
boundary. On approaching the gneiss there is always a marked increase
of metamorphism. In the outer Csputhern) sections this apparent
passage into the crystalline series is comparatively rapid ; while in the
interior the metamorphism of the slates near the gneiss is more pro-
nounced, more gneissose beds appearing in them ; so that the distinction
■of the two series is less marked.
In both the Darjiling and Daling areas, the 'dip of the slates is
constantly towards the gneiss, thus conforming regularly to the con-
verging dip described in this rock, and thus completing the appearance
that the DdUng series normally underlies the gneiss in a continuous
transitional sequence. Only for a portion of the" boundary north of
Darjiling, in the Little Rangit and on the Takvor spur, an appearance of
faulting between the two series was observed. From the recorded
arrangement of the rocks, it appears as if the lower gorge of the Tista
lies in a broad tranverse anticlinal curve of the strata.
The Damuda series. — In some sections, as on the cart-road to
Darjiling, the Damiidas have undergone little or no alteration, and their
resemblance to the regular Gondw^na coal-measures is very marked.
The sandstones, as a rule, are rather fine-grained ; they sometimes occur in
thick masses, but coarse, white, felspathic sandstones of the Barakar
type are not common ; the beds are occasionally calcareous, and conglo-
merates are absent. - In the^e characters they resemble rather the upper
measures of the Damtlda coal basins. The fossils as yet found comprise
two species of Glossopteris (one is G. irowniand), Fertebraria, an
equisetaceous stem referred to Phyllotheea, and SphenopJiyllum, speoiosum.
Frequently, however, the Damuda rocks exhibit as much alteration as
the contiguous Dalings, as west of Pankabari, and in the Rangichang
east of Pankabari ; the sandstones being converted into hard quartzites
and the shales into dark slates and graphitic schists. In this respect, the
contrast with the contiguous tertiary rocks is important; these, although
greatly disturbed and compressed, never shew signs of mineral alteration.
It would be difficult to assign a thickness for the Damuda formation
in this ground. The broadest section of the outcrop is at the Tista,
about one mile long ; and the beds have a high dip (more than 60°)
throughout, but in very various .directions. The prevailing dip is
inwards, towards the mountains, and almost always so near the Dalings,
the stratification in the two formations being constantly parallel.
Relations of the three series in Sikkim.— The conclusions which
Mr. Mallet has adopted regarding the relations of these three roek-series
are : that they form a continuous stratigraphical sequence, the gneiss being
616 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LO WEE HIMALAYAS. ■ [Chap. XXV.
the newest and the Damudas the oldest. This is undouhtedly the apparent
reading of the recorded observations ; and considered by itself, without
reference to other Himalayan sections, the objection to it was more or
less a theoretical one — the occurrence of a completely metamorphorsed
formation above absolutely unaltered deposits, Mr. Mallet did not, of
course, suppose that the Damddas passed beneath the mountain area with
no greater change of texture than they exhibit at the outcrop on the
edge of that area ; even the Baling slates are more schistose in the
interior valleys than along the outer scarp of the mountains ; still, if the
apparent sequence of the rocks were true, the anomaly, on a very large
scale, had to be accounted for, and the explanation of it ofEered by
Mr. Mallet (/. e., p. 42) is certainly a vera causa, within unknown
limits, in adopting. which he was much encouraged by known pre-
cedents — the thoroughly crystalline schists («w^m-Blaini) forming Jako
mountain at Simla, overlying slates that are not even sub-schistose ; and,
the then open question whether the Krol series did not really pass
under the gneiss of Jalori and of Hatu (p. 605). The subsequent
demonstration by Colonel MscMahon, that the gneiss of the Simla
region is «w/5'a-silurian, made this latter supposition untenable j and
other explanations, seemingly more far-fetched, had to be adopted for
that ground, regarding the relation of the two great rock-series.
This experience in the Simla region compels us to scrutinise more
closely the observations in Sikkim, and to indicate what possible alter-
natives there are to the view at present set forth. We have three series
to deal with here, which may rather help the discussion ; but we have
not the advantage of knowing the normal (original) order of sequence
in any of them, as was the case vsdth the slate and limestone series in
the north-west ; so that in Sikkim we have no direct criterion as to
inversion, or otherwise, in any particular position.
Out of all the observations recorded bearing upon this question, only
one gives certain evidence upon the original relations of these formations.
The opinion that the Dalings normally underlie the Darjiling gneiss is
altogether inferential, from the lie of the rocks of both series in adjoin-
ing positions, no actual section of the junction having been seen. It
may, indeed, be granted that if the gneiss does overlie the Daling series,
it does so in normal sequence, inversion in this form and of such magni-
tude being out of the question; and this is a crucial point in the
argument, for it can be said (from the evidence of our one sure section)
that if the gneiss does overlie the Dalings, the Damiidas must normally
underlie them, as otherwise the gneiss must be converted Damudas,
which is an untenable view.
Extra-Peninsular. J the SIKKIM AEEA. 617
The crucial section referred to is 'that in the Lehti stream {I. c, pp.
28 and 39), just west of the promontory of slates south of Baling.
Here we have a continuous section showing the original relation of the
DamHda and Ddling series to be complete conformity and association
by mterstratification, several hundred feet of each series being exposed.
Nothing can shake the fact derived from this section (assuming it to be
correctly described), that the two formations are conformably associated ;
and this disposes of one of the possible conjectures regarding the bound-
ary — that the Damudas were deposited against a steep bank of the slates,
as is thought to be the case with the boundary of the tertiary series.
The junction observed in the Lehti section may, moreover, be one of
extreme chronological importance ; for if the Baling slates should be
ultimately proved to be the same as the middle palaeozoic slates of the
Simla region, the Damiida beds so closely associated with them can
scarcely be newer than upper palseozoic. The other important features
of the. Lehti section are, that the dip is steady and low (30°) ; that its
inclination is to the south ; and that the Damiidas overlie the Dalings.
As the balance of evidence from all the other sections, and the decision
regarding the slate and gneiss boundary, indicated or required that the
Damudas should underlie the Dalings, this section in the Lehti had to
be considered as inverted, in spite of its unbroken low dip, and southerly
inclination, which would require, or at least suggest, that the inverting
thrust had been directed from the south. . It is true that the Damudas
here are in their most altered condition, comprising quartzose and car-
bonaceous schists, with thin seams of the flaky anthractic coal ; but the
action of metamorphism is too capricious and untraceable to carry much
weight in an argument against clear mechanical conditions.
"We have already seen an instance (p. 537) in which one clear section
was held valid against any amount of 'conflicting appearances. This
Lehti section is not of the same decisive nature as the case referred
to, but it certainly suggests the necessity of a close revision of the inter-
pretation set forth for these intricate stratigraphical features. If it
should be upheld as the standard section, as shewing that the Damudas
normally overlie the Dalings, all the other sections of this junction must
be regarded as inversions ; and the slate an^ gneiss boundary must be one
of great unconformity or of great faulting ; for, as already mentioned, it
is scarcely possible that the gneiss should be converted Damudas. This
slate and gneiss boundary (p. 615) is, perhaps, the less difiicult of the two,
for its featm-es are exactly similar to those in the Bias and Sutlej valleys
of the Simla region (p. 602), where the fault or imconformity explan-
ation had to be adopted. The greater difiiculty is to shew how, on the
618 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— LOWEE HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXV-
supposition of inversion, the Damuda outcrop could assume the form it
has ; such as, its greatest inward extension in the Tista valley, on what
is taken to be an anticlinal axis of- the slates. This extension on the
denuded anticlinal, axis is exactly what would occur if the Dalings over-
laid the Damudas normally, without inversion.
Another supposition is evidently possible : The unconformity view
may be adopted, as in the North-West, for the Daling and gneiss relation ;
and stiU the Damudas may normally underlie the Dkhngs, and be
altogether overlapped by these, low down (underground) on the flanks
of the gneissie masses. But in this case also the section in the Lehti
must be an inversion.
The reader will probably admit that the interpretation of the Sikkim
sections is still an open question ; and he will also , recognise how
very precarious any attempt must be to correlate these rocks with
those of the Lower Himalayas of the North- West : the only conjectures
possible are, that the Darjiling gneiss probably represents the central
gneiss, and that the Dalings possibly represent the Simla slates, in
which case the Damudas must overlie them.
The Bhutan border— Buxa series. — Colonel Godwin-Austen was
the first observer in this ground (1865-68) ; when he brought to notice •
its peculiar features-r— the local concealment or absence of the tertiary
rocks, and the presence in force of dolomites that are not represented
in the Sikkim sections. Mr. Mallet's connected observations of the
two areas were necessarily too rapid to admit of more than a suggested
correlation of these adjoining and contrasting sections. The superficial
view of the case (from the maps) would be, that these new rocks in the
Bhiitan Dudrs take the place of the Damudas in the Sikkim ground.
Mr. Mallet gave the name of Baxa series to this new formation,
from the weU-known Bhiitanese fort which is built upon it. The fullest
section given is that in the Titi stream (20 miles west of Baxa), as
follows (in apparent natural order) : —
(/). — Dark-grey slates ; pyritous and rusty 300
(e). — Dolomite, with layers of dark-grey slate 1,500
(i). — Green, Hack and red slates, with flaggy qnartzite, chloritic schist,
and flaggy calcareous heds at top 1,500
(c). — White quartzite, locally flaggy and schistose 1,000
(S). — Slates with flaggy silicious and calcareous layers 800
{a). — Grreen and red slates 50O
The thicknesses are only eye-estimates, the dip being pretty steady
at 60°, to north-north-east. In the Jangti (3 miles east- of Baxa) the
? J, A. S. B., XXXIV, Pt. 2, p. 106, and XXXVII, Pt. 2, p. W.
Extra-Peninsular. J the BHUTAN border. 619
apparent thickness of the dolomite band is 2,300 feet. Owin^^ however,
to fa,ulting or contortion, with denudation and concealment, this rock is
locally absent from the exposed outcrop of the serieg, as in the space of
15 miles between Baxa and the Tursa. Carbonaceous schists were
■observed low in the series in the Raidak stream (10 miles east of
Baxa) .
Owing to the restrictions against entering the Bhritdnese territory,
Mr. Mallet was not able to examine the inner boundary of the Baxa
series where it is fully developed, but it seems there to underlie a broad
belt of slates and schists intervening- between it and the gneiss, and
probably representing the Baling series. This was also observed at a
point 30 miles west of Baxa, where the Baxa series ends abruptly in the
surface gravels : the Daling slates are seen in the Jangti river at a short
distance oflF, and they seem to pass inside and to overlie the ridge o£
Baxa rocks. From this point to the Jaldoka at the Sikkim boundary,
the hills are altogether inside the Bhutan border, and thus inacces-
sible.
Between the Sikkim boimdary and the promontory of Daling slates
there is a short space, 6 miles long, where some of the tertial^^ rocks are
represented ; and between them and the Doling zone Mr. Mallet found
beds representing both the Damiida and Baxa series, but not in the
same section. In the Mochu, on the west, just below the Ddlings,
dipping north-east at 60°, there are coarse and fine sandstones, shaly and
slaty beds, and two or three coal-seams of about a foot in thickness.
These are undoubtedly Damud^j- but the rocks below them are not
exposed. At 3 miles to the east, in the Machu, some beds, including
carbonaceous layers, are obscurely seen imderlying very brittle silicious
flags, with pink calcareous layers, and a few of red shale, dipping north-
north-west at 50°. Beyond these, and apparetitly overlying them, are
green slates of the Daling type. The middle beds of this section are
quite of the Baxa type, and unlike anything known in the Ddlings ;
and the carbonaceous layers at the bd,se are not more carbonaceous than
some found in the Baxa area.
Independetitly of atiy direct identification of these carbonaceous
layers in the Mdchu as Damuda, which would shew a distinct incipient
intercalation of the Baxa beds between the Ddlings and the Damiidas,
and a horizontal association and transition between the Damuda and the
Baxa deposits, the general comparison of the sections seem to suggest
no other supposition than that these two series are in some manner
representative of each other. The observations in hand do not admit of
any further discussion of the question.
620 GEOLOGY OP INDIA^LOWBR HIMALATAS. [Chap. XXV-
The Dikrang section.— After so complete a change as that from
the Damuda coal-measures of Sikkim, to a great mixed series of deposits
like that of Buia, it might certainly be expected that the alteration
would be permanent, and that the Buxa type of deposits would continue
to the eastward ; yet in the next observation we obtain of the Lower Hima-
layan rocksj the section is more like that in Sikkim than any other.
The locality is more than 250 miles to the east of Buxa, in the Dikrang
valley, inhabited by the Daphla tribes, where Colonel Godwin-Austen
has described,^ immediately inside ihe tertiary zone, a belt, about 1,000
feet in thickness, of dark, hard sandstones with carbonaceous shales and
seams of crushed flaky coal. No fossils were secured, but the probabUity
is strong that the group represents the Damilda formation. The beds
are more or less vertical, with a north-east strike ; and they are bounded
on the north-west by a parallel series of white quartzitic beds with
micaceous and homblendic schists, passing by degrees into gneiss, which
in turn becomes highly granitoid. Had there been anywhere near
this ground any development of so conspicuous a rock as the dolomites,
they would surely have been noticed by so practised an observer ; so the
presumption is fair that the schists next the Damuda band represent
the Daling rocks. Thus, again, the disappearance of the Baxa series
and the reappearance of the Damudas in its place, is some slight con-
firmation of the conjecture hazarded, that these two formations are in
some manner equivalent.
' Summary. — All the conclusions suggested by our study of the Sub-
Himalayan rocks, and summarised at the end of Chapter XXIII, have
more or less bearing upon the contiguous Lower Himalayan area, and
indeed upon the whole mountain region : any additional reinarks deriv-
able from this latter area only, must refer to the earliest periods of our
history, or, indeed, to pre-Himalayan time, for all the formations ■ con-
cerned are probably not newer than palaeozoic.
Prom end to end of the range (veiy imperfectly known on the east)
we have found two great rock-series, a slaty and a gneissic. For 500
miles in the middle of the range we have but one section, reaching
only to 30 miles from the south border ; and it is, perhaps, doubtful
whether the gneiss described in that section belongs to the older series
(p. 612).
In the Simla region, at the north-west termination of the Lower
Himalayas, a strong case has been made out for very great uncon-
formity between the two series, shewing the palaeozoic rocks to have been
1 J. A. S. B., Vol. XLIV, Pt. 2, p. 35.
Extra-Peninsular.] SUMMARY. 621
deposited upon and against a very deeply and irregularly eroded surface
of the old gneissic series (p.^ 605) ; to which circumstance may be
attributed the very partial manner in which the contortion of the rocks
of the Lower Himalayan area has conformed to the normal lines of
Himalayan disturbance.
Structural features homologous to those of the Simla ground have
been provisionally indicated in the east, in Sikkim (p. 617). Should
this relation of the two series be established throughout the range,
a connexion will have been made out between this peculiar Lower
Himalayan region and a primitive gneissic mass, forming a fundamental
nucleus for the whole series of Himalayan formations. The presence of
this barrier may help in the explanation of the strange contrast pre-
sented by the fossiliferous deposits on the north, and the azoic charac-
ters of what are probably the equivalent strata on the south, even though
we find that these deposits were continuously connected to the north-
west.
What may have been the original southern extension of the great
slate and limestone series of the Lower Himalayan area is at present a
matter of pure conjecture. Considering, on the one hand, the clos^ con-
nexion of the Damtidas with the Lower Himalayan slates, and, on
the other, the prodigious break in time between the Gondwanas and the
Vindhyans of the peninsular area, it does not seem likely that the latter
formation can have any representative in the newer series of the Lower
Himalayan area.
622 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Qhap. XXVI.
CHAPTEH XXVI.
. EXTKA-PENINSULAE AEEA.
CENTRAL (tIBETAN) HIMALAYAS.
Data available — Classification of rooks — General structure and distribution — The
main gneissio axis — The Ladak axis — The Hundes and Zinsk&i synclinal — The
K&akoram synclinal and Kueplun axis — The Kashmir synclinal — Position of the
tertiary rocks — Gneiss of two ages — The central gneiss — Mineral character — Strati,
graphical relation — Eelations defined only in the middle Himalayas — The granitic
axis — Terminal extensions of the central gneiss — The Zanskar gneiss — The Pir
Panial gneissic chain — The Dhauladhfo gneissic range — The newer gneiss — The
chief sedimentary hasins. The formations of the Zanskfo area — Palaeozoic series —
South-west boundary — South-east boundary — The Rupshu metamorphics — North
boundary with tertiary rocks — The secondary series — The tertiary series.
Data available.— ^ As the title of this section of our work would be
understood to include all of the Himalayan region not described in the
preceding chapters, we must at once call attention to the small portion of
that enormous area of which any trustworthy observations have been
made, and of which only any; notice will be taken. Of the two south
ern divisions of the region, the Sub^imalayain-and the Lower Hima-
layan, comparable sections were given, extending nearly to the eastern
end of the Himalayan ranges, though with very long blank intervals.
Of the entire eastern half of the central area, we have only to record
Dr. Hooker's observation^ within the frontier of Tibet, north of Sikkim
and of the gneissic axis, that conglomerates, slates, and-red clays were
found overlying the gneiss ; and further oil, a dark limestone " full of
encrinitic fossils and probably nummulites, but all were too much
altered for determination." All the great peaks are said to be formed
of granite or of massive gneiss.
On the west of the unknown area of Nepdl, General R. Strachey
has described the country^ from the watershed at Lake Manasaraur
(Manasarowar), elevation 15,200 feet, in about longitude 81° 30', and
has given an account of part of Hundes or Ngdri-Khorsum, in the upper
valley of the Sutlej, as far as the place where this river enters the trans-
verse gorge, about Shipki.
' Himalayan Journals, Vol. II, pp. 156 and 177.
s Q. J. G. S., VII, 1851, p. 293 ; and X, 1854, p. 24,9.
Extra-Peninsular.] classification of eocks. 633
This position immediately adjoins the ground of which a tnore de-
tailed examination was maxie by Dr. Stoliczka' during the summers of
1864. and 1865, extending from the Sutlej to the Dras river. Neither
of these descriptions extends northwards much beyond the right bank of
the Indus, which river occupies a nearly central position in the region we
have provisionally adopted as the Central Himalayas. For the northern
portion of this ground, including the Earakoram and Kuenlun ranges,
our information is derived from the traverse made of it by Dr. Stoliczka
on his journey to Kashghfo in 1873-74.2 Tbe latest additions to the
geology of the Central Himalayan region are by Mr. Lydekker in the
neighbourhood of Kashmir .^
Thus it is seen that our materials r^fer almost entirely ito the north-
western, sub-terminal, portion of the Central Himalayas. It is in the near
extension of this ground, where the main geological axes of the Hima-
layas seem to be more or less continuous with those of the Hindu Kush,
that the battle of the mountain systems (p.. 518) must be fought out.
While the facts upon which the question can be decided are unknown
it is difficult to take any interest in discussing it.
Classification of rocks. — In our description of the two preceding
divisions of the Himalayan region, we have been forced to depend almost
exclusively upon stratigraphical characters, the rocks of the ' Lower
Himalayas having proved unfossiliferous ; and even in the tertiary Sub-
Himalayan series the occurrence of fossils is so, irregular, and the exact
sequence of the known fossils is still so uncertain in detail, that but little
use could be made of them in tracing horizons throughout so great an
accumulation of deposits. Our knowledge of the Central Himalayas may
almost be said to err in the opposite direction. In consequence partly,
no doubt, of the explorer's attention having been especially directed to
palseontological investigation, but still more as a result of the great
difficulties of moving about in such rugged ground, and under such
trying atmospherical conditions, our information of the central region is
decidedly deficient in critical stratigraphical observations. But few will
complain of this when palasontological information is forthcoming ; and on
this score the results already obtained are highly satisfactory. In propor-
tion to the time devoted to this ground, the knowledge we possess of it
gives a striking instance of what a master-key palaeontology is in geological
researches. It is sad to have to record that the master who applied that
1 Mem. G. S. I., Vol. V, pp. 1 and 337.
2 Eec. G. S. I., Vol. VII, pp. 12, 49, 51 ; and Scientific Results of the Second Y4rkand
Mission : Geology : Calcutta, 1878.
3 Eec. G. S. I., 1878, Vol. XI, p. 30.
624 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
key to the geology of this region lost his life in those researches. Dr.
Ferdinand Stoliczka was buried at Leh, in the very centre of the field of
his achievements.
In one respectj that of the unaccountahle absence or rarity of fossil
remains, the slate and limestone series of the Lower Himalayas exhibit
an obscure relationship to the old formations of the Peninsula ; although,
as regards petrological characters, the rocks of the two areas are en-
tirely dissimilar. This azoic condition holds good for those same forma,
tions along the whole south face of the Himalayas, in their extension
to the north-west of the Lower Himalayan area, along the flanks of the
Dhauladhar and the Pir Paijijal. It is true these rocks in that posi-
tion are greatly compressed and more or less altered, but certainly
not so as to obliterate all trace of fossils, had any been present in them.
Already on crossing the Pir Panjal into Kashmir, fossils are found in
the carboniferous limestone, sandstone and shales, which are with much
probability taken to represent the upper portion of the series to the
south. Still here the underlying silurian slates have as yet yielded no
fossils. It is only on crossing the higher range into Tibet that the series
of marine fossiliferous deposits can be fully recognised. Through this
ground the geology of India can be brought into relation with the rest
of the world : all the principal formations of the established stratigraphical
scale, except the cambrian, devonian, permian, and neoeomian, have
been identified. The detailed sequence of formations will be given in
connexion with the separate areas in which they were observed.
General structure and distribution.— Considering the immense
range of formations — metamorphic, palseozoicj and mesozoic — represented
in the sections of the North-West Himalayas, the general uniformity
of distribution and symmetry of arrangement, so far observed, give much
promise that, ultimately, a very complete history of the region can be
made out. From end to end of the partially known ground, about
500 miles, two gneissic axes are more or less continuous.
The main gneissic axis.— The southern of these is the Himalayau
range proper, of which, in Sikkim and again west of Nepal for 300 miles,
gneiss is the predominant rock, many of the highest and most massive
peaks being formed of it ; while the slates on the north sometimes run
up to an equal altitude, and the passes, through the continuous line of
greatest elevation (the watershed), are generally to the north even of these
slates. North of the Simla region, corresponding with the termination
of the Lower Himalayan area, this main gneissic rang^ divides into
three, two of which come to an end well within the Himalayan limits ;
the third probably does so too, but it has not been traced so far.
Extra-PeninsTilar.J THE HUNDES-zanskar SYNCLINAL. 635
The Ladak axis. — The second gneissic axis runs parallel to
the first, at a distance of 50 to 80 miles. It has only been observed
with any accuvaey in Ladak, where it forms a steady range of moderate
elevation, separating the Indus from its tributary, the Shaiok (Shyok),
and the Pangkonglake. The continuation of this gneiss to the north-west
would run high up on the south flank, if not to the crest, of the great
Mustagh range in Baltistan, or Little Tibet. To the south-east the
Ladak gneiss passes, on both sides of the Indus, through Rupshu into
Chinese Tibet. This delineation includes the Rupshu metamorphics
with those of the Ladak range, as they are only separated by the
nummulitic trough and the tertiary axis of eruption of the Indus valley.
Their possible, or even probable, distinction will be indicated further on.
The few names that have been current for the leading features
of these mountains are often very inappropriate even for geographical
purposes ; atid for geological description, they are altogether inadequate.
Indeed the familiar remark, denoting the close connexion between surface
features and the rocks, has a partial lithological application, rather than a
geological one ; for in the latter sense the idea would often be radically
deceptive, as in the case before us : this gneiss of Ladak is geologically
an axis of elevation ; but although more steady in its course, it is less
elevated than the mountains formed of much newer rocks on either side
of it ; it coincides in part with the actual valley of the Upper Indus.
We will avoid confusion with geographical names by calling it the
Ladak gneissic axis.
The Hund.es and Zanskar synclinal.— Between these two
gneissic axes there is a long synclinal basin in which the fossiliferous
rocks are found in more or less complete sequence, according to original
variations of deposition and the subsequent action of denudation. This
feature is not, however, unbroken from end to end of the known
ground; at long intervals the basin is more or less completely con-
stricted or interrupted by transverse upheaval and metamorphism of the
rocks. A principal break of this kind occurs where the Sutlej bends
southwards at the Purgial mountain, which separates the Hundes area
from that to the north-west, the secondary formations at least being com-
pletely interrupted. It was in this north-western area that Dr. Stolic^^a
studied the rocks, principally in the Spiti valley, at the south-east extf em-
ity of the basin", for which an appropriate name may be taken from the
larger and more central district of Zanskar. The length of the basin
is about 200 miles, ending abruptly east of the Dras river in a trans-
verse mass of syenitic metamorphic rocks. The valleys of Astor and
Gilgit, between which places the Indus has a north and south course^ are
p 1
6^6 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
on the prolongation of this synclinal axis of Zanskar, beyond the crystal-
line rocks forming the mountains round the Deosai plateau. Nothing
definite is known regarding the extension of the sedimentary series to the
east of Hundes ; but it is presumable, as Dr. Hooker conjectured, that the
unaltered rocks observed by him north of the great gneissic range in
Sikkim are more or less a continuation of those in a similar position
in the North-Western Himalayas.
The Karakoram synclinal and Kuenlun axis.— North of the
Ladak gneissic axis the same sedimentary series comes in again in force,
but in this direction some of the upper groups of the series have not yet
been identified. This area also is a broad synclinal basin, the newest
rocks being found in the centre of it, in the Karakoram ridge, and the
older formations rise again to the north against a third gneissic axis,
forming the core of the Kuenlun range. The direction of this range
seems to be more east and west than that of the Himalayan ranges
proper; so that, if the gneissic axes continued to the west, the
sedimentary basin of the Karakoram would soon be cut ofE in that
direction ; while to the east it expands rapidly.
The Kashmir synclinal.— South of the Zanskar basin, and be-
tween the diverging prolongations of the gneiss of the main Himalayan
range, there is a minor synclinal basin of unaltered rocks, that of
Kashmir and Pangi, divided by a transverse mass of metamorphic strata.
Position of the tertiary formations. — The one great exception
to the general structural symmetry of the Himalayan formations is the
distribution of the tertiary rocks. The nummulitic deposits are not found
in the middle of the synclinal basins, in sequence with the upper
secondary deposits : they seem, on the contrary, to be as far as possible
out of connexion with the general sedimentary series, occupying, as they
do, a long trough in the Indus valley, in or adjoining the metamorphic
rocks of the Ladak gneissic axis. This feature is so very marked, as laid
down for 200 miles, between Hanle and Kargil, by Dr. Stoliezka (who
identified nummulitic rocks in no other position), and the significance of
the tertiary rocks in the history of the mountains is so great, that special
interest attaches to observations on this formation.
Gneiss of two ages.— It was fully shewn by Dr. Stoliezka that the
metamorphic rocks of the Himalayas are extensively formed of converted
palaeozoic formations, in continuous relation with unaltered rocks of the
same period. The whole of the gneissic axis in' Ladak is considered to be
so constituted. Elsewhere, unaltered lower palaeozoic strata of great
thickness are found in abrupt contact, at their base, with gneissic
rocks. Two sections of this kind are recorded ; both are in the main
Bitra-Peninsular. J CENTRAL GNEISS. 627
Himalayan range, and on the confines of the area described as the Lower
Himalayas. The descriptions of the contact are not very precise, but
there can be little doubt that the slates were deposited upon a floor of
gneiss. In Hundes General Strachey describes and figures some 2,000
feet of infra- silurian azoic slates overlying the crystalline schists in im-
mediate, parallel succession, with a band of coarse conglomerate at or
near the junction.^ The granite of the adjoining axis of - intrusion
penetrates these slates for a short distance, without producing any great
alteration. In the corresponding section described by Dr. Stoliczka
on the Bhabeh pass, at the south-east corner of the Zanskdr basin in
Spiti, a similar relation was observed. The actual contact was concealed
by snow ; but the lower rocks maintained their gneissic character to the
top, and the nearest outcrops to them were of grey slates and sandstones,
the lowest beds of a long series of lower silurian strata, quite unaffected
by crystalline metamorphism. The latter are probably the same as the
infra-silurian beds of Hundes. The dip is somewhat higher in the gneiss
than in the slates, suggesting some unconformity or faulting at the con-
tact ; but this is not certain, as the observations were some distance apart.
Transitional metamorphism is, however, out of the question.
The central gneiss. — We thus have an important fact established,
that of an older and a newer gneiss, the difference in age between them
being necessarily very great ,• so that the distinction of the two is a
point of much importance in the geology of the mountain region. It
was, no doubt, partly to mark this distinction of age, that Dr. Stoliczka
gave the name central to the gneiss of the main Himalayan axis. The
term is certainly ambiguous, and we have already (p. 597 ) pointed out
one important correction in the extension given to it by Dr. Stoliczka ;
but it may as well be retained, not in the sense of axial, but simply as
denoting the fundamental formation of the Himalayan rock-series.
IVIineral cliaracter. — It is unfortunate that so important a distinc-
tion depends for detection upon such uncertain criterions as the
mineral constitution of metamorphic rocks, and characters so generally
obscured as those of contact-relations. The central gneiss is normally
composed of white quartz with white felspar (orthoclase or albite), which
often forms large crystals, in the more massive varieties of the rock ;
and the basic mineral is mica (biotite or muscovite), often abundant in
the more schistose varieties. The rock of the Laddk gneissic axis is,
on the contrary, chiefly" syenitic. This cannot, however, be taken as a
sure criterion ; for elsewhere the sihirian slates are found converted
into ordinary gneiss.
' Q. J. G. S., Vir, p. 302,
628 GEOLOGY OF INDIA- CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
Stratigraphical relation. — The stratigraphical relation is also of
most Tincertain application. It is evident that if a later metamorpljism
had converted the slates of the Niti or the Bhabeh sections, where the
two series are in parallel succession, into gneissic schists, the great
distinction betrayed by the actual relations (perhaps the greatest in the
whole sequence of formations) would have been altogether obscured, and
the whole would appear as one continuous metamorphic series. This is
precisely the difficulty encountered in attempting to follow out the central
ffneiss to the north-west, in immediate continuation of the main
Himalayan axis ; and the same impediment would of course render it
stUl more difficult to detect the older gneiss in a detached area, sur-
rounded by a later gneiss, as in the Ladak axis, or elsewhere. EVen along
the south boundary of the central gneiss, in the Lower Himalayan area,
where there is great unconformity between the gneiss and the slate
series (as that unconformity does not involve oblique discordance of stra-
tification), it has been a matter of great difficulty to detect the distribution
of the two series, and almost impossible to delineate their separation with
any accuracy ; the originally highly contrasting conditions of the rqeks
having been so disguised by the subsequent metamorphism of the newer
series, especially near the contact of the two.
Relations defined only in the middle Himalayas. — The very
striking contrast of the relations between the central gneiss and
the slate series, on the north and on the south, would be a remarkable
fact, if it should be confirmed by more extended observations that,
as is believed, the two slate series are identical. On the north
there is quasi-conformity of superposition, while on the south, as we
have seen (p. 601), the newer series overlaps and abuts against denuded
masses of the older.' From this latter relation it was shewn that
the central gneiss must have formed a primitive ridge, to some extent
corresponding in position with the Lower Himalayan area. In spite
of the contrasting stratigraphy, the northern sections confirm this
impression, in that they shew, what was not demonstrable on the south,
however apparently probable, that the gneiss underwent its meta-
morphism in pre-silurian times ; and further, it can so f a,r be stated
that the evidence for this condition is limited to the confines of the
Lower Himalayan area, or a middle Himalayan position with reference
to the whole mountain range ; everywhere else, in Zanskar, Pangi, and
the Pir Panjal, the slates become schistose, and are more or less transitional
with the underlying gneiss ; or, in other words, the slates along the
' It should he recollected that the nearest outcrops exhibiting this contrast are 30
miles apart.
Extra-Peninsular. J THE GRANITIC AXIS. 6iJ9
northern border of the Lower Himalayan area have not been subjected
to the metamorphic action which they have undergone more or less
generally in other parts of the mountains: a fact that would be
most naturally explained by these slates never having been so depressed,
or subjected to so great crushing, whereby the silurian rocks of the
Ladak axis and elsewhere were converted into gneiss. Thus, from the
side of the Central Himalayas, in the north, we find confirmation of
the evidence brought forward from the tertiary rocks on the south, and
from the rock-structure of the Lower Himalayas themselves, that this
latter area holds a peculiar, and more or less neutral or independent, posi-
tion in the Himalayan system.
Although not fully identified out of the Lower Himalayan area, no-
thing is more likely than that the central gneiss should occur elsewhere ;
and it has been recognised with much probability in several positions
in the divided north-western ranges on the continuation of the main
range. Dr. Stoliczka thought he recognised the same rock well to
the north of the main range near Changrizing, east of the Para river, at
the base of the great Purgial mountain, which separates the basin of
Zanskar from that of Hundes.
The granitic axis. — There is no more unique or debatable feature
in the Himalayas than the granitic axis, so persistent along the main
range. To the east in Sikkim, and in the north-west, from the frontier
of Nepal to Kulu, wherever examined, coarse white granite has been
found in profusion along the line of peaks, near the pressnt edge of the
sedimentary basin of Tibet. It occurs in veins and dykes of every
size, sometimes forming the massive core, up to the summit, of the
highest mountains. %
The width of the band of intrusion seldom exceeds 25 miles, and
is generally much less. The rock dies out completely to the west, being
only very feebly represented at the Baralaeha pass, the most distant
point at which it has been observed in the ranges beyond the Lower
Himalayan area, with which again this peculiar feature is nearly coter-
minous.
This granite is pre-eminently the axial rock of the main Himalayan
range, as a geographical feature ; and this fact, perhaps, was partly the
reason why the name " central " was given to the gneiss in which it occurs,
with the implied suggestion that this gneiss had been upraised with the
granite ; for the contiguous gneiss to the south was regarded by Dr.
Stoliczka as distinct. This view has, however, been shewn to be untenable
(p. 597) ; and it is very open to question whether, in any proper
geological sense, this line of eruptive rock can be considered an axis
630 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
{locus) of elevation. The supposition would be incompatible with the
inferences already drawn from the circumstances of the sedimentary-
rocks on both sides of the central gneiss of the Lower Himalayas,
shewing absolutely (if correct) that the slate series had never been
continuous across that area. It is more likely that the gi-anite marks a
marginal line of irruption, with reference to the main area of deposition
from which the Central Asian plateau was to arise. From general con-
siderations on the drainage system it will be suggested that the crest of
the Himalayan elevation lay far to the north of the present main range.
General Strachey describes the granite as penetrating the slates, and the
same authority is quoted by Dr. Stoliczka^ for its reaching the secondary
formations. It can scarcely be of later date.
Terminal extensions of the central gneiss,— The distinction of
middle and terminal characters is nowhere more marked than in the main
Himalayan range, which may, in fact, as a geological feature, be said
to end with the Lower Himalayan area. Beyond this, to the north-west,
there are three independent ranges with gneissic axes, all connected with
the central gneiss, and each having some pretension to be considered the
continuation of the main range of the middle Himalayas.
The Zanskar gneissic range. — Immediately north of the Sutlej,
and west of the Bhabeh section described by Dr . Stoliczka, there is a great-
nucleus, or stratigraphical node, of high mountains, ranging to 31,772
feet in elevation, in Waziri Rupi, a district of Kulu. The mass lies for the
most part to the north of the prolongation of the main chain. In fact,
from the Sutlej, at about the Bhabeh pass, there is a rather abrupt change
of about 25° in the strike of the Central Himalayan axes, on opposite sides
of the Purgial transverse ridge. The strike of the Hundes basin, and of
the main gneissic range south of it, is about west-35°-north ; while
that of the Zanskar basin, and of the gneissic range outside it, is west-60°-
north. The Zoji-La from Kashmir, and the Baralaeha from Lahul, are
the best known passes in this latter range ; and the name of the latter
pass has been sometimes applied to the range itself; but it is better to use
a term of greater original extension, such as that of the central district
of Zanskar. Several of the peaks range above 20,000 feet in elevation.
For many reasons, geological as weU as geographical, the Zanskar
range has a right to be considered the principal continuation of the
Himalayan chain. In its centre, south-west of Zanskar, for a width of
nearly 50 miles, it is formed entirely of gneiss ; but this rock rapidly
contracts to the north-west, and dies out altogether before reaching the
Zoji-La, where the sedimentary formations roll over from Tibet into
' Mem. G. S. I., Vol. V, p. 12.
Extra-Peninsular.] THE PIR PANJAL GNEISSIC CHAIN. 631
Kashmir, and form the mountains on the north side of the valley, at
a considerably lower elevation than the gneiss-formed peaks of the
range in Zanskar. Here, then, we have a complete terminal occultation
of the gneissic axis, in the principal north-western representative of the
Himalayan range.i The width of the gneiss contracts also very much on
the south-east : Dr. Stoliezka observed a band, only 6 miles wide,
of what he took to be the central gneiss, low on the south side of the
Baralacha pass. It will, however, be shewn that the gneiss of Zanskar
IS, to some extent at least, a newer rock, formed of converted palaeozoic
strata.
The Pir Panjal gneissic chain. — If the questioji of representa-
tive ranges were to be settled by the continuous line of greatest elevation,
the Zdnskar range would have to cede its claim ; for the col or gap
(the Kunzum- pasSj on - slates, at 14,931 feet), connecting it with the
gneissic mass of Rupi, is lower than the Rotang pass (on gneiss, at 15,206
feet), dividing the mountains of Rupi from those of Bara-Bliagdl and
Barmaur, which range to above 30,000 feet. It is still unsettled
whether the slates of the Kunzum pass are not continuous with those
immediately north of the Hamta and Rotang passes, so as to cut off the
gneissic mass of Zanskar. Dr. Stoliezka notes also " the characteristic
of albite granite in the gneiss of the Hamta pass.'"
This Rotang ridge at the head of the Kulu, or upper Bias, valley is
certainly the most direct continuation of the mountains of Rupi ; and on
this line we find the greatest prolongation of gneissic rock, through
Barmaur, Chamba, Badrawah, and Kistwar, to the Pir Panjal, bounding
the Kashmir valley on the south-west. The crest of this chain is more
irregular than those we have hitherto spoken of, and this irregularity has
always caused a diflSculty in finding a name for it. It is perhaps best to
extend the well-known name of Pir Panjal to the whole of it. Even in
the Pir Panjal proper, the ridge is very irregular, and the gneiss is not
continuous throughout j but in this broken fashion the rock continues
across the Jhelum to beyond Kashmir, where its mode of termination
in the Kishenganga valley is not known j but it probably does terminate
there.
1 To the great disappointment of geologists, all mention of the rocks seems to have
been ciiref ully excluded ^y that accomplished observer Mr. Drew from his most interesting
•worlconthe.Jummoo and Kashmir Territories. One of the very few remarks that have
escaped him records (p. 378) the occurrence of mountains of grey granite on each side of
Stakpi La defile, and something less than 2,000 feet above it, between the Burzil branch of
the Kishenganga valley and the head waters of the Shingo rivei-. The locality would be
nearly on the prolongation of the Zanskar axis, but it probably belongs to a local focus of
disturbance in Little Tibet.
632 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
In this chain also^ according to the few observations on recordj the
relation of the gneiss to the slates is not of so decided a character as
in the Lower Himalayan region. There is generally more or less of
transition^ and it is difBcult to make sure whether we have to deal with
the older or the newer gneiss. The abrupt manner in which the semi-de-
tached gneissic masses are intercepted by schists and slates is especially
hard to reconcile with other structural features of the sectionSj as will be
indicated in connection with the slate series j but the arrangement of
these quasi-continuous masses^ independent of an approximately axial
position — and there are some, such as the Kuad KapMs mountain in
Badraw^h, which cannot pretend to belong to the Pir Panjal chain —
is suggestive that the relations of the slates to the gneiss here may be
the result, in a minor degree, of an original relation like that described
on the south side of the Lower Himalayas in the Simla region, where
the slate series was shewn to have been deposited amongst steeply eroded
masses of the central gneiss (p. 605).
There is, however, one remarkable observation by Mr. Lydekker i in
the slates of the Pangi basin, in the upper Chinab valley, separating
the Zanskar range from the almost equally high mountains of the Pir
Panjal in Chamba, shewing that at the time of the deposition of these
slates the central gneiss was undergoing extensive erosion at no great
distance. In the midst of the black slates, throughout a thickness of some
2,000 feet, large blocks of granitoid gneiss, either angular or water-worn,
are scattered in great numbers. They are well seen about the village of
Salgraun (25 miles above Kilar). Some were measured as much as three
and a half feet iu diameter ; and being embedded in fine slate, it seems
necessary to suppose that they were in some manner erratics, i. e., trans-
ported by some form of flotation or suspension, distinct from the ordinary
denuding agencies of water and gravitation only.
The Dhauladhar gneissic range. — There is one other gneissic ridge
that might be considered the legitimate representative of the Himalayan
axis proper, as being most nearly on its prolongation, in its normal
direction. The Dhauladhdr is remarkably well defined as a geological axis,
although at the very edge of the mountain area, overhanging the tertiary
zone in the Kangra valley, and separatiug this zone from the basin
of slates in the upper Ravi valley, which, again, divides the Dhauladhar
from the Pir Panjal range in Barmaur. The Kulu valley, which is
the upper valley of the Bias, running due south from the Rotang pass,
completely cuts off the Dhauladhar from direct continuity with the moun-
tains of Rupi; but the connexion is maintained at a very high levelj from
1 Kec. G. S. I., XI, p. 54.
Extra-Peninsular.] THE chief sedimentary BASINS. 633
the Rotang pass through the mountains o£ Bara Baghdl, separating
the head waters o£ the Bias and the Ravi. There seems little doubt that
the gneiss of the Dhauladhar is to some extent, i£ not altogether,
the central gneiss ; but it ends completely and abruptly at Dalhousie,
where the Rdvi turns round it, at right angles to its course within the
mountains. This is a conspicuous instance of the feature already men-
tioned as so difficult of explanation, and upon which some detailed
observations are very much needed.
The newer gneiss. — In preceding paragraphs frequent mention has
been made of the newer gneiss ; of its special (syenitic) mineral characters
where the lower palaeozoic formations have been metamorphosed on a
large scale, as in the Ladak axis, and of its more ordinary condition where
mineralised in connexion with the old gneiss in its extensions to the north-
west. Any further mention of the newer gneiss will be made in tracing
the general distribution of the palaeozoic rocks themselves.
The chief sedimentary basins. — The skeleton of the mountain
structure delineated in the foregoing paragraphs, shewing the position
and nature of the gneissic axes, will help to elucidate the distribution
of the fossiliferous formations, and will suggest at once the conveni-
ence of dividing the description according to the great areas, more or less
separated, in which these rocks are now found : the two central basins of
Zanskar and Hundes or Ngdri-Khorsum ; the northern basin of the
Karakoram. ; and the southern area of Kashmir and Pangi.
In speaking of these areas as basins of sedimentary rocks, we do not,
of course, mean basins of deposition, but simply stratigraphical basins.
They are certainly now basins of disturbance, great synclinal troughs ;
but it is a leading point of inquiry, — to what extent in any of the
successive formations, if at all, the areas of deposition corresponded with
these areas of present relative depression of the rocks ? The available
observations are much too cursory and scattered to support a definite
opinion upon this point ; but if we might extend to this ground the in-
ference arrived at in the other Himalayan regions, that the palaeozoic rocks
had undergone no contortion prior to the eocene period, we could not look
for much agreement in detail between the actual results of disturbance and
the original distribution of the pre-tertiary sedimentary series. Whatever
may have been the circumstances which resulted in the striking discre-
pancy between the rock-series of the Central and the Southern Himalayan
areas whereby all the secondary formations, or at least all the middle
and upper groups of that period, were excluded or removed from the
southern area, it might seem fair to suppose that the great contortions
and dislocations affecting the southern region were more or less of syn-
634 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
chronous origia with the similar and connected features in the adjoining
area ; and, therefore, that the great axes of flexure which now define the
rock-basins of Tibet are of post-eocene origin. The very marked approx-
imate conformity exhibited throughout the whole sedimentary series up
to the cretaceous deposits, as represented in the sections of the Zanskfir
basin figured by Stoliczka, and the certainty that at the close of the
cretaceous period some of the highest summits of Tibet were at the sea-
level, would seem to support the view, that in this region also the begin-
ning of special Himalayan disturbance was posterior to the eocene period.
We must, however, beware of inferential assumptions, however plaus-
ible. Enough has been seen in the Sub-Himalayan ground to warn us
against placing much reliance upon conformity or unconformity, within
very close proximity, in these mountain sections ; and the most marked
stratigraphical feature of Tibet — the complete severance of continuity
between the eocene and the cretaceous deposits — implies great changes in
the intervening time, and has a direct bearing upon the point at issue ; only
we have no observations as to the full or special meaning of this feature.
Eocene deposits of great thickness occupy a long trough in the silurian
gneiss of the Ladak axis. No one has suggested that they were let down
into" this position by faulting ; so there must have been immense pre-
tertiary denudation, with a corresponcKlig-i!ise'6rthe Himalayan-area. It
is just possible that the original relation in Tibet may have been the same
as that already shewn for the nummulitic beds in the Simla region, where
they were laid down on deeply eroded, but as yet uncontorted, palaeozoic
rocks. The fact that the palaeozoics of Tibet had been previously converted
into gneiss would not absolutely preclude this condition (for the central
gneiss is the least disturbed of all the Himalayan formations), although
certainly rendering it far from probable.
The settlement of this question — the original relation of the nummulitic
formation in Tibet — is a point ol: extreme interest in Himalayan geology.
If it should be proved that that relation was the same as in the Lower
Himalayan area — that the immense pre-tertiary denudation of the Central
Himalayan region had taken place previous to any great contortion of
the strata there — we should have something like a demonstration of the
DeBeaumont theory of mountain formation : that the first stage in the
process is of the nature of a great warp or deformation of the earth's
crust, the collapse {ecrasement) of which state of tension results in the
flexures and dislocations which characterise every region of true mountains.^
' DeBeaumont's theory of mountain formation is so commonly identified witli liis
final speculations upon the question of direction, that it is necessary to point out that his
preliminary discussion of the conditions is independent of that elaborate development.
Extra-Peninsular.] THE ZANSKAR AREA. 635
It has been suggested elsewhere ' that much of the contortion
of the later tertiary rocks of the Sub-Himalayan zone may have been
due to a reflex action, the protracted adjustment of equilibrium after the
great mountain features had been fully developed.
The formations of the Zanskar area. — Dr. Stoliczka's first
work in Tibet (the only exploration of which he published any detailed
observations^) was confined to the south-east end of the Zanskar area, in
the Spiti and Para valleys^ and through Rupshu (or Rukshu) to the Indus.
On his second trip he made several traverses of a much larger area, up to
the north-west termination of the basin at Kargil ; but only brief route-
notes were published.* The length of the area is 200 miles, with a
maximum width of 50 miles in Zanskar. The following detailed charac-
ters of the rocks, and for the most part the fossils also, are taken from
the former ground ; they will serve for general comparison. The names
also are taken from localities in Spiti and Rupshu, where the several
formations are well exposed. No groups were added from the examina-
tion of the larger area to the north-west.
FOSSILIFHSOUS SEBIES OF THE ZANSKAR AREA.
MBSOZOIC :
(m) Chikkim shales (Cretaceous). — Dark grey, marly, earthy shales. Thickness,
200 feet. No fossils ; considered to be closely related to the limestone.
{m) Chikkim limestone {Cretaceous). — White, or grey on fresh fracture: when
somewhat earthy it gives a strong bituminous odour when struck. Thick-
ness, 600 feet ; parallel to I.
Budistes (fragments).
Nodosaria, 2 sp.
T>entalina ( annulata ?),
JRotalia, sp.
Textilaria, 2 sp.
Saplophragmium, sp.
Cristellaria, sp.
{T) GiETJMAL SANDSTONE {Upper jurassic). — Light yellowish, silicious ; darker and
calcareous, fossiliferous ; sometimes a loose grit, and even coarsely conglo-
meratic. Thickness, 600 feet ; conformable to and interstratified with k.
Opis, sp.
Anatina spitiensis.
A. sp. nov.
Fecten bifrons.
Amusium demissum.
Lima, sp.
MytUus mytiloidea.
Avicula echinata.
GyphcBa, sp.
Ostrea, sp., near O. gregaria.
O. sp., near O. sowerbii.
> Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt. 2, p. 174; and Q. J. G. S., XXIV, p. 48.
2 Mem. G. S. I., V, 1865, pp. 1-154.
3 Mem. G. S. I., V, 1866, pp. 337-354.
636
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTKAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
(/fc) Spiti SHALES {Upper jurassic). — Black, crumbling shale, full of calcareous
concretions, each generally containing a fossil. Thickness, 300 to 500 feet ;
in Spiti they rest conformably on g, the lower Tagling limestone.
JBelemnites canaliculatus.
B. elaiiatus.
Anisoceras gerardianum.
Ammonites acucinctiis,
A. strigilis.
A. macrocephalus}
A. octagonus.
A. hypJiasis.
A. parTcinsoni,
A. theodorii.
A. sabineanus.
A. spitiensis,
A. curvicosta.
A. hraiTcenridgii.
A. nivalis.
A. liparus,
A. triplicatus.
A. biplex.
A. alatus.
Pleurotomaria, 2 sp.
Astarte unilateralis.
A. major.
A. spitiensis.
A. hiemalis.
Trigonia costata.
Cyprina trigonalis.
Nucula cuneiformis.
N. sp.
Area (Maorodon) egertonianum,
PI. XII, fig. 14.
Inoceramus hookeri.
Lima, sp., near L. rigida.
Auoella blanfordiana.
A. leguminosa, PL XII, fig. 15.
Amusium (conf. Pecten stolidus).
Pecten lens.
Osirea, sp.
Mhynconella varians.
Terehratula sp.
Salenia ? sp.
Somomya tibetica.
(») Shalt SLATES (J^wrasnc).— Brown or black ; full of broken shells. Thickness,
50 feet ; very local ; probably belong to k.
Belemnites, sp. ) Posidonomya ornata.
(A) Dppee Tagling (Lias). — Dark, earthy, bituminous ; only described north of
Spiti. Thickness, nearly 1,000 feet ; difficult to distinguish from g.
sp. TrocJius epulus.
T. attenuatus.
Chemnilzia undulata.
Neritopsis (conf. N. elegantissima).
Modiola, sp. (resembling Mytilus
subreniformis).
Terebratula sinemuriensis.
(conf. macrace-
Ammonites
phalus).
Nerinea (conf. iV. goodhalii).
Aoteonina (conf. A. cincta).
Eucyclus (Amberleya), sp.
Trochus latilabrus.
g) Tagling limestone {Lower Lias or Phcetic). — Dark grey, brown or black,
sandy or earthy, often oolitic and bituminous, sometimes a shell-limestone ;
weathers light brown, rusty. Thickness, more than 1,000 feet ; locally un-
conformable on e.
Belemnites budhaicus.
B. bisulcutus.
B. tibeticus.
Ammonites (conf. A.germanii).
A., sp. (conf. A. macroce-
phalus).
Nerinea, sp. (near N. goodhalii).
Chemniizia (conf. C. coarctata)i
C, sp. (near C. phidias).
Natica (conft N. pelops).
Nerita, sp., nov.
Dentalium, sp. (near D. giganteum).
1 According to Dr. Waagen, Palseontologia Indica, Ser. IX, 3, p. 237, foot-note, this and
several other species are not identical with the European fossil forms to which they were
referred by Dr. Stoliczka.
Extra-Peninsular. ]
THE ZANSKAR AREA.
637
Area (Macrodon), sp. (appar-
ently A. lycetti).
GervilUa, sp. (near Cr. olifex).
Avicula inaquivalvis.
A. punctata.
Lima densicosfata,
Pecten (conf. P. palosus).
P. moniliger.
P. sdbal.
P. hifrons.
P. valoniensis.
Amusium, sp.
Osirea (conf. 0. acuminata).
O. (conf. O. anomala).
Rhynconella ohtusifrons.
S. pedata.
Bi. Jissicostata.
R. austriaca.
B. variabilis.
JJ. ringens.
Terebratula gregaria.
T. piriformis.
T. punctata.
T. (Waldheimia) sehafhceutli.
(/) Paea limestone (Bheelic or Upper 2Vias).- Black, dolomitio, strongly bitu-
minous, often earthy. Thickness, 700 feet; only found on north side of
Spiti.
Dicerocardium himalayense, I ULegalodon triqueter,
PI. II, fig 7. I PI. II, fig. 8.
(e) LitANG SEEIES* {Tipper or Middle Trias). — Dark limestone, calcareous slates
and shales ; limestone compact or finely oolitic ; lower beds quasi-concre-
tionary. Thickness, 1,000 to 2,000 feet ; locally unconformable on d.
Orthoceras, sp.
O. salinarium.
O. latiseptum.
O. dxibium.
Nautilus spitiensit.
Clydonites oldhamianus, P
II, fig. 4.
C. hauerinus.
Ammonites Jloridus, PI. II,
fig. 1.
A.jollyanus.
A. hlianihofi.
A. gaytani.
A. diffissus, PI. II, fig. 3.
A. ausseanus.
A. gerardi.
A. medleyanus.
A. studeri.
A. thuillieri, PI. II, fig. 2.
A. malletianus.
A. hatteni.
Pleurotomaria (conf. P. buchi).
P. sterilis.
Discohelix, sp.
Myoconcha lombardica.
Z/ima (conf. L, ramsaueri).
L; sp., nov.
Monotis salinaria, PI. II, fig. 6.
Halobia lommeli, PI. II, fig. 5.
Waldheimia stoppanii.
Athyris strohmeyeri.
A. deslongchampsi.
Rhynconella mutabilis.
R. theobaldiana,
R. salteriana.
R. retrocita var. augusta.
Spirifer, sp. n.
8. (Spiriferina) (conf. S. fragilis).
S. (Spiriferina) stracheyi, PI. II, fig. 9.
S. (Spiriferina) lilangensis,
8. spitiensis.
Encrinus cassianus.
' The following triassie and rhsetic fossils are figured on Plate II :
Pig. 1. Ammonites flondMS J.
„ 2. A. (Ceratites) thuillieri ^.
„ 3. A. diffisas.
4. Clydomtes oldhamianus.
„ 5. Ralobia lommeli.
Fig. 6. Monotis saKnaria \.
„ 7. Dicerocardimn himalayense J.
„ 8. Megalodon triqueter \.
„ 9. Spirifer stracheyi.
638 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
PALJ30Z0IC :
(d) KuLiua SBEIES (Carhoniferows). — Pale quartzites (fossiliferous) generally at
base, but alternating with brown shales ; the latter are often carbonaceous
and calcareous, passing into dark limestone. Thickness, 100 to 400 feet ;
junction with (e) conformable, obscure.
Orthoceras, sp.
Aviculopecien, sp.
Cardiomorpha, sp.
Avicula, sp.
Productus purdoni, PI. I,
fig. 10.
P. semiretieulatus, PI. I, fig. 8.
P. longispinus.
Spirifer moosakJiailensis, PI. I, fig
8. keilhavii, PI. I, fig. 1.
S. tiheticus,
S. altivagus.
(e) MuTH SBEIES {Upper Silurian) —
White quartzite, often speckled ; no fossils. Thickness, 200 to 300 feet.
2. Pale sandy and silicious limestone, purer beds dark ; weathering brown ; fos-
siliferous. Thickness, 300 to 400 feet.
1. Purple sandstone, slaty partings ; conglomeratic ; no fossils. Thickness, 500
to 600 feet ; conformable to b, slightly alternating.
Tentaculites, sp.
Strophomena, sp.
Orthis, sp. (near O. thakil, var.
striatocostata, and var. con-
vexa).
Orthis, sp. (near O. compta).
Orthis, sp. (near 0. tibetica).
O., sp. (conf. O. resupinata).
Crinoid stems.
Cyathophyllum, 2 sp.
Syringopora, sp.
(S) Bhabeh seeies {Lower Silurian) —
3. Greenish and bluish sandstones sometimes micaceous, often laminated ; also
thickly bedded, occasional slaty and calcareous beds, fossiliferous. Thick-
ness not stated, but represented in the section as equal to 2 or 1.
2. Grey, white and pinkish, speckled sandstone or quartzite, with occasional
calcareous beds, dolomitic and cavernous (Eauchwake), fossiliferous. Thick-
ness not stated ; figured as much as No. 1.
1. Bluish and greenish grey slates (some micaceous) and sandstones ; no fossils.
Thickness, 3,000 feet.
Orthis, sp. ? I Chcetetes yalc.
Palseozoio series. — A large part of Stoliczka's Memoir is given
to tlie description and discussion of the fossils, a complete list of which has
been given above ; besides this there is not much ma,tter for discussion,
and it would be too tedious without a full-scale map to trace the formations
severally wherever they have been observed. It will be more suitable
here to take them up in series, and to indicate the conditions they exhibit
at different points of the area. This sketch possesses the advantage,
so rarely experienced in Indian formations, that the stratigraphical
identifications were made upon the basis of palseoptological evidence.
The palseozoio series, as given in the above list, is, of course, only illustra-
tive, not in any sense a standard ; even here, in several of the groups.
Extra-Peninsular.] THE ZANSKAR AREA. 639
much variation is noticed. The observations were taken at the south-
eastern extremity^ where the Zanskar basin approaches nearest to the
Lower Himalayan area, and where the strata exhibit a minimum
of alteration. It is only in this portion o£ the area, within the Spiti
basin, which drains into the Sutlej, and has undergone the greatest
erosion, that the upper palaeozoic rocks are freely exposed, away from the
edge of the basin. In Spiti the Kulingp series is very frequently found
at the bottom of the deepest valleys, underlying the secondary formations
of the adjacent mountains. In the more elevated ground of Zanskar
it has been noticed only in a few localities in this position, as in the
Tzarap valley. There is no mention of the silurian rocks being exposed,
except along the marginal outcrops.
South-west boundary. — To the north-west of Spiti the palseozoic
series is still recognisable at the Bdralacha pass. The rocks imme-
diately above the central gneiss are like those of the Bhdbeh section ; and
fossils were found at a low horizon in the silurians. The next section is
on the Zanskdr river, near Padam, where the boundary between the two
series is not fixed, within broad limits ; and from this to the westward,
along the flank of the Zanskar ridge to Suru (Sooroo), near the north-west
end of the Zanskar basin, the metamorphism increases, and the whole
palseozoic series becomes gradually disguised. On the Suru section the
metamorphics of the Zanskar range extend northwards to Sangra, near
Kartse (Kurtse), where they are largely hornblendie, and supposed to be
upper silurian. The chloritic quartzites north of this are considered to be
carboniferous, and they are in contact with the syenitic rocks of Kargil,
against which the sedimentary basin terminates on the north-west.
South-east boundary. — Proceeding north-eastwards from the
Bhabeh pass, we follow the south-east end of the Zanskar basin, as
stopped out against the central gneiss of Purgial. The details of this
feature have not been observed, buit, as seen in the section of the Spiti
river, only 25 miles from Muth, some important changes are recorded.
Fossils were found far down in the series, near Kuri and Shdlkar. The
gneiss is overlaid by dark, thin-bedded slates and sandstones, but ap-
parently not immediately ; for the chief contrast between this and the
Bhdbeh section is stated to be that the lower strata on the Spiti are more
altered in a few places truly metamorphic, and that the higher beds are
more slaty. But the most peculiar difference is the appearance of inter-
bedded greenstone throughout the whole series, from the gneiss up to the
carboniferous rocks near Po (on the Spiti river) . The thickness of the
deposits seems to be greater here, especially of the carboniferous series,
if all the brown shales at the top of the section belong to this formation.
640 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XX7I.
The disturbance is not excessive ; it is locally described as if the schists
had been upheaved in the form of a dome.
The Rupshu metamorphics. — The next section is 40 miles to the
northj in the upper valley of the Para river^ where the conditions of the
north-east boundary are fully established. The first effects of metamor-
phism are noticed in the triassic rocks ; but the greenish quartzites and
slates beneath them are still recognisable as of the Kuling series^ and
have yielded carboniferous fossils. Beneath the quartzites and slates
come chloritic and mica-schists, doubtless representative, if the observa-
tions be correct, of the silurian rocks, but differing entirely from them
in facies. The south-westerly dip continues remarkably constant for 24
miles across a vast thickness of these metamorphic strata, a third of
which would amply represent the known thickness of the lower palseozoic
series ; so that, unless there are undetected repetitions, there must be either
great expansion of these formations, or we have here also an unknown
thickness of the old gneiss. This would seem by no means improbable • for
below some 10,000 feet of the mica-schists, at about the middle of the
Moriri lake, there is a strong band of granitoid rock, not unlike the
central gneiss. - It is underlaid by a great series of thin quartzose schists,
locally gneissose, below which, at the Kiagar lake, is another mass of
gneiss, characterised by large imperfect crystals of felspar and much tour-
maline. This gneiss is thin-bedded, and passes down again into quartz-
ose schists. At last, within six miles of the Indus, there is a reverse
(north-east) dip in these beds, and so they abut against (are traversed
by) a great mass of basic igneous rock, forming a line of irruption along
the Indus.
A passing reflection may be recorded on the absence, in the infra-car-
boniferous rocks of Rupshu, of bedded greenstone, so abundant through-
out the Silurians of the Spiti valley. The fact would be enough to awaken
doubt whether any of these metamorphics can be converted silurians ; save
that the total absence of those same rocks in the Bhabeh section rather
suggests that they are not truly contemporaneous in the Spiti ground.
The Rupshu metamorphics continue to the north-west, with a con-
stantly diminishing width, the massive gneiss being still in force at
Gya (36 miles south-south-east of Leh), where it is described as having
a large proportion of white quartz, but the mica is occasionally replaced
by diallage. This is close to the axis of eruptive rock.
North boundary with tertiary rocks.— Not far to the west the
Rupshu metamorphics must die out altogether; for at the Zalung Karpo
pass, 15 miles west of Gya, carbonaceous slates and limestones underlie
the Lilang (triassic) limestone, and are the only rocks seen from this
Extra-Peninsular.] THE ZANSKAR AREA. 641
all down the Marclia valley to Skiu, near the Zanskdr river, where carbona-
ceous limestonej full of crinoid stems, and presumably carboniferous, is in
close proximity to the numm'ulitics. Silurian rocks were not distinguished
in this section, but Stoliczka considers that they are probably present.
The eruptive rock is not noticed in the section at Skiu. The nest section
is 30 miles west of the Zansk^r river, on the road from Dras to Leh.
Here the slates, green and red shales and sandstones, between the serpen-
tine of the Indus and Lamayuru, are recognised as of the Bhdbeh series.
They are contorted, with a prevailing south-west high dip, and are over-
laid by a few hundred feet of carbonaceous shales, which are spoken of
as of the Muth series, and also as carboniferous.^ The rocks are spoken
of as highly metamorphic-looking, and at the same time as not
easily distinguished locally from the adjoining tertiary rocks. Farther
on, west of Kharbu, the tertiary rocks, both sedimentary or igneous,
encroach still more ; and about Shargol they are in obscure contact with
the triassic limestone. The next mention of the palseozoic series is at
16 miles to the west, where we have already seen them, much altered, in
contact with the syenite of KargQ.
Thus it appears that for about half its length, on the north, the
Zanskar basin of palseozoic and secondary rocks is now bounded by ter-
tiary formations. On the north-west these contiguous, but distinct,
basins end together against the syenitic mass of Kargil ; but to the
south-east the tertiary rocks pass continuously into the broad central area
of metamorphic rocks, those of Rupshu on the south-west, and those of the
Ladak range on the north-east. The latter will be noticed in connexion
with the Kardkoram area, where they are described in sequence with the
fossiliferous rocks of that basin.
The secondary series. — The series of secondary formations in the
Zanskar area, recorded in the list at p. 685 amounts altogether to a
thickness of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. From the structural condition of the
area, shewing that it is proximately at least a basin of disturbance, the
general distribution of the formations may be surmised ; and we have
already traced a continuous outcrop of the palsBOzoic rocks round the
edo-e of the basin, except on the north, where the structural symmetry is
broken by the contact of an independent and much later basin of
tertiary rocks. As there is general conformity throughout the entire
sequence of formations, each is principally exposed along the external
outcrop of its area, and then along the sides of the deeply eroded river
gorges traversing the basin, where all the strata are variously affected
1 These observations are taken from Stoliczka's notes, in the Scientiflc Results of the
Second Ydrkand Mission : Geology, pp. 13, 14 : Calcutta, 1878.
Ql
642 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI.
by minor undulations and contortions. The great limestones of the
Lilang and Tagling groups are the most prominent rocks of the area ;
while the later f ormationsT-^upper Jurassic and cretaceous — are reduced to
comparatively small patches in the centre of the basin, in the hollows of
local synclinals or as remnants on the tops of ridges.
On the much more obscure question of the original distribution of
these formations, there is very little to be said. It is important to record
the few remarks on tMs point made by the observer himself, from whom
these descriptions are taken. In his reflections on his second year's work
Dr. Stoliczka remarks {I. c, p. 352) : " Eefen-ing to' the section near
Muth, as far as I can see now, I believe that the carbonif erqus deposits here
seem to close a grand geological epoch, and that in the main their
deposits filled only the interior of a large basin, which gradually and
partially became dry land. The carboniferous rocks now appear spar-
ingly dispersed in consequence of undulating contortions of the entire
ground. Towards the west, especially in Kashmir and Little Tibet, the
carboniferous rocks are, however, much more developed." On the same
page it is written, that " after the close of the triassic group in the
North-West Himalayas, great disturbances must have taken place ; large
tracts of the country wer6 raised, and never more covered by the sea,
until partially in comparatively recent periods (eocene), while in other
places the regular succession of deposits took place. One of these was
evidently the large northern Jurassic basin of the Himalayas." Again,
a little further {I, c, p. 353) : " The j urassic basin, which is so well
developed in Spiti, and extends to North Kumaun, continues to retain
the same north-western direction, with all. the characteristic rock-forma-
tions, until it becomes interrupted by the great granitic and syenitie
mass of Little Tibet. A partial interruption seems to have taken place
after the close of the rhaetic deposits ; biit whether the Jurassic basin
has been actually and totally interrupted here (that is, south of .the
Indus), Or whether it has been only compelled to continue with its
course towards the north or north-west in Gilgit and beyond the Mustagh
range, subsequent inquiries must prove."
The particular observations upon which these impressions were based
are not indicated ; and it must be said that from an independent study
of the recorded observations, such inferences could not be made, or even
that a different interpretation is suggested. No facts are quoted shew-
ing the great disturbance of the Lilang series independently of the later
formations, preparatory to the formation of the Jurassic basin. The
lower Jurassic group, the Tagling limestone, appears in full force, forming
the highest summits close to the edge of the basin, both on the north and
Extra-Peninsular.] THE zanskar area. 643
south ; and the original limitation of the Jurassic rocks anywhere near this
seenos to be purely conjectural. The only instances given, in the Pdra and
upper Tagling limestones, of interpolation and thickening of strata have
no reference to the actual basin ; they begin to the north of its centre, and
expand towards its "present north mai-gln. The only appearance of an
original basin, corresponding with the actual one, is in the upper second-
ary deposits — the Spiti and Chikkim groups ; and even for these the case
is not very evident. The best case quoted is that at Muth, where the
carboniferous (Kuling) group seems to be' regularly overlapped by the
Lilang beds ; but this, like the two cases just mentioned, only 'points to
a southern limitation of the Hinaalayan deposits. The greatest difficulty
in the way of the latter supposition, as a general f eatm-e, is the great thick-
ness of the Silurians in the Bhabeh section ; the only relief to it being the
preponderance of sandstone in that position, contrasting with finer deposits
elsewhere. On the whole, it is evident that the date of formation of
the Zdnskair basin is still an open question, within very wide limits.
The tertiary series. — It is in connection with the Zanskar area
and Dr. Stoliczka's work that we have to notice the tertiary rocks of the
Central Himalayas. Here, as in the Sub-Himalayan zone, their features
and relations are of first importance in the mountain history. With the
exception of some almost unknown' deposits (to be mentioned again),
from which the Siwalik fossils brought from the Hundes area must be
derived, the tertiaries of Tibet are, so far as known, eocene, or, at least,
nummulitic. Dr. Stoliczka describes them as very similar to the corre-
sponding deposits of the Sirmur area in the Simla region : " soft and partly
loose conglomerates, reddish and purple slates and marls, and greenish sand-
stones, much like those on Dagshai hill and to the north of that station "
(I. C.J p. 34)3). From these' beds at Rambag, close to the Indus, near Leh,
he procured Nv/mmiiliies ramondi and N. ex^onens. In some of the
lowest beds of the same group near Kargil, some fossils found by Mr.
Drew are mentioned by Dr. Stoliczka as " very like Melania, and bivalves
almost unmistakably belonging to Tholadomya or Panopcea " [1. ■c., p. 348^ ;
and he alludes to the beds again as " a brackish and fresh water deposit,^' ^
The thickness of these strata here is given as 5,000 feet {I. c, p. 348).
According to Dr. Stoliczka's observations, these rocks extend from
Kargil on the west, where they end against-the syenitic rocks of Baltistan,
continuously along the Indus for more than 200 miles to beyond the
eastern limits of his explorations. This long trough is seldom more than
25 miles wide, and from end to end a line of eruptive rock accompanies
the eocene strata, generally on the south side, but also in the midst of the
> Rec. G. S. I., VII, p. 13.
644 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap- XX¥I,
sedimentary rocksj as at the west end about Paskim. Varieties of the
eruptive formation are described as epidotic roek^ consisting of crystallised
or granular masses of epidotCj quartzj and albite ; also as diallage rock,
, serpentine, and gabbro. When Dr. Stoliezka first examined these tertiary
rocks in Northern Rupshu, the nummulitics are there so indurated, consist-
ing of green and red sandstones and slates, with a thickness of 3,000 to
4,000 feet, that they were taken to be probably a palsBozoic series; the
eruptive rock also is in great force, being 1 5 miles wide at the Hanle
river, and upon it Stoliezka remarked : '' From their dark colours, these
rocks have sometimes been referred to the basalts, but they have certainly
nothing to do with these more recent volcanic rocks "^ {I. c, p. 12S) .
On the north-east side this long compressed basin of tertiary .rocks
is bounded throughout by the syenitic metamorphie series of the Ladak
axis ; on the south-west for half its length it is in contact with the
Hupshu metamorphics, which thin out gradually, and are replaced to
the north-west by the palseozoic slates of the Zanskar basin ; and far-
ther on, the nummulitics reach to the triassic outcrop within that basin.
Although Dr. Stoliezka found no trace of nummulitic rocks to the south
of this very peculiar and well-defined area, he seems to have accepted
without hesitation (I. c, p. 354), as of the same deposits. Dr. Thomson's
discovery of nummulitics on the Singhi pass (16,600 feet), on the route
between Padam and Leh, in the centre of the Zanskar basin. Without
presuming to question the possibility'' of this occurrence, upon so slight
a knowledge of the geology of the region, the obvious importance of
this observation suggests an examination of its authenticity.^
1 This, of course, refers to the idea, prevalent amongst German geologists until recently,
and still held by a large number, that different igneous rocks are characteristio of parti-
cular geological epochs. See foot-note, p. 302.
2 Dr. Thomson's record of the rocks on the Singhi La is as follows ("Western
Himalayas and Tibet : " 1852, p. 381) : " Quartz rock, slate, and limestone alternated during
the ascent; and near the summit of the pass the limestone evidently contained organic
remains, perhaps coralline ; though their traces were not sufficiently distinct to enable me
to decide the point." This observation does not at f\ll suggest an outlying high-level
remnant of newer rocks, like those of the Indus valley, but of well-indurated strata,
forming the mass of the adjoining mountains. The i4entification of the fossils is re-
corded at page 176 of the " Description des Animaux Possiles du Groupe Nummulitique
de I'Inde," by MM. D'Archiac and Haime, as follows : " Un calcaire gris bleuStre,
compacte, ptoi S Mveolina melo, associ^e ^ une nummulite qui parait etre la N. ramondi,
a. ete observe' en place par le docteur Thomson, dans la chaine m^me de I'Himalaya, au
passage et au col de Singhi La, lorsqu'il se rendait de Zanskar a la vallee de I'lndus."
There is nothing to suggest doubt or discrepancy in these records ; bat so great errors of
locality amongst the fossils described in this work have been found out (see note, p. 531)
that there is room, for doubt, where there is anything to suggest it j and it appears desirable
that the occurrence of nummulitic rocks on the Singhi La should be verified.
Extra- Peninsular. ] THE Zanskae AREA. 645
There are no detailed observations to shew the relation of the Indus
nummulities to the contiguous rocks. The facies of the deposits is that
of a local basin ; and this seems to be the view taken of them by Dr.
Stoliczka, at least at the western end ; he says : " I rather presume that
these beds have been formed in a kind of narrow bay of the tertiary
sea, which covered Northern and Eastern Tibet ^' (p. 348). In his route-
notes on his journey to Yarkand, in the same western area, between
Shargol and Kharbu, he describes lumps and patches of the triassie
limestone sticking out of the tertiary shales.^
It seems at least certain from the condition and positioft of the
eocene rocks of the InduSj that vast denudation, and therefore dis-
turbance [quoad elevation), of the Himalayan area had occurred in
pre-tertiary times. It remains for future observation to shew how far
the special disturbance of the older formations corresponds with that
which the eocene rocks themselves have undergone,
' Scientific Results of tlie Second Yarkand Mission : Geology, p. 13 : Calcutta, 1878.
646 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTEAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap- XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA,
CENTRAL (tIBETAN) HIMALAYAS— i
The Hundes qt Ngari-Khorsutn area — Stratigraphical series of Niti in Hundes — The
tertiary ernjjtive rocks of Hundes — The sedimentary tertiary rocks of Hundes — The
Karakoram area — The Ladak gneiss — The eastern section of the Karakoram basin
— The KarAkoram section — The Kuenlun range — The Suket pass section— The
Tangi pass section — The Pamir section — The Kashmir-Pangi area — Triassic rocks of
Kashmir — Carboniferous rocks of Kashmir — Silurian rocks of Kashmir — The
Pangi basin — The Pir Panjal Chain — One-sidedness of mountain structure — Post-
tertiary and recent formations — Sub-Himalayan high-level gravels — Glacial evidence
in Tibet — The Hundes lake-basin — Lingzhithang and Kuenlnin lake-basins — Tso Moriri
and other basins — Alluvial deposits of Tibet — The Kashmir basin — The Nepal valley
— Other lakes — Drainage lines. Summaex.
The Hundes or Ngari-Khorsum area.^— Although we cannot
refer to actual record of the observations, it is prohable that the palaeozoic
series is continuous from the Zanskar basin into that of the Hundes ; it is
coloured so on General Strachey's map of the Hundes region, no doubt
on good authority;. It remains for future observation to shew whether
the mesozoic formations of the two areas were originally continuous or
not ; at present they are separated by the gneissic mass of Purgial,
against which the Sutlej turns southwards, and which is now the north-
western barrier of the present basin of secondary rocks of the Hundes
province. At 180 miles to the south-east of Purgial the great Gurla
mountain (25,200 feet high), south of Manasaraur lake, stands right in
the axis of the Hundes basin, and may be taken as its limit on this side ;
although here, too, there is a band of palseozoic and mesozoic rocks passing
partially to the south of it, up to the edge of the area explored. Whether
continuously or not, it is fairly established that Jurassic rocks occur far to
the east on this strike, north of Nepal, claracteristic ammonites having
been brought by traders from that region. On General Strachey's map
the gneissic formations of both Purgial and Gurla are shewn to be in-
trusively penetrated by granite j so we may accept them provisionally
as fco-med of the central gneiss.
1 Captain Richard Strachey, on the Geology of part of the Himalaya Mountains and
Tibet, Q. J. G. S., 1851, Vol. VII, p. 292.
Extra-Peninsular. J
HUNDES AREA.
647
The general aspect of the Hundes area must be very different from
that of Zanskar. With the exception of a few small lake-basins, and
occasional alluvial patches in the deep river-valleys, Zanskdr is covered
by lofty rugged mountains, many rising above 19,000 feet, and holding
considerable glaciers. The central area of the fiundes is occupied by a
great spread of diluvial deposits forming an extensive plateau^ 1X0 miles
in length and from 15 to 60 in bireadth, at an elevation of from 14,000
to 16,000 feet. It is intersected by great ravines, that of the Sutlej
to the west being nearly 3,000 feet deep.
Stratigraphical series of Niti in Hundes. — The numerous
collection of fossils made by General Strachey was described by Messrs.
Salter and H. F. Blanford, from whose work^ the subjoined lists are taken ;
the petrological characters being collected from General Strachey's paper.
In most cases the thicknesses are not estimated : —
Fossizimssous sesies of tsm sundms abea.
Hard grits, shales, and limestones ; no fossils found.
Oolitic : Dark crumbling shales with hard nodules (Spiti shales), full of fossils ;
below them are several thousand feet of various limestones (not examined)
underlaid by black limestones and shales, with imperfect fossils.
Selemnites sulcatus.
A. torqudtus.
Ammonites acudnetws.
A. triplicatus.
A. alatus.
A. thouarsensis.
A. bifrons.
A. umbo.
A. bijfilex.
A. wallicJiii.
A- communis.
Turritella montiwm.
A. concavus.
Pleurotomaria ? sp.
A. eugenii.
Tv/rbo invitus.
A. gerardi.
Chemnitzia, sp.
A. grijithii.
Anatina vaginula.
A. guttaiMS.
Myophoria blanfordi.
A. Jwoleeri.
Cardium truncatum.
A. hetero'phyllus.
Oyprina trigonaUs.
A. Jiimalayamis.
Astarte major.
A. hyphasis.
A. unilateralis.
A.juhar.
Modiola, sp.
A. medea.
Nucula cuneiformis.
A. nepalensis.
Cueullcsa virgata.
A. oetagonus.
C. leionoia.
A. rohnstus.
Inoceramus hookeri.
A. scriptus.
Lima acuta.
A. spitiensis.
L. gigantea.
A. strigilis.
L. mytiloidea.
A. tenuistriatus.
Monotis coneentricus.
1 PalsBontology of Niti in the Northern Himalayas. Printed for private circulation by
General Strachey: Calcutta, 1865.
648
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
A. incequivalvis.
JPecien aquivalvis.
F. comatus.
P. hifrons.
P. monilifer.
F. lens.
F. sahal,
Ostrea flahelloides.
O. acuminata,
Terebratula numismalis.
T, carinata.
T. glohata.
Mhynconella va/riahilis.
S. condnna.
Actosalenia ?
Fentacrinites, sp.
Teiassic (Upper) :' Dark-coloured limestone, associated with shales and dark red
grits.
Ammonites floridus, PL II,
fig.l.
A. aon.
A. winterlottomi,
A. planodiseus,
A. diffissua, PI. II, fig. 3.
A. gaytani.
A. ausseeanus.
A. hlanfordii.
Ceratites Jacquem onti.
Orthoceras pulchellum,
O. salinarium.
Natiea snhglohulosa.
Exogyra, sp.
Halohia lommeli, PL II, fig. 5.
Fecten scutella.
Lima stracheyi.
Athyris deslongchampsii.
A.
Fhynchonella reir.ocita.
Spirifera oldha/mi.
S. stracheyi.
Caebonifeeotjs : The rock not identified in situ..
Froductus purdoni, PL I, fig. 10.
F. flemingii.
Chonefes vishnu.
Athyris roissyi,
Aviculopecten hyemalis, PL I, fig. 13.
SilTJEiAN' : g. White quartzite ; no fossils.
f. Pale flesh-coloured quartzite ; no fijssils.
e. Dark-red grits, sometimes marly,; with Crinoid stems.
d. Earthy slates and concretionary limestones, Cyrtoceras, Ortho-
ceras, Cheetetes.
c. Flaggy limestones and grits :, most of the Trilobites, Stro-
phomena,i Leptcena, Lituites, Ftilodicfyon, Cystidea, and
Pucoids.
b. Limestones and slates : the strong-rihhed Orthis (0. thahil),
Terebratula, lAngula, Bellerophon, fragments of JSncrinites
a. Dark, thick-hedded, coralline limestone.
' No plate of the Himalayan silurian fossils has been given in the present work for
want of specimens to illustrate. But few have been procured by tbe Geological Survey, and
the figures in Mr. Salter's work are not well adapted for reproduction by lithography.
Owing to the rarity of silurian fossiliferous rocks in In.dia and the neighbouring countries,
illustrations of the fossils are not of much importance.
Extra-Peninsular. ]
HUNDES AREA.
The total thickness of these groups is estimated at 6,000 feet.
Asaphus emodi.
Illcenus hraohyoniscus,
I. punctulosus.
Cheirurus mitis.
Frosopisous mimus.
SphcsrexocAus idiotes.
Lichas tihetanus.
Calymene nivalis.
Tentaculites, sp.
Serpulites, sp.
Nautilus ? involvens.
Cyrtoceras centrifugum.
Lituites iutliformts.
Orthoceras striatissimum.
O. kemas.
Theea lineolaia,
Bellerophon ganesa.
Mutchisonia himalensis.
M. pagoda.
Pleurotomaria tiirlinata.
Saphistoma emodi.
Trochonema humifasa.
Cyclonema rama.
C. suhtersulcata.
Solopea varicosa.
H. pumila.
Ctenodonta sinuosa.
Cyrtodonta ? imbricatula.
lAngula kali.
Tj. ancyloides.
LeptcBna himalensis.
L. repanda.
L, cratera.
L. mix.
Strophomena trachealis.
S. cheemerops.
8. umbrella.
8. aranea.
8. nubigeua.
8. bisecta.
8. halo.
8. lineatissima.
Orthis thakil.
O. tibeiica.
O. compta.
O. monticu,la.
O. uncata.
Ptilodictya ferrea.
P. plumula.
8phierospongia mellijlua.
8. inosculans.
Chcetetes ? yak.
Heliolites depauperata.
Slate sebies : No fossils found ;' coarse slates, grits, and limestones, with coarse
conglomerate of rounded quartzose rocks, at hase ; 9,000 feet.
Metamoephics : Many varieties of mica-schists and gneiss, with beds of highly
crystalline limestone and calcareous schists.
From a small collection made by Mr. Hughes, o£ the Geological
Survey, on a trip over the Milam pass. Dr. Waagen has somewhat ex-
tended the list of formations in the Hundes basin. The following notes
are taken from his paper' : —
CEErACEOTTS FOSSILS : — Corhula cf. cancellifera ; Astarte ; Pectunculus ; Cu-
eullma. The facies of these fossils is considered to be decidedly creta-
ceous.
JUEASSIC EOSSILS : —
Belemnites cf. kuntkotensis.
Ammonites {Oppelia) acucinc-
ta.
A. (Perisphinetes) frequens.
Ammonites (Perisphinetes), sp. (tripli-
cattis, StoL, non Sow.)
A. (P.) sabineanus.
A. (P.) stanleyi.
»Eec. G. S. I., XI, p. 184.
650 GEOLOGY OP INDIA- CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVlI.
Ammonites (Perisphinctes), sp.
A. (Stephanoceras?) wallichii.
A. (Oosmooeras) theodori.
A. (C.) octagonus.
Aacella leguminosa.
Aiteella hldnfordiana.
Au., sp., nov.
Pecten, sp.
Ithynchonella, sp. (vwians, Blanf., non
Sohloth.)
Teiassic rossiis : — A Monntis, two Pecten, and Shynehonella aitstriaea, are
recognised as of an upper triassic horizon. They occurred in a hard, flaggy
dark-grey limestone. Two fragments of Ammonites of the Am. semipar-
titus group, in a smooth, dark-grey, hard shale, are considered as prohably
belonging to the Muschelkalk, and the Bunter is indicated by a red crypto-
crystalline limestone containing a Ceratite like one of the Salt Eange
species.
Peemian and caebouifebous fossils : — A white limestone full of crinoid-stems
yielded —
Terehratula himala^enais.
, T. subvescicularis.
T., sp. nov. ?
Spirifer cf. glaher.
CameropJtoria, sp. nov. P
Productus semireticulatus.
P., sp.
Bactri/nium, sp.
Cyathophyllum, sp.
This fauna is noticed as much resembling that of the lower carboniferous limestone
in the Salt Range. A black shale gave a Shynehonella, allied to Sh.
acuminata; and a dark liver-coloured limestone contained ^SSpi/'j/wcf. striatus;
Stringocephalus ? sp. ; Mhyneonella ? sp.
SiLTJEiAN FOSSILS : — A white sandstone yielded Strophomena aranea.
The crystalline schists (central gneiss) at the edge of the Hundes basin
are profusely penetrated by a coarse, white granite, with much schorl and
kyanite. All the great peaks of the snowy range occur in this zonie. The
summits of the highest passes, which average about 18,000 feet in eleva-
tion, are in the zone of palsBOzoic rocks, which rise into peaks some 2 000
feet higher than the passes. A northerly dip is constant throughout the
whole stratified series ; and no unconformities were detected. General
Strachey considers that the south edge of this basin has probably been a
sea margin from the remotest ages of the earth's history {I. c.y p. 808).
The .tertiary eruptive rocks of Hundes, — There can scarcely
be a doubt that the igneous rock so conspicuous at various points of the
Hundes area is the same as, and probably continuous with, the middle
tertiary (or at least post-nummulitic) eruption of the Indus valley in
Laddk and Rupshu (p. 643). General Strachey describes a great out-
burst of this rock, 35 mUes wide, " in which are found hypersthene and
bronzite, besides syenitic and ordinary greenstones, and various varieties of
porphyry, " forming the western shores of the Rakas Tal, which is the
western companion of the Manasaraur ;Manasarowar) lake j and from here
Extra-Peninsular.] hundes area, 651
the trap seems to extend in force to the north-west, on the north side of the
Hundes plain. The intrusion is not, however, so restricted to this main
line of eruption as it seems to be in Ladak ; for General Strachey has map-
ped several detached protusions of the same rock, notably that forming the
Balch pass, surrounded by Jurassic strata. Others appear surrounded by
the Hundes plains deposit, and it would seem in the figured section that the
trap penetrates, and now overlies, these very new rocks. This error of
drawing is sufficiently corrected in General Strachey's text, where, in a
paragraph of the summary, it is distinctly stated that the tertiary beds of
the plains were deposited upon and contain debris of the eruptive rock.
The Jurassic strata being the latest known to be affected by the intrusive
rock here, this has been taken as a lower limit of age for the eruption,
and the supposed tertiary deposits of the plains have given an upper limit
of date. The correlation of the rock with that of Ladak reduces the
question of its age to much narrower iimits, as middle tertiary.
The sedimentary tertiary rocks of Hundes. — The earliest
evidence, so far as known, of tertiary rocks in Tibet, came from the
Hundes area. In the first quarter of the century, long before the dis-
covery of the Siwalik fossils, fragmentary remains of extinct mammals
from beyond the Niti pass were brought to notice. Specimens were
even presented to the Geological Society of London about that time by
Sir Thomas Colebrooke and Dr. Traill ; others were sent to the British
Museum. But from that time till now they have received little or no
attention, probably on account of their fragmentary condition, and
because nothing precise was then known as to their geological position.
General Strachey to some extentre moved this latter objection (I. c, p. 306),
by declaring that these fossils were derived from the great imdisturbed
diluvial deposits filling the upper valley of the Sutlej to a depth of
3,000 feet, and forming the wide plain of Hundes. He also enumerates
some approximate determinations of the specimens he collected himself,
made at his request by Mr, Waterhouse : there were— ^bones of Hippothe-
rium {Hippirion) ; of several varieties of horse ; of a bovine ruminant ;
a head allied to goat or sheep ; a vertebra of rhinoceros ; tooth of
elephant (?). The evidence is not sufficient for correlation with any
precise horizon ; the fauna is, however, an extinct one, and may perhaps
be relegated to some place in the great Siwalik series.
General Strachey did not, however, omit to state that none of his
specimens were found in situ, and that, in spite of every attempt, he
could not hear of a definite locality in which any one knew positively that
they had been found. His own conviction as to their being derived from
the horizontal plain's deposits is based on their general position, supported
652 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
by the fact that on many of the specimens there are attached rem-
nants of a fine calcareous conglomerate, exactly identical with beds
observed intpcalated with the boulder and gravel-beds that constitute
the mass of the deposits. This point cannot be much insisted on ; for
the complete similarity of such rocks in different groups is well known
(p. 555). Any shadow of doubt upon the correctness of this inference
comes ■principally from the asserted horizonfality of these deposits,
whereas the latest Siwalik beds in the Sub-Himalayan zone are locally
vertical ; and even some doubtfully tertiary deposits in the Kashmir and
Nepal valleys (to be mentioned in our brief notice of the Himalayan
post-tertiaries) have suffered some disturbance. It should be noticed
that the occurrence of a displacement of the Hundes deposits seems
to have been contemplated by General Stracheyj for he speaks of some
similar deposits, to the south of the Niti pass, as having been separated
from the general mass by the dislocations tha,t have upheaved the whole
country {L c, p. 308). These discrepancies are noticed with a view to
verification by future explorers : it may be that beneath the general mass
of undisturbed diluvium formiiig the Hundes plains, there may occur
obscure outcrops of similar deposits, of much older date, that have under-
gone considerable disturbance. The comparative antiquity of even the
most recent beds of the Hundes plain seems to be attested by the
existence of ancient moraines upoa that plain [1. c, p. 310). These
deposits will be referred to again with others of a like nature.
The Karakoram^ area. — Dr. Stoliczka's observations on this ground
were taken under very trying circumstances, while making forced marches
at a most unseasonable time of year. His outward route lay by the
Pangkong, Changehenmo, Lingzhithang, and the Upper Karakash val-
ley. His return journey lay more to the west ; his last march but one
was across the Earakoram pass.^
The Ladak gneiss.— The entire ridge north of the Indus consists
of syenitic gneiss of extremely variable composition. The typical
rock is, a moderately fine-grained syenite, with veins richer in horn-
blende ; some portions contain much schorl. In finer varieties the felspar
almost disappears, and the quartz is very scarce, forming a hornblende
schist. In j)laces the hornblende disappears, the crystals of felspar increase
ia size, and with mica (biotite) and quartz form an ordinary gneiss, but
inseparable from the syenite, to which it is subordinate. To the north
the syenitic gneiss passes into hornblende and chlorite schists, alternating
with quartzose schists of great thickness. These rocks extend to the
' Rec. G. S. I., VII, pp. 12 and 49 ; also. Scientific Results of the Second Yarliand Mis-
sion : Geology : Calcutta, 1878, pp. 15-20, and 45, 46.
Extra-Peninsular. J KARAKORAM AREA. 653
Lunkar-la or Mdsimik pass. They are intimately connected with a
greenish chloritic rock, both thin-bedded and more massivC; the latter
sometimes distinctly crystalline, containing bronzite, and passing into
diallage. These beds are compared to those found about Srinagar, in
Kashmir (Mr. Lydekker's silurian trappean group) ; they occupy the
south'-west side of the Chdngchenmo valley. On the 'western route simi-
lar rocks were traced, by Dr. Bellew, up the Nubra valley to near the foot
of the Saser pass. Dr. Stoliczka says : " I think we have to look upon
this whole series of schistose and chloritic rocks as the representatives of
the silurian formation.'" The remark seems to include all the rocks of
the Ladak range ; but this is not certain, for a little further on in the' same
short paper the Karakoram area is spoken of as bounded on the north
and south by syenitic rocks, including between them the silurian, car-
boniferous, and triassic formations. The Ladak gneiss is so unlike the
description given (by the same observer) of the gneiss of Rupshu {c^te,
p. 640), where also the silurian formations are unrepresented, unless by
the crystalline schists, that we may expect some radical difference between
them j it may be that the central gneiss is largely represented in Rup-
shu. The two areas are separated by the trough of tertiary rocks,
sedimentary and eruptive. A northerly dip seems to be as general in
the Ladak gneiss as is the southerly one in Rupshu ; so that the tertiaiy
basin would seem to lie on the axis of a great anticlinal, in contact with
the very lowest rocks of the Central Himalayas.
The eastern section of the Karakoram basin. — The observations
made on the eastern traverse of the Karakoram basin differ in so many
points from those of the western route, that they are better given sepa-
rately. The direct length of the former section on a line north by west,
from the top of the silurian rocks at the Changchenmo river to the
Kuenlun gneiss near Shahidula, .is .about 120 miles. The length of the
western section in a north-north-east direction, from, a corresponding point
near the Nubra riverj below the Saser pass, to Shdhidula, is about 90
miles, which is also nearly the distance between the two starting-points.
The passage from the trappoid silurian rocks south of Chang-
chenmo was not observed ; but on the north side of the valley there are
dark, often black, shales with sandstones. Traces of fucoids were found
in these rocks, but no other fossils ; from their relation to the triassic
limestone, and their resemblance to the carboniferous rocks of Spiti, the
beds are supposed to be carboniferous. Obscurely connected with these
beds near Kium, in the Chdngchenmo valley, some recent-looking conglo-
meratic sandstones are noted as possibly related to the eocene deposits of the
Indus valley.
654 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS, [ Chap, XXVII.
The carboniferous eeries must be of considerable thickness, for it forms
the Chang ridge, north of the Changchenmo valley, and the whole of the
western portion of the Lingzhithang ; occurring again at the head of the
Karakash river as far' as Shinglung. Similar rocks were observed by Dr."
Bellew on both sides of the Saser pass, and to the north of it. There is
no mention of a calcareous rock in any of these sections.
A pale-grey triassic limestope, containing Bicerocardium himalaya-
ense and Megalodon f/riqueter, occurs within the Changchenmo valley, and
is the most frequent rock, forming the ridges to the north. It is some-
times dolomitic and semi-oolitic, a,nd is locally underlaid by a red brec-
ciated calcareous conglomerate. On the border of the Lingzhithang it is
said to rest unconformably on the carboniferous shales. The last place
where this triassic rock was observed was also at Shinglung, near the
head-waters of the Karakash.
On this route Dr. Stoliczka observed no newer rock than the trias ;
but, as before mentioned, the ground was covered with snow at the time,
and the diiEculties of the journey were extreme. A little to the east, how-
ever, in the Lokzhung range, separating the Lingzhithang plains from
the larger area on the north, described by Mr. Drew as the Kuenlun
plains, the last-named observer found a limestone containing hippurites,
underlaid by ferruginous sandstone, lying unconformably on an older
encrinitic limestone, dark grey va. colour.-'-
At Shinglung, in the Upper "Karakash valley, the carboniferous shales
are followed immediately by the same chloritic rock noticed on the
Lunkar-la, alternating with quartzose schists, and there regarded as
Silurian. At Kisiljilga ordinary slates alternate with red conglomeratic
sandstones, and are succeeded by dark slates, which rock is described as
occupying the ground to Aktagh, and thence across the Suget-la to near
Shahidula, on the Kdrakash, where the syenite of the Kuenlun begins.
These silurian slates are expressly noticed as not metamorphic, and as
corresponding with the metamorphic schists on the side of the Ladak
axis.
The Karakoram section.— By the eastern route, Dr. Stoliczka ap-
proached Aktagh nearly from the east, and left it in a north-east direction ;
and the observations recorded are strikingly different from those made
on the route from the north-west, and proceeding south-south-west to the
Karakoram pass. On the former route no mention is made of limestone
anywhere near Aktagh; while on the latter limestone is by far the
most conspicuous rock. Some miles below Aktdgh, towards the Yarkand
' Jummoo and Kashmir, p. 343.
Extra-Peninsular. ] the kuenlun eange. 655
nverj the silurian slates are overlaid uneonformably (in the figured section
they are quite parallel) by about 150 feet of reddish eartby and calca.
reous sandstones, passing into grey limestone and whitish marl, some
550 feet thick ; higher beds are reddish and brownish, sandy and conglo-
meratic. No fossils were found in these rocks ; but they are considered
as probably carboniferous, and to be continuous from here with the
similar rocks observed at Aktdsh, east of the Pamir. At Aktdgh there
are some earthy and conglomeratic beds, resting on the edges of the
carboniferous ^tyata, and themselves considerably disturbed ; they are
conjectured to be tertiary. Proceeding towards the Karakoram, the
carboniferous rocks are regularly overlaid by a long sequence of triassic
strata, dark and pale limestones and shales. A red limestone yielded
Arcestes joAwfinis amtrice (?), Ammonites latteni, Aiilaeacercis, and Crinoids.
Both carboniferous and triassic rocks are frequently traversed by a dark
homogeneous greenstone, resembling basalt. At the Karakoram the
red triassic limestone is succeeded by blackish and grey marly shales
which are overlaid by almost horizontal strata of brown limestone, very
like the lower TagHng limestone, and containing fragments of Belemnites.
These triassic rocks form the ridge at the Karakoram pass. Some
peculiar spheroidal fossils, known as Kdr^koram stones, were observed
to occur in dark shales below limestone taken to be triassic. They were
described as <Cystideans formerly, and l^ave since been considered by
various observers sponges or corals, b^it they appear to be types of a
distinct class of animals, Syrmgosphmvidc^y allied to the Foro/minifera.
In his last day's notes Dr. Stoliczka records the occurrence ' of large
boulders of syenite on the Dipsang plain, immediately south of the
Karakoram pass ; and he draws the apparently obyious inference that this
rock must be exposed in situ within the watershed, the extreme point of
which at the head-waters of the Chipchak stream is only 25 miles to
the east, and thus in the very centre of the strati graphical basin. The
route by the upper K^rakash and over the Kqratagh passed much closer
to the upper Chipchak, on the east and north ridges of the same moun-
tain crest, withoilt any observation to sugge^ the proximity of crystalline
rocks ; so it is riot impossible that the blocks in question may be true erra-
tics, traces of the former extension of glacial condition^, of which almost
every traveller in the Himalayas has niade mention.
The Kuenlun range. — Dr. Stoliczka' has given tvvo sections of the
Kuenlun ; one on the west by the Yangi pass, and one fifty miles, more
to the east by the Suket pass, with which we must combine that of the
Sanju pass on the same cross-section, over the northern or Kili^n ridge
of the same rainge.
656 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
The Suket pass section. — The relation of the slates forming the
Suket pasSj supposed to be silurian, to the syenitie gneiss, alternating with
quartzose metamorphic schists to the north of it, in the Karakash valley
about Shahidula, is not stated. It is in these gneissic rocks that the
old jade mines are placed, at about 20 miles up the Karakash, east-south-
east from Shahidula; and the gorge of the river, for 25 miles below
ShShidula, to the north, traverses the sam^ formation. On the Sanju pass
the rock is chiefly a true mica-schist, with garnetif erous, chloritic, and
quartzose varieties, in which jade was observed. In the Sanju valley,
at TixD., some 20 miles north of the pass, the metamorphic schists are
overlaid unconformably by dark, almost black, smooth slates, succeeded
by grey conglomeratic sandstone belonging to some palseozoic formation.
These dip at 40° to the north-west, but are again abruptly replaced by
metamorphic schists, in which occur several massive beds of coarse
porphyritic gneiss ; these continue for 18 miles, to Kiwaz. At Kiwaz .
both sides of the valley are formed of conglomerates and red clays, said to
strikingly resemble the supra-nummulitie rocks of the Sub-Himalayas
and supposed to be, tertiary. These have undergone contortion ; and below
Kiwaz they rest upon thick grey carboniferous limestone, containing
Crinoid stems, Spirifers, and Fenestella. The dip in this rock is to the
south-west, rising to the vertical, when it is succeeded by chloritic schist,
which, after a mile or two, is in contact with red sandstone ; and this again,
at Sanju, is overlaid by calcareous sandstones and chloritic marls, some
beds of which are nearly made up of GrypJima vesicularis {? vesiculosa) .
This cretaceous group of Sanju is represented in the figured section
with a low northerly dip, running up against the schists to the
south, which somewhat reduces the difficulties of this rather anomalous
sequence.
The Yangi pass section. — The second section of the Kuenlun cor-
responds only in a general way with that to the east. Some distance north
of the pass there is a broad core of white granitoid gneiss, which is spoken
of as the axis of the whole metamorphic mass. It is overlaid on both
sides by schistose ^■neiss ; and on the south this is overlain by black
shale, grey sandstone and conglomerate, the whole series being spoken of
as upper palseozoic. The coarse conglomerates are in great force at the
Yangi pass (16,000 feet), and have a comparatively recent aspect, evidently
forming the top of the series. They are identified with the beds at
Tam, on the Sanju section. The lower, greenish and blackish, submeta-
inorphic slaty or schistose beds turn up again south of the pass; and it
is upon these that the newer rocks rest, as already described, near
Aktagh. It must be remembered that all these details are derived
Extra-Peninsular.] THE PAMIR SECTION. 657
from uncorrected field-notes ; and it is quite possible that had Dr. Stoliczka
lived to publish his observations, he would have corrected them in many
cases.
North of the gneissic axis there is a broader belt of metamorphic
rocks, chiefly of a syenitic (hornblendic) character ; and for a width of
16 miles the section is occupied by massive greenstone, which on the
north is described as if, in part, a transformed condition of a bedded
chlori^ie ' rock. This latter rock, with alternating white quartzose and
calcareous schist, forms the Chiklik pass (10,400), at the north base of
which it is succeeded by a thin-bedded limestone, also affected by meta-
morphism. This limestone increases to a great thickness, forming a belt
some miles wide between the Chiklik pass and a point about 12 miles
south of Kugiar. There is a reddish sandy band in the middle of it.
The limestone itself is spoken of as grey dolomite. The dips are high
and disturbed, but the prevailing direction is to the north. No fossils
were found, and no suggestion is given as to the age of this limestone :
it is presumably either carboniferous or triassic. No cretaceous beds
were observed on this section.
The Pamir section. — A brief note of the section of the Pdmir
will be of interest, for comparison with those of the Himalayas proper.
The direct distance in a west-south-west direction is about 220 miles
from Ighiz-yar, at the edge of the Y&,rkand plains, at an elevation of 5,600
feet, to Kila Panjah, the capital of Wakhan, elevation 9,090, on the Oxus,
at the confluence of the tWo western streams, from the Great Pamir
on the north (elevation 14,320), and from the Little Pamir on the south
(elevation 13,200). The drainage of the eastern side of the Pamir also
flows to the Oxus, by the Aksu river (probably the original of Oxus)
passing by Akt^sh, elevation 12,800 feet. The main watershed lies close
to the east of Aktash, at the Nezatash pass, elevation 14,900 feet,
at about the centre of a synclinal basin, between the gneissic axes
of Sarikol and the P^mir. The Pamir is placed at the apex, where the
Mustagh and Hindukiish ranges would meet, at an angle of about 120°,
if prolonged on their general directions ; but on the maps these ranges
are represented as swerving southwards from the Pamir, and as being
confluent in the range from which the Gilgit river flows south-eastwards
and the Chitral flows south-westwards, the pass to the latter . valley
from the Oxus having only 12,000 feet of elevation.
The mass of the Pamir is mainly formed of gneiss ; a pale, fine-
grained, miea-gneiss, which Dr. Stoliczka considered to be the same as the
central gneiss of the Himalayas. It exhibits comparatively little disturb-
ance and is locally traversed by veins of albite granite, with mus-
R 1
658 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
covite. It is not distinctly stated whether this granite is intrusive. The
correlation o£ this gneiss with the central gneiss is supported by the fact
that the former is at many points immediately overlaid by black slates
and shaleSj probably silurian, shewing very little alteration at the contact.
The slates pass up into reddish sandy and conglomeratic beds. On the
north-east, towards Aktash, these rocks are overlaid by some 3,000 feet of
limestone, both dark and pale varieties, considered as probably carboni-
ferous ,• and these are succeeded by dark shales and limestone, in which,
on the Nezatash pass, Halohia lommeli, Rhynconellce, and Megalodon were
found, proving the triassic age of the rock. East of this the black silurian
slates turn up, with a very steep underlie, and are thus in abrupt contact
with the gneiss of Sarikol. The width of the Aktash basin, between
the two gneisses, is less than 50 miles. Intrusive greenstone is of
frequent occurrence in the highest beds, as we have seen in the K^rako-
ram section, south of Aktagh. The Aktash basin is, in fact, con-
sidered by Dr. Stoliczka to be the stratigraphical continuation of the
Karakoram.
The abrupt boundary of the Sarikol gneiss with the rocks of the Aktash
basin is probably faulted ; for the relation of the same gneiss to corre-
sponding beds on its north-east side is described as transitional, the paleo-
zoic strata having undergone considerable metamorphism ; and the gneiss
itself is largely homblendic and much disturbed. The Sarikol gneiss is
about 25 miles broad, and is held to correspond with the crystalline rocks
of the Kuenlun axis. Along the whole section to the north-east, 50 miles
long, only lower palseozoie rocks were observed in situ; slates and
sandstones, occasionally conglomeratic and earthy limestone, aU without
fossils ; but debris of carboniferous limestone, with Bellerophon, was found
in the latei-al stream courses. Between Aktala and the gneiss there is
extensive irruption of greenstone, like that south of Chiklik, on the
Yangi section. The degree of disturbance diminishes in a very marked
manner towards the plains.
The Kashmir-Pangi area.— This ground includes, ^as already indi-
cated (p. 62.6), a pair of semi-detached synclinal basins, on the same
strike, south of the Zanskar ridge, which is in elevation the principal
continuation of the main Himalayan range. The Kashmir area coin-
cides nearly with the upper basin of the Jhelum, and the Pangi area
may be taken to indicate the upper valley of the Chinab, from the head-
waters in Ldhul to below Kilar. The irregular chain of ridges described
(p. 631) as the Pir Panjal forms the south side of these basins; and
the minor basin on the upper Eavi, in Chamba, between the eastern
Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar, belongs to the same group of terminal
Extra-Peninsular. J
KASHMIR AREA.
659
features, on the divided prolongation of the main range. The following
approximate classification of rock-groups in this ground is taken from
Mr. Lydekker's paper' : —
Kashtmr and Fangi areas,
^ C Sandstones and slates of Zoji-la and ''
t Panjtarni.
f Upper limestones and dolomites of/
" \ Ammd.tli, Sonamarg, Manasbal, and\
Dras river.
Limestones of West Kashmir.
Blue limestones of Manasbal.
Limestones and slates of Marbal pass, I
Lidar and Upper Sind valleys, Kiol (
series (?),
Great limestone of Jama hills (?).
Upper Panjal slates, shales and trap-''
poid rooks. j
Trappoid rocks of Walar lake. '
Lower Panjal slates; lower slates andn
trappoid rocks of Kashmir. (
Slates and limestones of Fangi, Lahal\
slates.
Gneiss of Pir Panjffl. ,
Upper gneiss of Wardwan and Zans- 1
kar range. ^
Areas to north and east.
Lilfog series.
Kuling series:
Krdl limestone (?)
Infra-Ki61 group (?)
Muth series.
Blaini series.
9habeh series.
Aye,
■ Rhsetic and trias.
- Carboniferous.
. Upper Silurian,
Lower silurian and
/n/ra- Blaini, or Simla C Cambrian (?).
slates. J
Cambrian,
Central gneiss of Darcha.
Lower gneiss of Wardwan and Zans-
kar range.
Dhauladhar gneiss.
ans- /
Gneiss of WSngtu and / ^»/»*»-siln"an, but
Chor mountain. f exact age not
\ determined.
For convenience and clearness, we must again make a local exception
to our rule, and describe the formations in descending order.
Triassic rocks of Kashmir. — As already mentioned (p. 631), the
sedimentary series of the Zanskar basin, from the trias downwards,
rolls over into the Kashmir basin, round the termination of the great
gneissic mass of the Zanskar range. Although the feature is thus in
the main a great anticlinal, the very crest of the ridge, at the Zoji-la,
is formed of a sharp and locally inverted synclinal, in the highest rocks
of the local series. It was this inversion that led Dr. Stoliczka to suppose
that the sub-schistose sandstones at the Zoji-la were carboniferous, from
1 Eec, G. S. L, XI, p. 63.
660 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
their apparently miderlyiiig triassic strata. Mr. Lydekker found the
same rocks to the south-east near Amrnath and Panjtarni to be dis-
tinctly folded in a trough of the dolomitic limestone. The age of these
limestones is well fixed north of the Zoji-la. Dr. Stoliczka observed a
great thickness of light-blue limestone forming the banks of the Dras
river, and containing numerous small bivalves, like Megalodon colufnbella,
Homes, from the upper trias of the Alps. It is overlaid to the south
by a darker dolomitic limestone, apparently identical with the Para lime-
stone of Northern Zanskar. South of the Zoji-la, Dr. Stoliczka found
Ammonites gerardi in the limestones and carbonaceous slates near the
camp Thajwaz in the Sind valley, proving them to belong to the
Lilang group of Zanskar.-^ There would seem, however, to be gi-eat
variability in the composition of these groups. Mr. Lydekker [l. c, p. 45)
identifies the white dolomite of Amrnath with the Pdra limestone
north of the Zoji-la; and in the Chandanwari section {I.e., p. 44),
at the head of the Lidar valley, a set of slates and sandstones separates
these white dolomites from the dark-blue carboniferous limestone, and
is interstratified with both of them. This apparent transition between
carboniferous and uppermost triassic strata calls particularly for further
examination. Triassic rock has as yet only been observed in one other
locality in the area under notice; it is in the Kashmir valley, in
the promontory south of the Manasbal lake, where the white dolomite
overlies the compact blue carboniferous limestone.
Oarboniferous rocks of Kashmir. — With the exception of the
very local occurrence of the triassic limestone on the north side of Kash-
mir, as already mentioned, only palaeozoic and gneissie rocks are found
throughout the rest of the area under notice, in which condition this
ground exhibits a partial affinity with the Lower Himalayan area. Of the
palaeozoics, again, only the upper members have been fully recognised by
fossil evidence ; and in this way they have scarcely been traced beyond
the limits of Kashmir, where they are almost confined to the north side
of the valley. We must notice these rocks first, as it is through com-
parison with them that the position of other groups has been provision-
ally determined.
The identification of carboniferous rocks in Kashmir is of old stand-
ing. Fossils are locally abundant, but no large collection of them
has been made. The following species of carboniferous BracJiiopqda
were described by Mr. Davidson^ from specimens collected by Captain
' Mem. G. S. I., V, p. 349.
2 Q. J. G. S., XXII, 1866, p. 39.
Extra-Peninaular.] KASHMIR AREA. 661
Godwin- Austen near the villages of Khunmu, Barus, and Zew£n, in the
Vihi valley, immediately to the east of Srinagar : —
Terehratula sacculus.
Athyris mUilita, PI. I, fig. 4.
Spirifera kdlhrnii, PI. I, fig. 1.
Sp. vihiana.
Sp. Jcashmiriensis.
Sp. moosakhailensis, PI. I, fig. 2.
Sp. harusiensis.
Mhynconella barumensis.
Sh. kashmiriensis.
SVreptorhynchus crenistria, PI. I, fig. 7.
Produotus semireticulatus, PI. I, fig. 8.
Pr. scabriculus.
Pr. humboldtii.
Pr. spinulosus.
Pr. IcBvis. '
Chonetes Icevis.
Ch.? austeniana.
Discina kashmiriensis.
Two measured sections from this neighbourhood hy Captain Godwin-
Austen ^ will shew the local composition of the series. The fossils were
principally found near the very base of the formation ; and it would
seem from his figured sections that the bottom quartzite is unconform-
able to the underlying hornblende slates; but as no statement is
made to that efEect^ the point is doubtful. The appearance is probably
due to the locally unstratified condition of the trappean upper silurian
rocks. *-
Section along a spur from Wastertodn, between Pdrus and Reshpur.
Feet.
8. Hard compact limestone, weathering light ochre 100
1. Hard compact limestone, no fossils 410
6. Grey limestone, weathering light-brown 200
5. Micaceons sandy limestone ; Spirifera rajah, and Produotus semireticu-
latus ............. 60
4. Slaty shale 15
3. Shaly limestone, weathering green, full of fossils 40
2. Hard fossiliferous limestone 80
1. White quartz rock 15
Hornblende slate
920
Section at the foot of a ridge from, Zehanwdn.
Feet.
7. Hard compact crystalline limestone, of a dark blue-grey, interstratified
with grey shales, which weather to a green tint, very fossiliferous . 20
6. Calcareous shales, very fossiliferous 30
5. Alternations of shaly slate and sand , '. 30
4. Sandstone containing water-worn pebbles 2
3. A bed of water-worn pebbles and shingle, of quartz and homblendic rock,
imbedded in a sandy crumbling matrix 4
2. Altered sandstone and shaly beds, very hard and splintery ... 15
1. White flinty quai-tzite 12
Hornblendic slaty rock
" Q. J. G. S., XXII, 1866, p. 29.
662 GEOLOGY OF INDIA-CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. SXTI
Owing to the excessive disturbance all these strata have undergone
and the deep erosion of the ground^ the upper members of liie stratifiec
series are only found in isolated masses along the inner edge of th(
valley, and in the hills to the north. No carboniferous rocks have beei
observed on the south-west side of the valley, on the flanks of the Pi
Panjdl ; but at the south-east end of the valley, south of Sbahabad, thi
rocks of the Pir are in faulted contact with the mass of carboniferou
limestone, which here closes the valley, and stretches for a few mile
beyond the watershed at the Marbal pass. The general structure is tha
of a broad complex synclinal fold, the axis rising to the south-east. A
the north-west end of the valley also, at Trigamma, the carboniferou
limestone is in force, occupying a synclinal fold in the slates. Nea
Shahabad Mr. Lydekker describes the sequence as consisting of dark
brown sandy shales, gradually becoming calcareous, and so passing u]
into the characteristic dark-blue carboniferous limestone, which is over
laid by yellowish and whitish sandstones. These highest beds are oftei
replaced by banded limestone, and may represent the trias.
From the examination of many sections, Mr. ,iiydekker concludec
that the carboniferous rocks are normally in conformable sequence wdtl
the underlying slate series. This relation is seen in the section neai
Eishmakam, in the Lidar valley, north of Islamabad, where the following
beds are in regular succession. No. 1 being silurian and Nos. 2, 3, and ■;
carboniferous : —
4. Slates and sandstones with Fenestella, ProdMclus, and Spirifera.
3. Sandstones and dark -blue limestones, witli corals and crinoids.
2. White and Hue sandstones.
1. Blue or green slates and amygdaloids.
The proportion of limestone in the cai-boniferous series is very variabli
in different sections.
Silurian rocks of Kashmir.— It is upon the strength of thi
close connection with the carboniferous strata that the underlying seriei
is taken to be silurian ; for not a single fossil has been found in thes(
rocks throughout the whole of this region. They are, however, continu
ous with rocks in corresponding relations to the carboniferous grouj
in Zansk&,r, where silurian fossils do occur (p. 63§), though far lea
abundantly than farther east in the Hundes basin (p. 649). The absent
of organic remains is only very partially accounted for by the greatei
metamorphism of the strata in the north-western area.
Another cause of doubt regarding the correlation of the differen
formations in Kashmir has been the extensive occurrence of trappeai
rocks, and the uncertainty as to their relation to the sedimentary series
Extra-Peninsular.] KASHMIR AREA. 663
and, therefore, as to their age. All the rocks have been so contorted, that
special examination was needed to distinguish effects cif irruption from
those resulting from a disturbance common to all, the local appearances
being superficially very deceptive : thus north-east of Manasbal there
is a dome-shaped mass of amorphous greenstone, with the carboniferous
limestone dipping from it on three sides. Such appearances are very
suggestive of intrusion ; and so the prevailing opinion has been, that the
trap of Kashmir and the Pir Panjal is of later date than all the contigu-
ous formations. Mr. Lydekker, however, comes to the conclusion that
the trap is altogether pre-carboniferous, no single instance of true
intrusion having been found ; and the general distribution of the rock
clearly points to its cotemporaneity with the upper silurian strata.' In
Northern Kashmir, especially about Srinagar, Manasbal, and the Walar
lake, the massive amorphous forms of greenstone are predominant ; but
even with these there are associated stratified earthy and amygda-
loidal beds, identical with those which all through the Pir Panjdl and
elsewhere are characteristic of the upper zone of the slate series. To a
great extent these beds are of a mixed nature, containing much silicious
detrital matter with the trappean ingredient, and their trappoid character
is further to some extent due to partial metamorphism ; but there can
scarcely be a doubt that the peculiar facies of the upper silurian zone
of this region (and it seems to extend also to the western part of the
Zansk^r area) is due to cotemporaneous eruptive action. The following
general sequence of the strata coniposing the lower palaeozoic rocks, form-
ing the slate series, is taken by Mr. Lydekker (I. c, p. 39) from the
section of the Pir Panjal pass : —
5. Greenish slates, sandstones and amygdaloidal rooks.
4. Black and green slates with brown sandstone conglomerate, containing pebbles
of quartzite and slate.
3. Whitish quartzites and sandstones.
2. Black slates containing pebbles of gneiss and quartzite.
1. Granitoid gneiss, with occasional bands of slate and quartzite.
The relation of tbe palaeozoic slates to the crystalline series is a point
of special interest and difficulty, as has been shewn in other cases (p. 640) .
In the region under notice Mr. Lydekker has found this relation to be one
of inseparable association, as is indicated in No. 1 of the preceding section
of the rocks in the Pir Panjal. The same condition obtains on the north-
east with reference to the gneissic mass of the Zanskdr range ; as is well
1 Dr. Verchere (J. A. S. B., XXXV, 1867, p. 86) had announced the same conclusion j but
this writer's views are not always supported by sufficient evidence to be accepted.
664 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXVII,
seen in passing from the south-east end of Kashmir, by the Margan pass, to
the Wardwan, and down the latter valley to Kishtwar. It is not merely
a case of gradual transition of metamorphism, but also complete associa-
tion by interstratification of slaty, and gneissic rocks, and their equal
participation in the results of disturbance. Some of the bands of gneiss
thus intercalated with the slates are quite massive and granitoid, both
fine-grained and porphyritic. The contrast is altogether most striking
between this mode of relation and that of the slates to the central gneiss
of the Lower Himalayan region j and the inference is, that the gneiss of
Zdnskar is to a great, but unknown, extent made up of converted palseo-
zoic strata. Abrupt contact is here also found between the two types
of rock ; but they are more or less distinctly due to dislocations, as at
Krur in the lower Wardwan valley.
The Pangi basin. — Below Kilar, the gneissic rocks of the Zanskar
ridge pass well to the south of the Chinab ; and it is not known whether
they are not there confluent with the gneiss of the Pir Panjal chain,
thus separating the slates of Pangi from those of Kashmir. There
can scarcely be a doubt that these two belong to the same lower palaeozoic
series; but there are some noteworthy difEerenees of composition. The
trappoid rocks have not been observed in Pangi ; it may be because the
eruptive action did not extend so far, that zone being represented by
ordinary slates ; or, only the lower members of the series may be repre-
sented in Pangi. Bands of limestone are not very rare in the Pangi
slates, although entirely wanting in the Kashmir area. The quasi-
erratic boulders in the black slates of Pangi, as already mentioned (p. 632),
are very peculiar ; although these slates are probably the local representa-
tives of the zone No. 2 of the Pir Panjdl section in the list already
given. The relation of the slates to the gneiss in Pangi is not exclusive-
ly like that described in the Wardwan valley : in introducing the Pangi
slates, Mr. Lydekker {I. c, p. 54) describes a very thick bWd of granit-
oid gneiss as conformably overlaid by a newer series of bluish slates
and sandstones, which contain no truly metamorphic rock. At the east
end of the basin, the junction of the slates \^ith the gneiss of the
Kot^ng pass would seem to be of the same abrupt kind. Yet on a
parallel section to that at Kilar, about Tingrat, in the valley north of
. Triloknath, there is an alternating passage from the slates to the gneiss.
It is by the close comparison and connected survey of such contrasting
sections, that we may ultimately expect to separate the two very distinct
gneissic formations, which we are almost forced to think must be present
in this ground (p. 630): the central gneiss, of long pre-silurian meta-
morphism; and a lower Silurian or Cambrian gneiss, made out of, and
Extra-Peninsular. J the fir panjal chain. " 665
associated with, deposits that have undergone Kttle or no change in
adjoining areas.
The Pir Panjal chain. — The extension already given (p. 631) to this
name of the range outside (south-west of) Kashmir, to include the ridges
in approximate continuation of it to the south-east, although separated
by the gorge of the Chinab below Kishtwar, may be upheld geographi-
cally ; but geologically (as based upon structural equivalence) it is still
provisional, for we have no observation of these hills south of the upper
Chinab valley. So far as we know, the slates of Pangi may be con-
tinuous with those of the upper Ravi valley, without any dividing
gneissic axis. In this south-eastern ground, too, the range in question
is not the outermost range of the older formations, for the Dhauladhdr
lies to the south of it ; and it may be to this condition, of an outside
position in the mountain system, that is due the peculiar structural
character noticed in the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges— that of a
great folded flexure, with inversion on the outer side. This peculiarity
is, perhaps, opposed to the connexion of this ridge with the central
region, of which it is thus here a specially marked marginal feature. Its
affinities are, however, much closer with the area of normal Himalayan
disturbance, than with the Lower Himalayas, where the stracture is quite
different (p. 602).
Mr.,Lydekker has clearly shewn this structural character at the
Banihal pass,^ and at the Pir Panjal pass^ ; and the same feature had
previously been noticed in the Dhauladhar.^ In proceeding from Kash-
mir across the Pir Panjal pass, the sequence of rocks given above (p. 663)
is observed in descending order, the beds dipping towards the valley.
The dip increases steadily, and becomes vertical in the gneiss-; then the
black slates (No. 3), with pebbles of gneiss, come in again, but with a
steep underlie towards the gneiss ; and they are succeeded at the crest of
the pass by the white quartzites, having the same inward dip ; under
these again come the greenish trappean beds of zone No. 4 ; the whole
series many thousand feet in thickness, being clearly inverted on the
south side of the axis.
On the outer margin of the range, in the inverted series, higher
(apparently lower) beds are preserved than on the side next the valley.
They consist principally of limestone, with a variable proportion of
associated black and greenish shales and pale sandstones. From their
conformable and transitional relation to the trappean upper silurian zone,
1 Eec. G. S. I„ IX, p. 161, 18V6.
2 Rec. G. S. I., XI, p. 39, 1878.
3 Mem. G. S. I., Ill, Pt, 2, p. 63, 1864.
666 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS, [ffliap. XXVII.
Mr. Lydekker concludes that they represent the similar, but fossili-
ferouSj rocks in a like position in Kashmir, and are therefore car-
boniferous. This band oB limestone is more or less continuous at the
edge of the higher mountains, from the Pir Panjal to the Lower Hima-
layan area ; and it is upon this remote and slender connexion that the
Kr61 limestone, capping the slate series in the Simla region, is taken to
be carboniferous. The identification of the great limestone, forming the
large inliers of the Sub-Himalayan zone (p. 562), from 4 to 12 miles
distant from the base of the Pir Panjdl, as carboniferous, is perhaps
equally open to verification. If all the limestone of those inliers is
carboniferous, the deposits of that age increased enormously in thick-
ness within a very short distance ; but this inequality of deposition
has been very generally observed in the carboniferous rocks of the
Himalayas.
The fact that the gneiss partakes so regularly in the disturbance of
the slates, would seem necessarily to imply original complete conformity
of stratification between them ; and therefore the probability is, that all
the metamorphies of the Pir Panjal belong to the newer gneiss. It
may also be suggested that this form of disturbance, a great regular
folded flexure, could hardly have occurred here had there been a primitive
ridge of old gneiss occupying the position of the present axis ; from
which we may suppose, that if the central gneiss is represented here, its
elevation is altogether due to post-silurian disturbance.
There are, however, certain irregularities in the feature as a whole,
that necessitate some modification of the view of it as a single and
simple anticlinal flexure. The outcrop of the core of gneiss is not
continuous ; nor does it observe a strictly uniform direction throughout.
These irregularities, moreover, are not superficial ; thus, in the deep
gorge cut by the Jhelum through the range, between Baramula and
Uri, the gneiss does not appear at all ; and the slates, in som6 manner
not yet worked out, wrap round the termination of the gneissic mass of
the ridge on either side. The abruptness of these breaks has suggested
the possibility of their connexion with primitive ridges of old gneiss ;
but this supposition is so difiicult to reconcile with the general symmetry
of contortion, that we must seek for some other explanation. Since the
main feature is not a simple flexure, but includes also some minor fold-
ings of the strata, as is observed in both the Banihal and Pir Panjal
sections, it is natural to suppose that at different points of this range
the maximum effect took place along different minor axes of initial
contortion, resulting, of course, in ultimate discontinuity, and partial
discordance between these elements of the great flexure.
Extra-Peninsular. ] post-tertiary and recent formations. 667
One-sidedness of mountain structure. — It has teen abeady
remarked (p. 559) that the structural form of the Pir Panjal and Dhau-
ladha.r ranges corresponds- with that of the ridges of the adjoining Sub-
Himalayan rocks. It may perhaps also be inferred that a similar
structure prevails in the Zanskar range, but nothing very like it has
been described in the interior mountains, nor yet, which is more note-
worthy, at the northern margin of the mountain region ; the features of
the hills on the borders of the Ydrkand plains, so far as we know them,
bear no resemblance to those of the Southern Himalayas. This one-
sidedness of mountain structure has been observed elsewhere, and has
given rise to the opinion already alluded to (note, p. 529), that the source
of disturbance was external to the mountain region.^ This notion,
however, is decidedly obscure ; almost on a par with the original idea of
simple upheaval, so long in favour with Alpine geologists. It seems
more natural to look for an explanation of the dominant structural form,
in any area of special disturbance, ^n the T-psnlfanf, f^t imdition of resistan ce
at the time of compression. Such a local condition has been intelli-
gibly assigned by Mr. LeConte,^ in the unsymmetrically lenticular form of
the total sedimentary mass, from the alteration and compression of
which a mountain range is formed, whereby excessive contortion and
over-thrust takes place on the side^oF]TEFTnosljapii-.deQ'^^
tEiekness'^TTEe^deposits, whtch'would generally be the landward side.
This explanation may be partially the correct one for the case under
description, although there would still be some difficulty in connexion
with the part that has been assigned to the central gneiss of the Lower
Himalayas. But it is evident that this particular condition is only one in
the many possible combinations by which the position of least resistance
under compression may be determined.
Post-tertiary and recent formations. — It has been already ex-
plained (p. 371) how difficult it is to draw a distinct line between tertiaiy
and post-tertiary formations in Peninsular India. Indeed, it is sufficiently
evident from general considerations that, unless upon the assumption
of a world-wide or half world-wide coincidence of phenomena, there
1 Suess : Die Entstehvmg der Alpen. An abstract of this work is given in SUliman's
Journal, 1875, p. 446.
2 American Journal of Science and Arts, August 1878, and elsewhere.
Mr. J. LeConte (and he is not singular in this) seems to have overlooked the fact that a
very large and vital a part of his theory is contained in views admirably expounded long
ago ; it is by no means evident in what particulars, as a " formal theory," the " geanticline "
differs from De Beaumont's hossellemerd, or the " mashing " from the iorasement of the same
author; or how the part played by "sedimentation" in the origin of mountains difEers from
that assigned to it by Herschel and Babbage. The little progress geologists have made has
been in applying the ideas of these physicists to actual cases of mountain-structure.
(568 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
can be little or no correspondence between the great breaks in the
sequence o£ geological formations in distant parts of the earth^'s surface;
and the chief interest of the , case under immediate notice is, that the
traces of such a half world-wide event have been observed in the Hima-
layas. On the page above referred to it was stated that the limit be-
tween tertiary and post-tertiary formations in Europe is most con-
veniently marked by the glacial epoch ; and on the following page it
was shewn that India had been affected by the glacial period, and that
Himalayan glaciers were formerly more extensive than they now are.
That evidence need not be quoted again here; we would only draw
attention to the fixing of the date and the cause of that former exten-
sion, as necessary features of the important question at issue — the validity
and force of the words " epoch " and " period, " as applied (without local
affix') to glacial action; for, as so used now, they imply a half world-wide,
if not a world-wide, coincidence of the phenomena ; and the importance
of verifying this application is very gi-eat. Even if one such event
could be established, it would be of immense service, in giving a rough
general datum line in past time from which to correlate the progress of
geological changes ; for at present there is no greater obstacle to exact
speculation in geology than the utter uncertainty between local and true
time, as indicated by the palseontological clock.' It will require a great
accumulation of connected observations to establish the cotemporane-
ous glaciation of even a hemisphere of the earth — to shew, for instance,
that the facts appealed to are not successive, and due to a progressive
change, more or less irregular, such as would be caused by a shifting of
the earth's axis, although the possibility of this particular occurrence has
lately been denied by competent physicists. In such a case the expres-
sion " glacial epoch ■'■' would have little more exact significance than have
now the various palseontological periods.
Sub-Himalayan high-level gravels. — The evidence for a strati-
graphical break in the formations of India, eqiiivalent to the pliocene-
pleistocene change in Europe, is not found most distinct in the same
localities as the best evidence for an extension of glacial action. The
latter naturally occurs in the higher ground, towards the region of existing
glaciers ; the best instances on record being those in Sikkim {mpra, p. 373)
and Kashmir.^ The former, as naturally, is found in connexion with
the known tertiary deposits in the Sub-Himalayan zone. Nothing
could be more sharply defined than the separation of the high-level
1 e. g. Dr. John Eyans' ptjeetions to Professor Haughton's considerations on Changes
of Climate in past times. Presidential Address (Geological Section), British Association,
1878, "Nature," Vol. XVIII, p. 418.
2 Drew : Jummoo and Kashmir Territories, p. 219.
Extra-Peninsular.] GLACIAL EVIDENCE IN TIBET.
gravels along the base of the North- Western Himalayas, from all recent
deposits on the one hand, and on the other from the latest rocks of the
tertiary series — the topmost Siwaliks. In the section already so much
quoted of the Sutlej gorge ahove the Bubhor (p. 551), those gravels
are found capping the low bUls, at an elevation of 500 to 600 feet over
the river, and resting undisturbed on the edges of vertical Siwalik
conglomerates. The same may be seen in many other places, as in the
river section of the Rotas ridge, west of Jhelum ; and it will scarcely
be disputed that, from stratigraphical analogy, they may take provisional
rank as early pleistocene. In the places indicated they are made up of
thoroughly water- worn torrential debris, but in certain positions, as in
Kangra, they have a character that seems to demand the aid of glacial con-
ditions ; and this only occurs when there is an obvious source of such an
influence. The whole Kangra valley and many other ddns were once more
or less filled with these deposits. The boulder gravel caps ridges' above
Kangra fort, on the southern side of the valley ; and all about, especially
on the inner side of the valley, huge blocks of gneiss are scattered. These
blocks are not traceable to distinct moraines ; but they often occur in
sheltered positions, to the side of the actual gorges, where they must have
arrived by flotation, or else have fallen over the present flanking ridges
when these were smothered in a great fan-talus of diluvium from the
main ridge of the Dhauladhar close by. No scratching or polishing has
been found either on the blocks, or on the rocks in situ ; but all the
facts very strongly suggest that glacial conditions must have aided in
producing such results. The elevation of this sub-glacial deposit in
Kangra is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet; the crest of the Dhauladhar,
from 6 to 8 miles distant, rising to 14,000 and 16,000 feet.
Glacial evidence in Tibet. — The effects, real or imputed, of glacial
action in the Alps and elsewhere are so prodigious, that, after accepting
some clear cases, such as those quoted in Sikkim and Kashmir, of old
moraines at elevations of only 6,000 to 8,000 feet, one is surprised to
find that traces of glaciation are not more conspicuous elsewhere in the
Himalayas at vastly greater elevations, in Tibet. At least, but slight
mention is made of those traces by very competent observers. Dr. Sto-
liczka may be said to have ignored the subject ; Colonel Godwin- Austen,
who surveyed the highest regions of Western Tibet, and who from the
first paid attention to geological features, only makes casual mention of
glacial extension, generally in its least certain form — that of presumed
erratics • and Mr. Drew, who enjoyed such exceptional opportunities of
studyino" the ground, and who paid particular attention to this subject,
as is proved by his admirable account of the superficial deposits of Western
670 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVIL
Tibetji makes less distinct mention of glacier extension here than at
much lower elevations to the south. He does, indeed, describe deposits
of the glacial period, but as being scarcely different from the actual
torrential deposits : and to the other marks of glacier-action there is very
little allusion. The spurs at the edge of the Deosai plain are said to shew
signs of ice-moulding,^ and a few instances -of contorted alluvium are
attributed to the presence of glaciers at lower elevations than at present j
but Mr. Drew's chief argument, so far as his work has proceeded, for the
influence of the glacial period in Tibet is the indirect one — ^to account for
the excess of disintegrating action, whereby the river valleys became choked
with diluvial matter. It is even remarked {I. c, p. 470) : " Whether in that
period there was any variation in the transporting power of the streams,
I do not at present see my way to determine ; the material is, as a whole, of
the size that is even now brought down by the streams, taking the spring
and occasional floods into account.'' What these occasional floods may •
do has been already stated (p. 516). On the whole, the published de-
scriptions of Tibetan regions are not what might be expected, had the
ground been deeply covered by ice, as would surely have been the case at a
time when on the southern side glaciers reached so low as 7,000 feet. But
these doubts are only conjectural, and intended to elicit further research.
The Hundes lake-basin. — The immense extent of what we may
conveniently (until we know more about them) call " post- Himalayan
deposits " in Tibet has already been indicated in our remarks on the plain
of Hundes (pp. 646-51); where some doubt was hazarded as to whether
the remains of the extinct mammalia were really derived from the undis-
turbed deposits of that high-level basin. If the " glacial epoch " test
might be applied here, it would confirm the supposed Siwalik age of
these beds j for General Richard Strachey mentions the existence of old
moraines upon them.^ From an observation recorded by Captain Henry
Strachey * it would seem that they are truly lacustrine : he speaks of the
ground by the name " Guffe," and says that the deposits " appear to
consist of more finely comminuted material in their central part, where
furthest distant from the mountains, the great ravines there being
flanked by clifEs half a mile high, which exhibit throughout their thick-
' Drew: "AHuvial and Lacustrine Deposits and Glacial Records of the Upper Indus
Basin," Q. J. G. S., 1873, XXIX, p. 441 ; and " Jummoo and Kashmir Territories," 1875.
The paper in the Quarterly Joui-nal is headed Part I, and only treats in detail of the
alluvial deposits ; it is understood that the " Glacial Records " were to have been described in
the second portion of the paper, which has not yet been published,
2 Q. J. G. S., XXIX, p. 466.
3 Q. J. G. S., VII, p. 310.
" "Physical Geography of Western Tibet," Jour. Eoy. Geogr. Soc, 1858, XXIII, p. 19.
Extra-Peninsular.] LAKE BASINS. 671
ness a fine homogeneous clay with little gravel in it. The stratification
of the alluvium seems to be horizontal in all cases, or at most very
slightly sloped from the mountain foot to the valley middle, in accord-
ance with the existing directions of the drainage. J have once or
twice seen small faults, where some of the strata had become canted
from the horizontal for a few yards ; but never anything like a general
disturbance of the original position."
It is not known whether this great lake-basin is now a rock-basin, or
if it ever was ; and, as we shall see, there are other larger and more lofty
lake-areas, the origin of which is distinctly attributed to the damming up
of the gorge of discharge. The fact that the gorge and the deposits
themselves have been re-excavated to so great a depth, is another point
in favour of the greater antiquity of the Hundeis deposits ; and, on the
whole, the balance of evidence is in favour of their being of late tertiary
(Siwalik) age. It would be a crowning proof of the fact, already sufiiciently
established (p. 570), that the great Himalayan river-basins existed in
Siwalik times, ^s now. A comparison of the state of these deposits
with that of the older tertiary deposits of the Indus valley, is a further
suggestion, that the post-Siwalik disturbance was quite a minor, or collate-
ral, effect of that which produced the contortion of the mountains.
Lingzhithang and Kuenlun lake-basin. — The great lake-basin
of Lingzhithang, and the Kuenlun plains,^ are in a much newer phase of
existence than that of Hundes, although of greater extent, and at a
higher elevation. They stand at the main Himalayan watershed, north
of the Indus ; and have apparently been reclaimed from the northern
drainage area. They are now in the last stage of extinction as lakes,
having numerous small shallow tarns and ponds of salt water still left in
the lowest depressions. They occupy an area 100 miles long from north
to south, with an average width of 70 miles, divided by the Lokzhung
mountains, or what is left of them ; for the watershed in the gorges is
only 300 feet above the southern plains, and altogether on gravel ; while
some of the peaks range to 21,000 feet. The Lingzhithang plain, on
the south, has an elevation of more than 17,000 feet, and the Kuenlun
plains 16,000. The original outlet is supposed to have been at the
north-east corner, into the eastern Karakash valley. This became
choked by fan-deposits from the lateral gorges ; and so the lakes were
formed, and ultimately the plains.
Tso Morili and other basins. — Mr. Drew describes several other
similar areas, on a smaller scale ; such as the little salt-lake plain of
' Drew : " Jummoo aud Kashmir Tfirritorics," p. 331.
672 GEOLOGY OP INDIA-CENTRAL HIMALAYAS, [Chap. XXVII.
Rupshu, and the saline lakes of Pangkong and Moriri — all attributed to
the same mode of formation. The Tso Moriri gives the most distinct
illustration of this process j the Phirsa stream brings down to the main
valley more debris than it can carry on, and thus has raised a dam
across the valley. The greatest depth of the lake is 248 feet ; but the
fan of the Phirsa apparently has that depth, besides being now, at its
lowest point, about 100 feet higher than the lake.
Around all these lakes and lake-plains there is clear evidence that
the waters have fornierly stood at a much higher level. This fact
points to a continuance of the cause which originally gave rise to
these lakes — a progressive decrease of precipitation and increase of eva-
poration, whereby the carrying power of the streams has become more
and more out of proportion to the rate of disintegration of the rocks.
Alluvial deposits of Tibet. — This clear evidence of a change that
is still in operation is the more noteworthy, as it is apparently the
reverse of a process which is appealed to in explanation of a more wide-
spread development of other deposits in the valleys of Tibet. Mr. Drew
makes a very important distinction between lake-deposits and river-
deposits, or alluvium ; the principal criterion being the horizontality of
the former, their lamination, and the absence of larger, current-borne
materials : and he considers that the great accumulations of debris
found in almost every valley, high above the present stream level,
are river-deposits, not lacustrine ; also, that they were deposited since
the valleys were eroded to about their present depth ; and that, therefore,
a double change took place in the relative carrying power of the streams,
before and after the formation of those deposits. In this case the
changes of balance are accounted for by the abnormally increased dis-
integrating action from the cold of the glacial period ; to which time
these beds are thus relegated. This is, in fact, the principal evidence
referred to for the glacial epoch in Tibet. The general description of the
nature of these deposits is quoted above (p. 670); and it^is hardly
what one would have expected from the supposed conditions. May not
these old valley deposits be in part the result of temporary lakes, such
as may at some time or other have been formed by obstructions at
different points of the deep valleys ; and in part, deposits of the time
when the valleys first stood at those levels ? The Indus is now laying
out alluvial plains at several points of its valley in Ladak.
The Kashmir basin. — None of the Tibetan lake-basins, actual or
extinct, are known, or supposed, to be rock-basins. Indeed, they are
plateaus as much as basins, on account of their elevation, and because
the height and width of the lip separating them from ground at a much
Extra-Peninsular.] THE KASHMIR BASIN. 673
lower level are inconsiderable. This is remarkably tbe case witb the Ling-
zhithang basin. The Kashmir valley is much more basin-shaped. Its
length is about 84 miles, and in width it varies from 20 to 25 miles ; the
lowest elevation is 5,200 feet, the mean for the whole valley being about
6,000 feet, or 5,000 feet above the plains of the Punjab, from which it is
separated by the Pir Panjal range, the lowest pass in which is 3,000
feet over the valley. Kashmir is still in part a lake-basin, and a much
larger part is occupied by very low alluvial land, formed by the overflow
of the actual rivers ; the rest is occupied by flat terraces and plateaus,
from 100 to 300 feet above the alluvial surface, and known by the ver-
nacular name Icarewas. Both surfaces rise as they ' come within the
influence of torrents and rain wash from the surrounding hills j in this
way the karewa surface rises to an elevation of 7,000 feet.
Colonel God win- Austen^ observed that at the outer edge of the valley,
especially on the south-east, the karewa deposits have an inward dip of
more than 20°; and he estiniated their thickness at 1,400 feet. Through-
out this thickness the remains of recent, land and fresh-water, shells were
repeatedly found, also plants and fish scales ; peaty layers also occur at
several horizons, indicating a succession of land surfaces, alternating with
the lacustrine deposits. Mr. Drew^ confirms the opinion, that the karewa
deposits are lacustrine and not alluvial j but he seems (^. c, p. 212) to
suggest a distinction between these disturbed beds and the material ol
the karewas proper. Mr. Lydekker,^ however, describes a perfeetlji
oradual transition from the disturbed blue clays and conglomerates on
the outer side of the valley, up into the horizontal pale fine sands and
loamy clays forming the plateaus in the centre and on the inner (north-
east) side; but be suggests the convenient distinction of upper and
lower karewa deposits, and considers that the former may be of uppei
Siwalik age.
It seems most likely that these deposits now lie in a rock-basin, th<
tilting of the lower strata probably corresponding with a late relative
rise on the side of the Pir Panjal. Colonel Godwin- Austen and Mr
Drew however, only refer to possible obstructions in the Jhelum vallej
in connexion with the old lake; although the latter observer {],. c, p. 211]
contemplates its having risen to a level of 7,000 feet above the sea, thai
of the highest karewa slopes, or to 1,800 feet above the present lowesi
level of the valley. The possible source of doubt in this estimate lies ii
the uncertain distinction between true deposits in water and the results oi
1 Q. J. G. S., XX, p. 383.
2 '/ Jummoo and Kashmir Territories," pp. 16l to 212.
3 Rec. G. S. I., XI, p. 32.
674 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Ctap. XX?II,
rainwash. Mr. Drew decides that the ancient buildings in Kashmir are
subsequent to any but the recent deposits of the valley ; and no relics of
man have been found in any beds older than recent. No undoubted
marks of glacial action have been observed in Kashmir lower than 500
feet above the valley ; the evidence of such action at a lower level is so
far confined to quasi-erratics in or about the gorge of the Jhelum.
The Nepal valley. — The only other valley at all comparable with
that of Kashmir is Nepal^ " in the Lower Himalayan area. The superfi-
cial differences correspond with those that mark the structural characters
of the two regions ; both are longitudinal valleys^ lying in the general
strike of the strata ; but the clear open oval area of Kashmir approx-
imately coincides with the elliptical synclinal depression of the calcareous
upper palaeozoic strata, a form that is so generally marked wherever the
Himalayan disturbance has been unobstructed. Nepal, on the contrary,
is rather a group of confluent valleys, with high dividing spurs : in both
directions, on the prolongation of the strike of the rocks, there is a con-
tinuation of the special excavation of the mountain zone ; and the rocks
of this zone being prevailingly calcareous, has suggested the conjecture
{I. c, p. 92) that the feature is primarily due to erosion by solution ; .as
may also be the case with Kashmir. Another cause, however, and the
proximate one {I. c, p. 100), of the formation of a lake-basin in Nep^l,
was probably, in part, a relative rise of the hills on the south ; for here,
too, the bottom beds of the valley .deposits have undergone local dis-
turbance on this side.
These deposits correspond very closely vnth those of Kashmir. There
is no remnant of a lake ; but the other features are alike. An extensive
upland area, known as tdnr land, corresponds to the karewa of Kash-
mir, and to the bhangar of the Gangetic plains, It is the surface of the
old lake-deposits, no doubt considerably modified by waste in the central
parts, and by rainwash accumulations near the hills. The streams flow
at a depth of from 50 to 500 feet below this surface, according to posi-
tion ; but here too, as in Kashmir, they are now, for the most part, subject
to overflow, and thus form the alluvial valleys, known as kholas, the
khadir land of the plains (p. 403). Beds of serviceable peat, much
used for brick and lime burning, occur at various levels in the valley
deposits ; and there is also a blue clay, extensively used for top-dressing
the fields, and the fertihsing virtue of which seems to be due to the
phosphate of iron (vivianite) freely scattered through it in blue specks.
No fossil remains have, as yet, been found in any of these deposits. Any
' Rec. G S. I., VIII, p. 93.
Extra-Peninsidar. J DRAINAGE LINES. 675
trace of glacial action is also wanting in Nepdl ; not even the doubtful
erratics occur. But such could only be expected on the assumption of
very advanced glacial conditions; for Kathmandu is only 4,509 feet high,
and the valley is not traversed by any river from the snowy range, but
forms the head-waters of the Baghmati ; the highest summit of the sur-
rounding ridges being Phulchok, on the south of the valley, with an
elevation of 9,720 feet.
Other lakes. — There are a few insignificant lakes near the outer
fringe of the mountains, which may be accounted for in the same way,
or by obstruction caused by landslips. A cluster of such ponds lies about
Naini T^l ; and some occur also in the Sub-Himalayan zone, as at
Kundlu, on the road from Rupar to BeMspur. Mr. Mallet describes ^
some tiny lakes at the edge of the tertiary zone in Sikkim, as formed by
landslips. In one, the stumps of the trees that were growing on the
sides of the valley at the time, are still standing.
It is apparent how very different are the lakes, actual or extinct, of
the Himalayas from those of the Alps; the distribution of lacustrine rock-
basins in the latter ground being as markedly marginal and transverse,
as in the former it is internal and longitudinal. Yet it is quite possible
that both may be principally due to a like cause — changes of level
in the mountain mass, due to lateral pressure, which would takeeffect
variously, according to the form and dimensions of the ground affected.^
Drainage lines. — In connexion with the alluvial and related de-
posits, a few suggestions may be made regarding the drainage. Rivers are
one of the most palpable, most widespread and ceaseless agents of
geological changes ; and dwellers in India have before them unsurpassed
examples of the magnitude of their operations, both for construction and
destruction. Yet we have hardly outlived the time when much of this river-
action was ignored. Until recently, the deposits forming the great
Indo-Gangetie plains were regarded as of marine origin. The positive j
constructive action of rivers is now better understood, as it is, of courscj
more open to observation and veriflcati(?n ; and use has been made ol
it above (p. 570) to shew the antiquity of the rivers and of the moun-
tains (or at least of the land-surface) from which they flow. The
negative or destructive operations are much less susceptible ' of direei
proof ; and accordingly there are still some who believe that the greal
fforges and valleys of the mountains are the gaping fissures of th«
fractured earth. In detail it is perfectly easy to confute this supposition .
' Ball: Eec. G.S. I., XI, p. 174.
" Mem. G. S. I., XI, p. 7.
5 Q. J. G. S., XXIV, p. 51.
676 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVI]
to shew in countless instances that the rocks in the deep gorges of th
river-heds are not, and never have been, so fractured; and once the doa
is closed against this vein of semi-occult hypothesis, a rational inter
pretation of the forms of denudation, based upon known and measurabk
modes of acftion, becomes possible, and a new record is opened to th
geologist.
The conditions of this mode of action have never been very systematic-
ally formulated, although few natural ■ processes have to work with s(
simple and axiomatic a rule — ^that water will not rest unsupportec
upon a slope, and must flow by the lowest channel of escape. Th(
uncertainties of the problem arise from unknown partial interferences
by ground movements, with the original levels ; but of these influences
also, evidence should be forthcoming, as is that of the changes whicl
occur normally in any large drainage system, whereby an originallji
transverse^ drainage may become by itself more or less converted into
main longitudinal channels.
This normal process of formation of river-systems is too well
understood to need explanation here ^ ; and it is evident that abnormal
changes of the drainage lines, by local disturbances of the ground-levels^
should also be traceable ; though it might not always be easy to assign the
exact cause : for example, a small additional tilt of the outer range would
have sent the drainage of the old Nepal lake down the longitudinal vaUey
to the south-east ; but the gorge of the Baghmati would have remained
as a permanent testimony of a former state of things.
We may now indicate the application of these considerations to some
features of the Himalayas. The case of the Chinab has been already
noticed (p. 562), where it passes by a deep narrow gorge at Riissi through
a lofty ridge of palaeozoic limestone, siirrounded by much softer tertiary
rocks, the ground to the north being several thousand feet lower than
the crest of the ridge. That gorge not being a fissure — it is tortuous, and
the rocks are perfectly continuous "and unbroken across the river-bed at
both ends — it must have been sickly excavated by the river ; and through-
out that process the ground to the north must have been higher than
the river in the gorge, and so originally higher than the present crest of
the ridge. It cannot be asserted that the surface to the north of the
ridge was ever higher than it is now ; for the disintegration of the tertiary
rocks and the erosion of the gorge may have kept pace with the gradual
> See note, p. 529.
2 For an admirable illustration of the process referred to in the text, see a paper hy Mr.
Jukes, " On the mode of Formation of some of the River Valleys in the south of Ireland,"
Q. J, G. S., XVIII, p. 378, 1862.
Extra-Peninsular,] drainage lines. 67i
elevation of tlie whole ground ; while the resistance of the older rocks
preserved them to be elevated to their present position. Or, the ridge
being distinctly a case of locally greater upheaval, the erosion of the
gorge, on the primitive course of the river, must have kept pace with that
special elevation ; for otherwise the stream would have made a new channel
through the softer rocks. But the fact remains absolute, that .within the
lifetime of this river, the rCcks forming the crest of this' ridge must have
been lower than the ground to the north.
More important, though less striking, are the cases to be found in
the higher mountains. That all the great Himalayan rivers have their
sources well to the nbrth of the line of greatest elevation in the main
snowy range, has for long been a familiar fact ; and also that the three
largest of them — the Indus, the Sutlej, and the Sangpo or Brahmaputra
— run for great distances in longitudinal courses within the mountains, so
as almost to draw their head-waters from a common source in a middle
position. We have no direct observations upon the gorges of these rivers
in the high mountains, as to whether they can be regarded as lines of fis-
sure ; but all the collateral evidence is decidedly against that assumption.
We may at least glance at the question as if these river-courses had been
selected under the simple conditions that govern formation by erosion.
We cannot here assert positively, as in the case of the Riassi gorge,
•that the river valleys through the snowy range were originally filled by a
mass of rock, continuous with the mountain crest on either side ; although
the probability is that they were very approximately so ; and it is quite
certain that prodigious erosion has taken place in those positions through
the agency of the rivers. It can then be absolutely asserted {if we ignore
the supposition of original fissures) that throughout that process of erosion,
and at its origin, the whole ground to the north was higher than these
transverse drainage lines, through what is now the main mountain range ;
and, therefore, that this range (as such), at present the most conspicuous
feature of the mountains, is of later date than these river channels.
The facts further point to the probability that the present longitudi-
nal character of the Himalayan drainage may have been more or less
brought about from an original transverse type, by the normal process of
change alluded to in a previous paragraph. The gorges of the greater
torrents the Sutlej and the Indus, are much deeper than those of the
other rivers draining through the main range ; and they may thus in
process of time have intercepted and drawn off the original head-waters
of the latter streams, which may have originally drained from beyond
the basin of the sedimentary rocks. No doubt the story may have
been otherwise, and these longitudinal rivers may have been more or less
678 GEOtOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [ Chap. XXVII.
aboriginal, through circumstances that are easily imagined; but the
question is not beyond the range of evidence ; and the fact that the
minor rivers have been able to open, or keep open, a passage through
what is now a great mountain barrier, is suggestive that for a consider-
able period they had a larger source of power than now.
These considerations upon the drainage system lend some support to
views upon the mountain structure derivable from the rocks. It has been
suggested, with some probability, that the great sedimentary series of the
Central Himalayas was originally laid down in a continuous basin of depo-
sition, though now broken up into great synclinal basins of disturbance,
represented on the north-west by the Zanskar and the K^rakoram areas ;
also, that the '' central gneiss " of. the " main range " and the Lower
Himalayas has always been an elevated mass relatively to that basin of
deposition. Upon these seemingly probable inferences (or assumptions)
the gneissic axis of Lad^k now dividing these basins of disturbance, and
formed in whole or in great part of metamorphic palaeozoic rocks, must be
considered as the chief and central feature of Himalayan disturbance, and
the line upon which the greatest amount of upheaval occurred, whatever
elevation it may at any time have attained. The drainage system, at
least in the middle region of the mountains (Hundes), strongly suggests
that it originated from that central • axis of disturbance as a line of
relatively greatest elevation ; the fact that the drainage took its origin
from a watershed somewhere to the north of the present main chain
being a certainty,
Two views are compatible with the facts : either the elevation of the
whole area was equable, and the original spiU from that central crest of
upheaval, across what is now the position of greatest elevation, has been
maintained simply by erosion, the present less elevation of the central
range (Ladak axis) being also a result of denudation, as may well be the
case ; or, there has been a subsequent special elevation along this line of the
present main Himalayan range. In this case, this special upheaval must
have been so gradual that the erosion of the passes could keep pace with
it ; or else these had been for the most part cut down before it set in.
The latter supposition, of a partial later elevation of the Himalayan range
proper, would help to account for the great lake of Hundes ; although
the basin itself, as formed by the drainage of the Sutlej, is probably
of older date. In the case of the* limestone ridge at Ri^ssi, we could
shew that such a special marginal uphea,val had taken place ; for that
limestone at no very distant period had formed part of the level bed
of the nummulitic sea, and so, at the commencement of the disturbance,
must have stood at a lower level than the upper tertiary rocks to the
Extra-Peninsular.] SUMMARY. 679
north of it. The case is different for the gneissic axis of the main
range : we have seen reason to think that from very early times it has
formed a relatively elevated mass ; but we have also (p. 604) shewn rea-
son to suggest that this fact may have led to its special elevation undei
certain conditions of disturbance by compression.
Smnmaxy. — Beyond the fact that a very full sequence of formations
has been palseontologically established in the Tibetan regions, there is
. little to bring forward from this chapter as general results.^
(a) . The relation of the lowest strata of the slate series on the Tibetar
side, to the gneiss of the main chain and of the Lower Himalayan ares
(p. 628), indicates their wide separation in age, and, so far, agrees wit!
,the more marked stratigraphical break between that same gneiss and th(
slate series to the south of it, in the Lower Himalayan area (p. 630)
so far confirming the probable equivalence of the two slate series, anc
establishing this gneiss as a primitive rock in the Himalayan series
forming here a sort of neutral block in the disturbances that have pro^
dticed the mountains. It might thus, too, be regarded as having formec
here a primitive Himalayan range, from which the qnasi-erratics of th(
Pangi slates were derived (p. 664) ; and Dr. Waagen in the paper jusi
quoted (see note) makes use of it in this way to account for the con^
trasting life-conditions of the areas north and south of it, throughou'
the palseozoie and- mesozoic epochs, thus connecting it with th(
Peninsular rather than with the true Himalayan region. However thii
may have been in pre-Himalayan times, considerations upon the drainag(
system have suggested (p. 676) that since eocene, or, at earliest
cretaceous times, it has not always been^ as now, the principal crest oj
Himalayan elevation.
(S) . The few instances of thinning out of deposits that occur in thf
mesozoic formations- (p. 643), again indicate this Lower Himalayar
area as a southern limit of deposition ; although in several of the group!
there is no symptom of any such limitation (p; 642) .
(c) , The extensive metamorphism of the palseozoie rocks in other posi-
tions, especially on the central axis in Ladak, may suggest the opposit(
condition in those positions — that a greater depression and accumulatioi
of deposits had occurred there ; unless that metamorphic state is to b(
accounted for by the greater compression and upheaval of which thos(
positions have been the loci.
1 For a partial comparative discussion of the palseontological data, we may refe:
our readers to an essay by Dr. Waagen in the Uenkschriften d. Math.-KTatuwissen
chaftlichen Classe A.ll. Ak. d. Wissenschaften. Wien., Vol. XXXVIII, 1878; and Rec
G S. I. XI, Pt. 4, 1878. This general subject ia also treated of in the Introduction.
680 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— CENTRAL HIMALAYAS. [Chap. XXVII.
(d). In the, central, as in th^ outer Himalayas, the relations of the
tertiary rocks are of chief importance in the history of the mountains j
and already some interesting points have been made out. From the
Sub-Himalayan sections it was shewn (p. 569) that an eocene land had
existed in the Himalayan area. The distribution of the nummulitic
deposits in Tibet, so far as accurately known, would independently sug-
gest the same fact : they are totally cut off from connexion with all
preceding deposits, and now lie in a compressed trough, chiefly in contact
with the metamorphic palseozoic strata, in the very centre of Himalayan
disturbance, where presumably the maximum of total upheaval took
place (p. 678), i. e., including pre-tertiary with post-tertiary elevations.
After the cretaceous epoch, a prolonged elevation set in, involving the
corresponding denudation of the whole sedimentary series down to the
altered paleeozoics, and the rise, on adjoining areas, of mountains having
a height at least equalling the thickness of the mesozoic series ;
this position of maximum upheaval, on the Ladak axis, corresponding
with that of greatest denudation, where subsequently the eocene deposits
were accumulated. It is, of course, clear that at the beginning of
the tertiaries, these depressions of the Himalayan area were still, or
again, at the sea-level. This preliminary, pre-tertiary stage of Hima-
layan elevation, of the whole area we now speak of as Himalayan, would
very closely correspond with the period of the Deccan trap of the
Peninsula.
(e) . It is a point of very great interest to ascertain how far, if at all,
that pre-tertiary elevation of the Himalayan axis was accompanied by the
disturbance of contortion which is the special character of the Himalayan
mountains (p. 634) . No fact is better established -in the Sub-Himalayan
zone, at two distinct points (p. 569), than that the special disturbance of
the Silurian slates there is altogether ^ost-eocene, subsequent to the
elevation of the central area, as just described. Can it have been so
also in the central region? If so, the history of the mountains would
be brought within a narrow compass : a broad, unbroken, pre-tertiary eleva-
tion of the area (clause d), followed in middle tertiary times by a break-up
and compression into flexures. If not, if the plication also of the central
region preceded the deposition of the Indus tertiaries, a pretertiary
act of special Himalayan disturbance would be marked off, distinct
from that which produced such great effects on the southern border of
the mountains. It is certain that extensive crushing and folding of
the central region, with irruption, took place after the Indus tertiaries,;
but there is no observation as to whether in degree, or by dis-
cordance, it can be distinguished from an earlier contortion ; and thus it
Extra-Peninsular. ] SUMMARY. 681
is still an open question whether the special Himalayan disturbance is
altogether post-eocene.
[f). There remains the important question, how far the rising of the
mountains to their present elevation coincided with the act, or acts, of
plication [ecrasement, "mashing;" see note, p. 667) ? It is quite clear
that the special Himalayan contortion had been practically completed,
and the mountains had veiy approximately assumed their present
sculpture, when the undisturbed strata of the Hundes basin were depo-
sited (pp. 651-670). If those deposits are Siwalik, it would be plain
that the very considerable contortion of the latest Siwaliks of the
Sub-Himalayan zone took place, as has been suggested from other facts
(p. 570), long after the principal contortion of the mountains, as a
whole, and after they had approximately assumed their present contours.
There remains, however, the very important question of elevation, as
distinguished from form and structure : it is strongly' objiected, that
the rhinoceros could not have lived at the present elevation of the
Hundes deposits. When the possibilities of this condition are fixed,
we may be able to record another, and perhaps the latest, event in the
physical history of the mountains — a great continental elevation of the
area, without sensible contortion of the rocks, and after the sculpturing
of the mountains to very nearly their present shape had been accom-
plished. Any clear evidence of simple and extensive upheaval, distinct
from, and long subsequent to, the chief special plication so characteristic
of the mountain region, would be an interesting contribution to the
theory of mountain-formation.
682 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR AREA.
THE ASSAM EANGE.
Area to be described — Formations present — General structure — The Sylhet trap — The
cretaceous series : Kh&i area — Garo area — Mlkir area — The nummulitic series :
Khasi area — G4ro area — Eastern extension of the nummulitics — The upper
tertiaries — The Naga coal-fields.
Area to be described. — ^The ground to be described in this
chapter is a kind of residual area, for which even a name has to be in-
vented. Assam, as known in geography and in the Anglo-Indian verna-
cular, is the valley of the Brahmaputra, from the Brahmakhund to
Dhubri, a direct distance of 420 miles ; and this has been already de-
scribed in the chapter on post- tertiary deposits (p. 405). The northern
border of the valley has also been described in the Himalayan chapters
(pp. 545, 618). There remain the hills bounding the valley continuously
on the south, and now included in the province of Assam, recently
formed into a local government, under a Chief Commissioner. The close
conuection between the hill tracts and the Assam valley justifies us in
speaking of these hills collectively as the Assam Range, in order to
use one general term instead of the five or six names now applied to
different portions of the hill country, as was explained on page 27.
This confusion of names is, however, to a great extent founded on the
undecided or contrasting features of the ground, as may be appre-
hended from the statement that more than half of this range has
already been described as structurally belonging to the peninsular area,*
The hills formed of these most ancient rocks, and occupied by the
Garo, Khasiy Jaintia, and Mikir tribes, are for the most part low and
very irregular on the north side, with numerous outliers in the Lower
Assam valley, even close up to the Himalayan border (p. 522). On
• For the little we know regarding the gneiss forming the great mass of the hills, ex-
tending for 250 miles, between the Dhansiri and the Lower Brahmaputra, we must refer
the rea'der to page 26 ; and the transition rocks associated with the metamorphics are
noticed at page 40.
Extra-Peninsular.] area to be described. 683
the south and south-east the metamorphics are everywhere overlapped by
very much newer strata, upper secondary and tertiary, which in this
position are still undisturbed ; and so form plateaus between the deep river
gorges, with a high scarped face along a regular line to the south. To
the south of this line, the same neozoic strata are greatly disturbed ; and
consequently form hills of very different outline from that of the ad-
joining table-lands. This remarkable feature is badly seen in the middle
region, that of the Khasi and Jaintia hills^ where thg alluvial plains of
Sylhet reach nearly to the base of the plateau, with only. a very narrow
intervening outcrop of the disturbed rocks. To the west, in the G^ro,
country, the fringing zone of low hills is somewhat broader, between the
plains in Mymensingh and the Crystalline rocks of the Tura ridge. To
the east of Jaintia a complete change takes place rapidly in the relative
magnitudes of these contrasting features ; the dividing line curves
gradually to the north-east, so as to emerge in the Upper Assam valley,
near Golaghdt, on the Dhansiri ; while the formations in the zone of dis-
turbance expand enormously in the Naga country, and rise into a range
of hills that quite overlooks the crystalline area. In North Cachar this is
known as the Barail range,- and its prolongation to the north-east,
separating Upper Assam from Manipur and Burma, is called the Patkai
range. It is confluent with, and a member of, the Indo-Burmese
mountain-system, of which the Barail-Patkai range may be considered
a border zone, near the original margin of the deposits which principally
constitute that region of special disturbance.
It is thus plain that the Assam Range is made up of two very distinct
portions. Besides its strong petrological resemblance, the characters
sustained by the gneissic mass, as an area at least partially, reserved
from deposition, and as a neutral block of ground, unaffected by the dis-
turbances that have operated so powerfully in adjoining areas, mark it
clearly for affiliation to Peninsular India. For these reasons it has been
described in that connexion, and distinguished from the adjoining
hills under the title .of the Shillong plateau. ^ Thus only the newer
formations of the range remain to be noticed. The description must be
given in the same disjointed manner as for the Himalayan area, because
our information ^ is equally fragmentary in the present ease.
1 Mem. G. S. I., IV, p. (42?).
2 The following papers refer to the ground under description : —
Oldham : Mem. 6. S. I., I, p. 99.
Medlicott : Mem. G. S. I., IV, p. (387) ; VII, p. (151) ; Rec. G. S. I., VII, p. 58.
Mallet : Mem. G. S. I., XII, Pt. 2.
Godwin-Austen : J. A. S. B., XXXVIII, 1869, Pt. U. p. 1,
684.
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [ Chap. XXVtiI.
Formations present. — The rocks to be described have only been
studied with any care in two positionSj far apart : one^ on the Kh^si hill
section; 'at Cherra Poonjee, and one in the coal-fields of the Naga hills, in
Upper Assam ; and although the formations in both are, presumably, on
the same general horizon, the petrological differences are so great, that
no exact correlation of groups can be attempted. In the for'mer ground
the rocks are seen resting upon, and immediately contiguous with, the
gneiss, and some very noteworthy variations of composition in the seve-
ral groups have been observed in this position. The gneiss does not
appear near the Naga hill coal-fields, although it may underlie the upper
Assam valley at no great distance. The descriptions of these two areas
will be given separately ; and it is only possible to give the most general
designation of the formations as applicable to the whole area, in the
f oUowing form :
Teetiaet sbeibs. — An immense thickness of soft sandstones and clays,
based upon a nummulitic group, in which. limestone is locally in force;
coal also occurs.
Ceetaceous seeies. — Sandstones and shales, with local coal basins.
JtTEASsic (?) — ^The Sylhet trap, stratified. -
General structure. — The leading characters to be exhibited in these
formations are — the original termination, either abrupt or gradual, of each
against, or upon, the old rocks of the Shillong plateau, clearly marking,
this as the margin of a great basin of deposition ; and, the subsequent
disturbance of the whole sedimentary series up to the edge of the crys-
talline mass, shewing that the latter has been comparatively unaffected by
the forces that produced so much contortion in the adjoining ground. It
is further of interest to observe that there is a great decrease in the
thickness of the sedimentary series from east to west — a fact supporting
the conjecture of the original continuity of the gneissic area with
that of the Peninsula. It is also of special interest to find a corre-
sponding steady increase of disturbance from west to east, confirming the
well-founded opinion of a direct causal relation between the original and
induced structural conditions — between the amount of deposition and the
degree of disturbance. •
In one respect there is a noteworthy discrepancy between the relation
of the gneissic mass and the newer stratified series, in the Assam Range
and in the Peninsula. In the latter the fringing marine deposits every-
where flatly overlap a very irregular surface of the gneiss : a similar relation
is found where the strata rest upon the metamorphics of the Shillong
plateau ; but in this Shillong ground there is a marked outer line of
southern limitation of the older rocks, at many points of which line the
Jiixtra-reninsuiar. J ubneral structdbe. 68f
newer strata abut against the older, as mentioned above. It can be seen or
the general map, and better still on the small hill-ranges map in the Intro-
duction, that this feature would seem to belong to the Himalayan system
being remarkably parallel to the Eastern Himalayan border in Assam ; oi
even as if it might once have formed a continuation of the middh
Himalayan boundary. Such a temporary connexion cannot, of course
annul the more fundamental connexion of the crystalline rocks with thost
of the Peninsula ; but, whatever this .seeming Himalayan, connexion maj
mean, it will be shewn that the feature in question is not due to th(
middle tertiary disturbance, by which the Southern Himalayan bordei
was defined -(p. 570), or to the post-tertiary disturbance, of which th(
Barail-Patkai range is an effect : although the exposure of the feature is
of course, owing to the disturbance and removal of the coveriug rocks, ii
will be shewn that this steep face of old rocks is older than the Sylhe
trap, and that it gave its form to the feature of disturbance, instead o:
the reverse.
This distinctly local cause for a feature of direction having sucl
magnitude as the Barail-Patkai range, more than 400 miles long (mea
sured to the Brahmaputra), removes, or at least greatly reduces, anj
difficulty that might have been preconceived regarding this range belonging
to the Indo- Burmese, rather than to the Himalayan, system of mountains
although for a considerable distance the two run directly at right angles t(
each other. The Barail, with its structural continuation westward to th(
Brahmaputra, may not be strictly a monogenetic component of th(
meridional ranges of the adjoining area to the south ; but all the'accessoriei
of disturbance are common to both, as formed of immediately continuoui
formations in the same basin of deposition. The monocUnal flexure along
the edge of the Shillong plateau may have been due to the initial act o:
depression which culminated in the great waves of compression of th(
Burmese mountains. These explanations are needed to remove the primi
facie impression of the necessary distinctness of the Assam, or at leas
the Barail-Patkai range, from those to the south, and its equally apparen
relation to the Himalayas : though, indeed, this distinction does not impl;;
much difference ; both systems of disturbance are so closely related in age
the Burmese being, perhaps, somewhat the more recent. The Shillong
plateau portion of the Assam chain stands equally aloof from botl
areas o£ disturbance.
With reference to the parallelism of the Barail-Patkai and the Hima
layan ranges, we may also note the contrasting structural features : in th(
Sub-Himalayan zone of Assam, as elsewhere, the dominant dip of the
rocks is inwards, towards the older rocks of the mountains ; whereas th(
JEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXVIII.
corresponding tertiary formations of the Barail-Patkai range^ where fully
developed, 'dip as constantly southwards, away from the gneissic mass of
the Shillong plateau, and towards the southern basin of disturbance.
The Sylhet trap. — The name of the adjoining district in the plains
to the southward has been given to this formation, because of its con-
nexion with the area south of the metamorphic mass of the Shillong
plateau. All the other formations to some extent overlap the edge of the
crystalline area-; but the trap ends abruptly against a steep face of the
gneiss. These features are beautifully exposed on the paths and in the deep
gorges south of Cherra Poonjee. The inner boundary of the trap is so
straight and steep, as seen crossing the separate gorges, that the pro-
bability of a faulted junction is at once suggested. It is, however, im-
mediately apparent that any such dislocation must be of very ancient
standing ; for the cretaceous sandstone passes over the trap in an unbroken
semi-arch, being horizontal on the plateau and nearly vertical at the base
of the hills. The mode of exposure of the eruptive formation, is thus in
more or less detached areas in the several river gorges, forming togeitTier
an inner zone, close under the scarp of the plateau. The width of this
band in the Tharia river below Cherra is less than two mUes ; and the
height above the sea at which the trap occurs along the inner boundary
with the gneiss varies between 2,000 and 3,000 feet, which may be
taken as the minimum local thickness of the formation ; for the rivers
here are very little above the Sylhet plain, which is nearly at the '
sea-level.
This trappean formation belongs altogether to the basaltic f amilyj and
has a strong likeness to the corresponding rocks of the Rajmahal hills
and of the Deccan, already described. Close study might reveal distinct-
ive characters ; but there has been neither time nor opportunity for this
work of detail. The stratified condition is very well seen ; and earthy,
ashy beds prevail ; but there are many flows of hard basaltic rock, both
compact and granular, sometimes with much olivine. No dykes were
observed in the trap, except at the junction with the gneiss, a boundary
which would thus seem to have been to some extent a line of eruption.
At the head of the Lian glen (south-south-east of Cherra), some dykes and
veins, with transverse prismatic structure, traverse the bedded trap, and
penetrate the crystallines for a short distance. The same may be seen in
the Bogapani. It is, however, plain that the junction with the gneiss is
one of original contact : this is well seen below Mamlu, south by west of
Cherra, where some 300 feet of the topmost earthy trap beds rest on the,
metamorphic qnartzite forming a short spur at Tarna, close to the general
boundary.
E^-tra-Peninsular. j THE CRETACEOUS SERIES: KHASI AREA. 687
As no sedimentary intertrappean beds, with or without fossils, have
been discovered in this eruptive formation, we can only guess at its age
from its relation to the contiguous rocks. Thus it is evidently much
older than cretaceous ; for it seems to have undergone both disturbance and
denudation before the deposits of that period were laid down upon it.
This is well seen in the Tharia river, where the trap-flows have a moderate
northerly iachnation, and are thus transversely bevelled by the cretaceous
sandstone, sloping rapidly to the south. No rock is seen below the trap,
except the gneiss ; so there is a very wide range for conjecture as to its
age. It probably corresponds approximately with the Jurassic ti'ap of
the Rajmahal hills, 200 miles to the west. In any other direction its
nearest known petrological congeners would be the sub-recent volcanic
rocks of Burma,
The Sylhet trap has not been observed east of the Tharia river, and
no doubt it soon becomes concealed in that direction. It is finely seen in
the Jadukata, the Umblai or Kanchiang of the hill people, 40 miles to the
west of Tharia, and under very similar circumstances ; but it is not again
exposed in the Garo hills. It would seem as if some greater elevation
in the middle region, that of the Khasi hills, to which the trap is limited,
had brought up this lowest formation of the extra-gneissic area in this
position.
The cretaceous series : Khasi area. — It is difficult to give an
abridged account of deposits where they are subject to much change, and
for particulars of these features we, must refer to the original descrip-
tions.^ In the Tharia river, where the strata have a very high southerly
dip, there are about 1,500 feet of cretaceous beds between the Sylhet
trap and the nummulitic limestone. The bottom 200 feet, next the trap,
are of massive, coarse, felspathie and ochrey sandstone. The only beds
seen above this here are dark and pale grey shales, locally nodular, calca-
reous and ferruginous, with some layers of flaky earthy limestone, and of
fine, hard, earthy sandstone. There is a similar section on the Bogapani,
9 miles to the west, with 43 feet of fine sandstone immediately underlying
the nummulitic limestone, and probably representing the Cherra sand-
stone of the plateau. On the Jadukata, 20 miles farther west, only the
bottom sandstone is seen, but in greater force. Near the base of it here
some Brachiopoda, EcMnodermata, and fragments of large Inocerami were
found, and with these marine fossils numerous pieces of fossil resin, the
same as occurs so constantly in the coal of this formation. This is the
most westerly point at which marine (or indeed any) fossils have been
observed in these deposits.
1 Mem. G. S. I., I, p, 99, and VII, p (168).
GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXVIII.
In ascending to the plateau, a very marked change is observed in the
character of the rocks ; the sandy element prevailing here as markedly as
the earthy one did in the lower section to the south. About Mahadeo,
on the first ledge above Tharia, a glauconitic sandstone is prominent j
probably an expansion of the bottom sandstone already noticed. It is
traceable at the same horizon at many points in the cliffs south of Cherra.
Marine fossils are locally abundant in it. Above this a fine pale sand-
stone, frequently with broken fragments of plants and also marine fossils,
is a characteristic rock ; it is often locally calcareous in a veiy capricious
manner. This band is well seen in the Langpar spur, above the Mahadeo
ledge. Above this is the Cherra sandstone, a coarsish hard rock, about
200 feet thick, which forms the edge of the main scarp, and the broad
ledges of bare rocks at the edge of the plateau, under the nummulitic
limestone. No fossils have been found in it, but it passes down locally
into the lower beds, though often sharply separated from them.
In a small collection of fossils from these rocks. Dr. Stoliczka recog-
nised the following species. The highest fossiliferous band, about 200
feet below the edge of the- cliff at Mausmai, a coarse sandy limestone,
contains small LamellibrancAiata, a Cellepora, and echinoderms j a finer
rock is principally made up of an Astrocmnia, allied to A. deeaphylla.
From about the middle of the series, above Mahddeo, in a stream
under Laisophlang, in a soft, ochreous, glauconitic sandstone these fossils
were found : —
Nautilus {? N. elegans).
Nautilus, with a central siphon ;
fragments.
Ammonites planu laius. ]
Am. dispar.
Am. orbignyanus.
Am. ? pacificus.
Anisoceras indicum.
Anis. sub-compressum.
Baculites, near B. vagina.
Alaria papilionacea.
Mostellaria palliata.
Gosavia indica.
Gerithium inauguratum.
Tritonidea requieniana.
Bemifiisus cinctus.
Phasianella.
Turriiella.
Euspira.
Dentalium,
Janira, near J.fleuriausiana.
Exogyra mathercniana,
Spondylus stviatus.
Hifodiola typica.
Cardita orbicularis.
Cardium.
Terebratula, near T. carnea.
JSemiaster.
Solaster.
Turhinclia.
The facies of this group rather resembles that of the Utatdr beds of
Southern India.
Prom the welUknown fossil locality about 2 miles from Tharia,
on the fourth cross-cut taken by the foot-path between the zigzags
•Extra-Peninsular. J THE CRETACEOUS SERIES : KHASI AREA.
689
of the roadj or the first below the Devil's Bridge, the following" were
named : —
Nautilus IcBvigatus.
Saculites vagina.
CyprcBa glohdina.
C. pilulosa.
Bostellaria palUata.
Alaria tegulata.
Alaria glandina.
Lyria crassicostata.
Volutilithes septemeostata.
Tritonidea requieniana.
Latirus reussianus.
Fseudoliva subcostata.
Turritella pondicherriensis.
T. multistriata.
JSfitreola citharina.
Euspira lirata.
Oyrodes pansus.
Cfibbula granulosa.
Nerita divaricata.
Eupiycha larvata.
ActcBon cureulio.
Pecten septemplicatus,
Janira quadricostata.
"xryphcea vesicularis,
Spondylus striatus.
Pecten, near P. rugosus.
Inooeramus.
Shynconella compressa.
Terebratula, sp., probably T. hiplicata
and T. carnea.
Ananchytes ■) several species, but distinct
Brissus J from any described.
Nearly all the fossils of this list occur also in the Arial6r group of
Southern India, but there are a number of species in the Tharia beds
which appear to be peculiar, and most of them new. It may be worth
recording that the observer who collected these fossils considered the latter
locahty to be lower in the series than the former, which would be
remarkable, if true, seeing that the AriaMr group is newer than the
Utatiir. 1
On the plateau at Cherra Poonjee, which is only 6 miles from Tharia,
the thickness of the cretaceous series is reduced to 600 feet, and ten miles
farther north, about Surarim, there is only about 100 feet, and thus it
gradually disappears altogether. Its last remnants do not occur on the
highest ground ; but in depressions, and along the edges of the gorges,
which had also been valleys in the cretaceous time, where the softer meta-
morphic rocks had been eroded, the adjoining higher ground being gener-
ally formed of the Shillong quartzite (p. 40). In this way outliers
occur for some distance to the north, to near Moflong, 13 miles due north
of Cherra.
It is in these little primitive basins on the plateau that the cretaceous
coal is found. The station of Shillong was for years supplied from a
tiny coal-basin at Maubilarkar, between Surarim and Moflong. The
mineral itself has a persiste^p^-^'^^^^^*'^^ throughout the whole cre-
taceous area : it is remarkable as being less of a true coal than is
that of the overlying nummulitie group; the texture is compact and
> See Chapter XII.
t1
&20 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. 1X7111.
splintery, with smooth conehoidal fracture, and the coal giyes a dull
woody sound when struck ; it has the additional peculiarity of containing
numerous specks and small nests of fossil resin. The abundance of
pyrites is a serious defect jn it as fuel.
The top member of the series, the Cherra sandstone, seems to be .contin-
uous throughout : it was recognised at the foot of the hills on the Boga-
p&ni, and it covers the coal at Maubilarkar. There is more doubt as to
the continuous identity of the bottom group. In the lower ground it is
separated from the Cherra band by 1,000 feet of earthy strata, while to
the north it seems to coalesce with the Cherra band. This statement
implies that there is an apparently continuous bottom band throughout :
in the low ground, next the Sylhet trap, the coarse bottom sand-
stone is free from pebbles ; but as it rises on to the plateau, and over-
lies the metamorphics, it becomes coarsely conglomeratic, made up prin-
cipally of half -worn debris of the Shillong quartzite ; and this bo|;tom
conglomerate is continuous from the scarp to the most northern outcrop.
It has, however, been observed that the matrix at different levels partakes
of the character of the corresponding horizon below Cherra; it is some-
times glaueonitic, like the Mahadeo sandstone, and farther north it is'
locally calcareous, like the Langpar rocks. The carbonaceous element is
the most persistent ; traces of it occur at the base of the clifE south of
Cherra ; and we have already mentioned the resin found mixed with
marine fossils at the base of the series on the Jadukata.
Cretaceous series : Garo area. — Immediately west of the Jddu-
kata, or Umblai, in the Hd.biang Garo hills. Colonel Godwin-Austen has
described i the cretaceous formation as made up entirely of sandstone, in
which he could find no fossil remains, save indistinct vegetable impres-
sions. Coal of serviceable quality and thickness was observed in many
places ; and attention is called [1. c, p. 23) to this ground as the most
favourable for an attempt to work the seams ; as the formation here occurs
at the very edge of the plains, within easy reach of water carriage.
Prom the figured sections in the paper referred to, it would appear
that the overlap of the metamorphic rocks by the cretaceous sandstones
is more gradual in this position than to the east or to the west.
From about the Jddukata there is a slightly more northerly trend in
the strike of the formations through the Garo country, and this introduces
a considerable expansion of the low fringing hills of upper tertiary
strata ; so that tjie line of the gneissio houudary emerges at Singmari,
near the middle of the Assam range, /where it terminates close to the
1 J. A. S. B., XX^VlII, Pt. 2, p. ]
Jlxtr^-Peninsular.] CRETACEOUS SERIES: GARO AREA. 691
left Ifank of j^^ Brahmaputra. The in|gort9.i}ce pf f}}:i4ing cpal near
thp great river has ie,(i to the examjnatjop of the rocks in this neigh-
bourhood.
The whole aspect of the jSarp hills is yery (liferent from that of the
adjoining Khasi country. |n itjie jat^r the- undulating uplands of the
plateau are continued on the prystalline area, np]i-th of the horizontal
sandstones ; b^t the whole of tjie Gapp country jis a maze of hil|s and
V3lleys, with hardly any levpl groupd, and all at a much lower elevation
than the plateau country tp the eas|;. Tfie lea^iijg feature pf the area
is a ridge of gneiss, coinciding witl^ ibhe line already indicated as the
southern boundary of tjie metamorphic mass. It culminates in Nok-
rekj at an elevation of ■^,65? feet; })ut is genejally known as the Tura
range, from tlie hea^-quarter statiojgL pf tjie G^ro Hills district. It is
important to libtice that t);iis ridge is npt the watershed : the Sumesari
(Soomeysurry) drains a large area to tJie nprth, passipg through the
ridge by a deep gorge above the village of Seju.
To some extent, at lea,st, this contrasting condition of the two areas
dates from precretaceous times. Even in the Khasi hiUs the shallow
basins pf the cretacepus rocks shew a connexion with drainage lines that
have been again selected by the present streams ; but, on the whole,
the surface of junction is more Hke a general plane pf marine, denuda-
tion. The coal-basins of Ropgreng and Darang, on the upper Sume-
sari, north of the Tura range, are much larger and deeper. It will be
shewn that they have undergone some special depression in tertiary times ;
but it is certain that they are original basins, for the cretaceous deposits
thin out against the surrounding crystallinps, overlappiag the coal-
seams on all sides." This more distinctly subaerial configuration of
the crystalline surface in the Gar^p area, at a present much jlower eleva-
tion than that surjEaee in the Khasi coun,try, is coii^rmatory of the con-
ieeture, suggested by the position of the Sylhet trap, that the latter
ground had undergone some ;rel^tive upheaval.
Other more or less detached basins of crejtacepus ,d?posits occur ,tp i^e
west of the Sumesari, in the upper valleys p;f the Kalua;nd either s^treams,
draining from north to south of the Tura fidge. West pjE Tura the
crystalline rocks become very much lower, sinki,ng to the level pf the
Brahmaputra at Sipgm^ri ; and in .this ground the sandstones are con-
tinuous across the prolongation of Ijhe ridge in many places.
The original relations of the rocks are nowhere better seen than
here : the spur on which the station of Tura stands, some ,2,000 feet
below the crest of the ridge, has a midrib of gneiss, with sandstone
on both sides, through which the streams have again excavated their
692 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXYHI.
channels. There is little or no disturbance in this locality ; and it is
plain that the ridge must have stood as it does now when these sandstones
were laid down. Thus it would seem that, at this west end of the
Assam range, land and fresh-water accumulations of the cretaceQus
period had more or less enveloped the gneiss of the Shillong plateau, just
as the Gondwana formations had covered up the corresponding rocks at
the nearest point of the peninsular area, in the Eajmahal hills.
The earliest notice of coal in this ground (by Mr. James Bedford,
Revenue Surveyor, in 1842) was in very shallow basins near the villages
of Salkura, Champagiri, and Mir^mpura, on the low gneissic plateau
south-east of Singmari. The seams are altogether valueless, being only
carbonaceous shale, with small strings of resinous coal. It is certain
that, so far as the formation is exposed on the western side of the field,
there is a very marked decrease of the coaly element, compared with what
is seen on the Sumesari, and between that and the Umblai, as described
by Colonel Godwin- Austen ; yet the rocks are the same throughout : , a
pale sandstone, in which only traces of plants have been found. A white
shale, or pipe-clay, is of more frequent occurrence in the west. The most
hopeful point in the enquiry is, perhaps, that the rocks are much more
disturbed and exposed in thfe east than near the Brahmaputra ; so that
here the coal may lie concealed below the existing outcrops. In this
connexion it is important to notice that, while in the Khasi section all
the beds in the low ground are marine deposits, the coal being confined
to high ground at the north margin of the formation, in the Hdbiang
Ga.ro hills, and on the Sumesari, at and below Seju, the coal is equally
found to the south of the general gneissic boundary, in what may be
called the main basin of the formation. Thus there seems a fair chance
of finding it in a Kke position in the lower valley of the Kalu river.
Cretaceous series: Mikir area. — It is certain that the cretaceous
rocks occupy a large fepace in the Jaintia hills, where the features of the
Khasi area are continued for some distance ; but we have no observations
on that ground. To the east of it the distinctive characters of the forma-
tion become much disguised, probably through the substitution of earthy
marine deposits for the coal-measure sandstone. The thin bands of hard
sandstone, resting on the gneiss, at the falls of the Kopili, south of
Nowgong, are supposed to be cretaceous ; and the sandy limestone,
similarly resting flatly on the gneiss, at the Nambar, near Golaghat, is also
believed to be of the same formation. In this river, a few miles west
of Bor Patar, there is a bed of the typical cretaceous coal j and from
the same neighbourhood in ;the Mikir hills, some white pipe-clay, just
like that of Tura, has been sent in for inspection. Thus at its eastern
Extra-Peninsular.] NUMMULitic SERIES: KHASI AREA. 693
extremityj on the south-east border^ the characters of the Shillong
gneissie area, as a very ancient land surface that has undergone little or
no disturbanccj appear to be maintained.
Nummulitic series : Khasi area. — The northern thinning out of
the nummulitic series upon the gneissie plateau is not so clearly seen, at
least in the Cherra section, as in the ease of the cretaceous rocks, because
only remnants of the bottom bands are preserved there ; but, on the whole,
the evidence is convincing as to the southern expansion of the marine
deposits. The nummulitics have not been observed anywhere to rest upon
the gneiss, so there is no proof of their having overlapped the cretaceous
deposits ; but it is presumable that they did so, for the sequence is con-
formable, or a,t least parallel and undisturbed, on a rising surface of the
metamorphics ; and the nummulitics extend close up to the northern
boundary, where the cretaceous beds are very thin, near the outcrop of the
gneissie rocks.
Immediately to the south-west of the station of Cherra Poonjee there
is a small plateau of nummulitic strata. The bottom 80 feet are of
limestone, covered by about an equal thickness of sandstone, not markedly
different from the underlying cretaceous rock. At about 10 feet above
the limestone there is a thick seam of bright coal, the well-known
Cherra coal.^ The limestone rests directly upon the rough surface of the
Cherra sandstone, without any sign of intervening denudation j and the
bedding is parallel, having a southerly slope of 3°.' The fossils from this
limestone were determined by Dr. Stoliczka : portions of the rock consist
almost entirely of small specimens of Operculina canalifera, Nummulites
luaamna, and N. ramondi, both the last species very small ; also species
of echinoderms, fragments of oysters, Fecten, Cardium salteri, and frag-
ments of Natica, CeritUum, Turritella, &c.^
1 Oldham : Mem. G. S. I., I., pp. 140 and 185.
3 Thig little plateau at Cherra offers a remarkatte instance of a form of denudation
that is not, perhaps, taken sufficient account of in geological explanations. The scarp is
very regular and well defined at many points; but the upper surface of the area, about, a
square mile in extent, is a chaos of tilted masses of the upper sandstone. This is clearly
due to the more or less complete removal by solution of the supporting limestone. A small
stream passes under the hill from north to south. The annual rainfall at Cherra exceeds
500 inches. Colonel Godwin- Austen {I. c-., p. 21) has described a much larger instance of
this form of denudation in the Giro hills, where a considerable enclosed catchment
basin is drained underground.
3 The fossils described from Eastern Bengal by MM. D'Archiac and Haime in their
" "Groupe Nummulitique de I'Inde" were all from the Kh^si hills ; but their specimens were
80 mixed, probably even including fossils from the cretaceous beds, that the value of their
identifications is doubtful. As the authors themselves remark--" On voit qu'il y a un
certain vague dans les rapports de plusieurs des assises que nous venons d'indiquer:" I. c,
p. 1V7.
694 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXVIII.
Close to the north of the coal hill, the nummulitic beds occur again in
equal thicktiess, under the native town of Cherra Pobnjee. The limestone
is not seen here ; but this may be partly due to concealment. The num-
mulitic sandstone forms the highest giround of the plateau from Cherra
Poonjee to beyond Surarith. Carbonaceous markings are frequent in
it ; and at Lairangau, 4 miles north of Cherra village, there is a workable
seam of coal. It is at about the same height over the cretaceous sandstone
as the seam at Cherra ; but at Ld,irangau the underlying beds are all sand-
stone and shale, except one bottom bed of limestone, resting on the Cherra
sandstone.. In this limestone bed OpercuUna canalifera and NwmmuUtes
lamarchi are very common; with these occiir a Trochocyathm, Stylocania
vicary'i, EcMnolamjpas sphermdalis, a small Cardita, Pecten, Natica roualti^
Keilostoma marginatum, a Ziziphinus, the small Cerithium hookeri, casts
of a large Natica, CentMum, and terebellum?-
Under Surarim, only 1 mile from Lairangau, this bottom bed of lime-
stone is wanting ; and the carbonaceous sandstones themselves come to an
end in a low bluff, 3 miles farther north, near where the road bifurcates.
These observations clearly shew the entire replacement of a thick bottom
band of marine limestone by a coal-bearing sandstone; or the latter
may, perhaps, be more correctly described as overlapping the former.
The same character of the deposits is shewn by a comparison with
the section at the foot of the hills. In the Tharia river the nummulitic
series is as f oUows, all with a high southerly dip : —
Feet. .
1. Limestone, coarse, massive, Mue 200
6. Sandstone, clear, yellowish, coarsish 100
5. Limestone, fine, compact, blue or pink 200
4 Sandstone, earthy, greenish, ochrey 50
3. Limestone 50
2. Sandstone, yellowish 100
1. Limestone 200
ToTAli . . 900
In the parallel section on the Bogapiani, below Chela, in the sandstone
just over the bottom limestone, there is a coaly layer, which may suffici-
ently establish the identity of these two bottom bands with those on the
plateau above, the marine bed having increased in thickness ; and this
marine character is here strongly stamped upon the whole series.
These nummulitic limestones form the most prominent features of
the low hills at the foot of the scarp along the Khasi area, where they
' These fossils were named by Dr. Stoliczka.
Extra-Peninsular. J NUMMULITICS ■. GAro area. 695
are in inucli greater force than elsewhere to east or west. This, as
has ah'eady been suggested upon other grounds, may be owing to a
greater elevation in this position, whereby a deeper zone of the basin of
deposition has been exposed to view. Pure limestone is still the chief
rock of the group on the eastern confines of the Garo hills, west of the
Umblai, as described by Colonel Godwin- Austen ; although the total thick-
ness must be much less than in the Tharia section; In the same ground
this observer describes (/. c, pp. li and 16) local cases of denucjation-
unconformity between the limestone and the cretaceous saiidstone.
Nummulitic Series : Garo area.— On the Sumesari, however,
only 12 miles farther west, a great change is observed. The whole series is
exposed ; but it contains only one thin band of limestone, about 40 feet
thick, resting conformably upon the cretaceous sandstoiie. Even this
limestone is often earthy, nodular, and oehreous, with shaly partings ; th6
purer portion being generally formed of a mass of NummuUteS granulosa, in
various Stages of growth. A similar change occurs throughout the forma-
tion : there are no clear sandstones ; clays and soft earthy sandstones overlie
the limestone, and are with difiiculty distinguished frond the succeeding
upper tertiary deposits. This new character is still more pronounced at
the west end of the hills. The clear cretaceous sandstone is well exposed
in the gorge of the KSlu at Dotnalgiri below Tufa ; it is covered by crum-
bling brown clays, in which occur rusty earthy concretionary layers of
nummulitic limestone, the oily represeutsbtive here of the pure rock of
the Khdsi hills J and altogether the formation bete strongly resembles
the most characteristic beds of the Subathu group in the North-West
Hiinalayas. No coaly layer has been found in the series in the Garo area.
The occurrence of remnants of the nummuUtic group on the creta-
ceous sandstones of the interior basins north of the Tura range is a
point worthy of attention. In the middle of the Uongreng basin some
earthy nummulitic linlestOne was observed at the level of the river, the
cretaceous rocks rising much higher against the surrounding metamorphicS.
The outcrop is flat and covered ; but the presumption is that the local
cretaceous group is complete th«ire> and that the actual positions are'
mainly due to a later depression of these inner basins. There is suffi-
cient independent proof that the crystalline rocks here were affected by
the general disturbanee> and that the east end of the Tura range must have
been squeezed up to a considerable extent. At both ends of the Sume-
sari gorge, in the Darang basin on the north^ and at SejU on the south,
the cretaceous strata rise nearly vertically agailist the gneiss, With the
beds parallel to the contact ; while rocks of the same age occur but
little disturbed high on the shoulders of the intervening ridge, the widtt
696 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Cliap. XXVIIl.
at the base being about 4 miles. That there was an original ridge of
smaller dimensions in this position is certain ; and it seems equally so
that the ridge underwent a subsequent special upheaval ; and the manner
of this upheaval seems to require an actual yielding and protrusion of
the gneissic rocks. The disturbance which took effect as a general rise
of the Khasi area may have been concentrated here in this special crush-
ing upwards of the east end of the Tura range. There is no trace of
such an action at the west end, about Tura. Considering the view taken
of the original relations of the rocks here, it is rather remarkable that the
nummulitics have not been found anywhere in contact with the gneiss;
but nothing like a survey of the ground has as yet been attempted. '
Eastern extension of the nummulitics. — Having seen the steady
increase of purely marine deposits from west to east for 130 miles in the
Garo and Khasi areas, it might be expected that the more pelagic forma-
tion would be steady for some distance in the same direction, in what
is represented, as a still-expanding series of deposits. There is no doubt
that the total sedimentary series in the J'aga hills is much thicker than
in the western areas; but it is almost exclusively made up of detrital
(clastic) rocks, and it is certain that the increase takes place largely in the
upper tertiary formations : the part taken by the lower tertiary (nummu-
litic) formation in the Naga hills is not known, and its extension in that
direction on the map, to include the Upper Assam coal-measures, is still
conjectural. The nummulitics of the Khdsi area no doubt continue for
some distance into the JaintiA country ; but their mode of change or of
extinction eastwards has not been traced out. Already on the track
between Nowgong and Cachar they are so concealed or altered from
their famiHar aspect in the Khasi section, as to have escaped the passing
notice of an observer of some experience ; and the more detailed examin-
ation of the ground in the Assam coal-measures at the north base of
the Patkai, has not revealed any recognisable outcrop of nummulitic
strata. ' The e3j)lanation that has been offered of the change to the west
may coVer this case also : that a special elevation of the Khasi area has'
there .brought to the surface a deeper zone ef deposits in this great con-
tinuous basin of deposition.
The upper tertiaries,— It was said above that at the west of the
Garo hills the earthy nummulitics pass up, without marked change, into
the soft upper tertiary strata. There is at first a moderate southerly dip ;
but the strata become nearly horizontal as they recede from the gneissic
mass ; so that this section on the Brahmaputra is the most obscure of
any in the whole range ; the hills are much lower than elsewhere, and
the tertiary series must have here a minimum thickness, even if the
juiwa-remusuiar.j thj!; uji-i-au xjiKTiAKiBis. oav
whole of it is exposed. Yet the only distinct information we possess as to
the horizon of these newer rocks is from this ground. In 1821 Mr.
Colebrooke read to the Geological Society of London' some observations
on these rocks by Mr. David Scott, then Commissioner of Cooch Behar.
In those days the Brahmaputra flowed at the foot of the hills, and at one
spot on the left bank Mr. Scott found some fossils. The exact locality
is not given, but it was somewhere between the Kalu and Mahendraganj'
(or Karibari) , probably nearer the latter place ; so the position in the
series is not known; but it seems certain that the bed belonged to the
rocks of the hills, not to the " old alluvium ;" for it is described as at the
foot of a small hiH, rising about 20 feet over the general elevation. The
fossils were a strange mixture of marine with land and fresh-water forms ;
and amongst them Mr. Pentland described ^ the teeth of Antkracot/ierium
(Charomeryx) silistreme, a species that has been recently found in the
Manchar (upper miocene) beds of Sind.'
The change of character that is so marked in the cretaceous and
nummulitic deposits from west to east has not been observed in the
upper tertiaries : there certainly can be no striking feature of this kind.
A massive soft greenish sandstone is the most prominent rock; it is
somewhat like the common Siwalik rock, but more earthy and of darker
hue, and the associated beds are mostly grey shales, unlike the brown
and ochi-ey clays of the Sub-Himalayan series; and the fossils above
mentioned shew that even at this w.estem end of the range the deposits
are, in part at least, marine. In Mr. Scott^'s notes of the section on the
Brahmaputra, local contortions are noticed, and this condition increases
eastwards. On the Sumesari, where the tertiary zone is 14 miles wide,
nearly 60 miles from the great river, the state of disturbance is still only
partial* : at the southern edge of the hills the dip is 40° to the south, in
very new -looking strata ; there is then a broad band, in which the beds
are flatly undulating ; they then rise again with a steady and increasing
southerly dip. The form of these outer, partial lines of disturbance is
that of normal flexures, with the axis-plane sloping northwards, towards
the gneissic mass at the edge of the basin (note, p. 528). In the inner half
of the section there are two lines of compressed contortion, with interven-
ing bands of nearly horizontal beds. In this more advanced state of com-
pression the features suggest that the flexures had not been thrust -over
from the north, but from the south, as the reversed fault seems to have
1 Trans. G. S., Set. 2, vol. I, p. 132.
2 Trans. G. S., Ser. 2, II, p. 393.
3 -Rec. Q. S. I., X, p. 77.
" Mem. G. B. I., VII (193).
698 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— THE ASSAM RANGE, [Chap. XXYIII.
a southerly underlie, and the upthrow is on the south. Nothing like a
general unconformity in the tertiary series was noticed in the' section of
the Sumesari.
Only aO miles to the east lies the ground described by Colonel God-
win-Austen on the confines of the tJaro and Khasi areas, where the upper
tertiary rocks have beeh almost denuded away frotn the base of the range,
the little that is left of them being nearly vertical. Several peculiar-
ities have already been noticed in this position : the depression, or the
gradual rise, of the metamOrphic mass, unlike its abrupt southern ending
to east and west : here, too, is the transition ground of the prevailing
marine type of deposits in both the cretaceous arid nummulitic Strata,
and here a partial unconformity was noticed between these formations.
Similar conditions affect the upper tertiaries : this is the only position
in the western part of the range where they have been found on the
plateau, inside the line of disturbancCi The summit of Nongkulang
hill (2,070 feet) is fornted of rusty sandstones and shalfes, resting horizon-
tally upon the undisturbed nummulitic limestoile. In a collection of
fossils f jrota these beds, sent by Colonel Godwin- Austen, Dr. Stoliczka
found the genera Conus, Dolium, Denialium, Cardita, Cardium, Tellina,
Nucula, Leda, Gucullcea, and several others ; and he remarked that none
of the species, so far as recognisable, appealed to be identical with those
known from the mlmmulitic beds of the same district- This fact suggests
that these detached beds on the heights may, perhaps, be an overlap of
some beds of the series higher than those that seem to be in transitional
sequence with the nummulitics in the sections to the west. This view
is strengthened by the fact, that Colonel Godwin-Austen observed
some cases of local denudation-unconformity between these fossiliferdus
sandstones and the nUmmulitie limestone, the strata being still qliite
parallel.
Along the foot of the plateau in the Ehasi and Jaintia artas the dis-
turbed lippef tertiary rocks have been almost entirely removed by denuda-
tion. East of Jairltiapur they appear ^gain in force, and expand rapidly
into the Barail range, which is^ so far as known, entirely made up of
them, Hsing steeply from the alluvial valley of Caehar^ drained by the
Siirma, or Batak. Oh the south this valley is very undefined, long lateral
valleys ruiinitlg up from it to the south, between the low meridional
ridges of the Tipperah and Lush&i hills, formed of the same soft upper
tertiary rocks, some of which ridges strike up to within ten miles of the
east and west Baj-ail range. The Cachar valley seems to be excavated
out of what must be the very broken ground where these two conflicting
strikes meet. As the Barail curves to the north-feast into the strike of
jixraa-reiunsuiar, J 'I'ujii absam ijUAL-tusiius. d9»
the P^tkai, north of Manipur, the confluence with the ridges from the
south takes place more easily.
It is only in the north-east, in the Patkai, that the range forms
the main Watershed. The northern drainage of the Barail passes
through that range, by the deep gtirge of the Jatinga, into Caehar.
Prom the edge of the plateau, immediately over the upper Jatinga valley,
the drainage flows to Assdm. In this position the iedge of the plateau,
as constituted of horizontal rocks, dbes not visibly correspoild with a
supporting mass of metamorphics . There is here a large area of the
North Caehar or West Naga hills formed of the massive upper tertiary
sandstone very Httle disturbed. It would seem that the spill of the
drainage took its origin here from the first great monoelinal axis of flexure
into the basin of disturbance, the protrusion of the Barail range into its
present position along that axis being a slow after-process. It seems
not unlikely, too, that this great accumulation of late tertiary strata may be
largely formed of early Himalayan debris, from the discharge of the great
eastern torrents, the Pihorig-toibong, the Brahmaputra, and others ; and
that the diversion of these through Assam into Bengal was the "result of
the crushing together of those deposits in the lines of the Burmese
mountain system.
The AssatQ coal-fields. — U^per and Lower Assam are very neatly
defined geologically : the latter as the area between the metamorphic mass
of the Shillonff plateau and the Himalayas, where the metamorphics
appear bccasiohally as outliers through the alluvium, and probably under-
lie the whole at no great depth. The most easterly known outcrop of
these crystalliiie rocks, north of the JBrahmaputra, is the granitic mass
at Tezpur. Upper Assam lies on the north-easterly prolongation of the
crystalline area, and commences at the Dhansiri valley, wbere the sedi-
mentary series lying to the south of the gneiss extends beyond it, in the
northern ridges of the Patkai range, to forin the south-east boundary of
the upper part of the great valley. The general continuity of this line
of outcrop here, with that of the cfy'stalline boundary to the south-west,
suggests that the metamoi-phics may extend for a long way beneath the
alluviuni of Upper Assam; but this is purely conjectural, and the data are
insufficient to discuss it.
It has been already stated that, although these rocks of the Patkai
range are the direct continuation, after an unexamined interval of nearly
200 miles, of the formations already described on the southern margin of
the Garo and Khasi hills, the general facies of the sequences are so differ-
ent, that the two can only be correlated by a connected survey, fossil
700 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— THE ASSAM EANGE. [Chap, XXVIII,
evidence also being entirely wanting in the Naga ground. This eastern
area must therefore stand by itself for the present. Mr. F. R. Mallet has
described the coal-measures in some detail, with the rocks immediately
adjoining, for a length of about 100 miles from south of Jorhat. He
gives the following classification of the formations : —
4. — The Dehing group (from the river of that name) : conglomerates and blue clays
with fossil wood ; minimum thickness, 400 feet; transitional with No. 3.
3. — Tipam group (from the low range traversed by the Dehing above Jaipur) :
massive, false-bedded, soft, grey sandstones, with subordinate variegated
clays and fossil wood ; thickness, 7,000 to 9,000 feet ; "transitional with No. 2.
2.— The coal-measures : alternating shales, sandstones and coal, with a few thin cal-
careous layers ; thickness more than 2,000 feet.
1. — The Disang group (from the river of that name) : grey, fine, hard sandstones
overlying splintery grey shales, several thousand feet thick.
General structure. — Although in a general sense the section of the
P^tkai may be, as suggested, a continuation of that to the south-west,
with a prolongation of the crystalline rocks beneath the Upper Assam
valley, very great changes are introduced to the north-east. Instead of
finding the lowest rocks at the base of the hills, adjoining the alluvial
area, as would be the case on the simple supposition referred to, there is,. on
the contrary, a nearly continuous belt of upper tertiary rocks outside
(north-west of)^ the main outcrop of the coal-measures and of the Disang
group. This feature is due to a great fault that has been traced from
end tp end of the area, with a steady strike to east-35°-north, and hav-
ing a great upthrow to the south-east. On both sides of the fault the
prevailing dip is towards the crest of the Patkai.
This fault is the leading structural feature of the field, and it must
have a throw of from 10,000 to 15,000 feet; for the outer tertiary rocks
dip towards it, and high Tipam, and even Dehing, beds are generally
found at the dislocation in contact with the Disang group. The principal
coal-fields occur isolated inside the great fault, where, at intervals, the
throw is less, or where a loop-fault encloses a section of the measures.
Here, too, south of the main fault, the Tipam group is found in force
overlying the coal group, and proving the magnitude of the dislocation.
Thus the several coal-fields inside the fault are strictly isolated as basins
of dislocation. The only position where the coal-measures appear at the
base of the Tipam group outside the fault is in the Jaipur field, on the
Dehing and the Disang ; but they presumably occur all along the margin
' Mem. G. S. I., XII, p. (269).
2 See note, p. 529 : the axis of disturbance here is not Himalayan, but that of the
Burmese system.
Extra-Peninsular.] THE coal-m;easures. 701
of the alluviimij at an unknown depth : the great thickness of the Tipam
group would make the search for the coal very precariouSj unless near a
known outcrop.
The Disaug group. — The three upper groups form a continuous
sequence, and the top one is a vepy late tertiary formation, so the Di-
sang beds must take their place below the continuous series, as at least
older than the coal-measures. The Disang boundary is everywhere de-
scribed as faulted, and the original base of the coal-measures has not any-
where been observed : it is, however, quite probable that the Disang beds
also form part of the continuous sequence, for both shales and sandstone
are very much like those of the coal-measures ; only in the latter these
rocks are freely interbedded throughout, and include coal-seams at all
levels ; whereas in the Disang group the shales, as a whole, underlie the
sandstone, and both are vnthout carbonaceous layers. As these contrast-
ing conditions obtain in contiguous areas, it is impossible the groups can
be the same ; and the Disang is certainly the older.
The type section of the group is taken from the Disang, .south of
the Tipam range, no coal-measures being exposed along the great fault
for many miles on either side ; but similar rocks occur to the south of the
coal-measuresj in the Makum field, to the east, and in the Nazira field,
to the west.
The coal-measures. — Three principal fields have been described. In
the Jaipur field the measures crop up with a high dip along a narrow
band at the north base of the Tipam range for about 20 miles, when
they are covered over in both directions by the alluvium. East of the
gorge of the Dehing, at Jaipur, the Tipam i-ange comes to an end, and
the alluvium passes behind it, up to the edge of the Makum field, along
the main fault. This is the most extensive of the Assam coal-fields : to
the south-west its exact limit is not known, but it is certainly cut out
before reaching the Disang ; to the north-east it extends beyond the limits
of exploration, into the Singpho country. The Nazira field occurs along
the great fault, on the Dikhu and Saffrai rivers, for a length of about
16 miles. In the former position the outer hills of the Tipam rocks
intervene between the plain and the coal rocks ; but on the Saffrai the
ground is more open, and the coal-field moreaccessible. Farther to the
south-west there are small outcrops of the coal-measures south of the
fault, on the Janji and Disai rivers ; but here the outer range of Tipam
rocks is very broad, and the coal proportionately difficult of access.
For detailed information regarding these fields and 'the coal, we must
refer to Mr. Mallet's memoir.' The measures are very much alike in all ;
• Mem. G. S. I., XII, Ft. 2.
703 GEOLOGY OF INDFA— THE ASSAM RANGE. [Chap. XXYIIL
^eama of less than a y^rd iij thickness are very nujnerpus in some sections,
and not tinf requently the coal feeds attain much greater dimensions. In
the Namdang, south of Uongreng in the Makum field, there is a seam 100
feet thick, containing at least 75 feet of golid coal; and some very. large
seams have been traced for more than a mile without dimini^tion. The
sandstones and shales often contain nodules and layers of play-ironstone.
Earthy and ferruginous limestone occurs sparingly in thin concretionary
bands, also some layers of hard tough magnesian limestone. The coal-
measure shales decompose into a very tenaceous blue elay^ differing in this
irespect from the Disang shales, which are more clunchy.
On the interesting question of the age pf these very important and
extensive coal-measures, there is little ' evidence for opinion; and that
little suggests a middle tertjary horizon. , The coal itself is a true coal
of superior quality, not lignite, as is attested by its composition.
Fixed Volatile
cartian. ma^tter. Ash.
Average composition of 27 Assam coals . 60-0 36,3 3'8
Ditto of 17 Kaniganj coals . 511 32'6 16-3
It is not unlike the nummulitic coal of the Khasi hills, and quite unlike
the cretaceous coal, which maintains its peculiar characteristics into close
proximity to the Assam fields. The only fossils found in the seams
are bad impressions of dicotyledonous leaves ; and no trace of animal life
has been seen in any of the associated rocks. The strongest point in the
argument is the closely transitional relation between the measures and the
Tipam sandstone, which is a yery typical rej)resentative of the Siwalik
rook, and almost undoubtedly belongs to that upper tertiary period. In
the Khasi hiUs, and again in the Punjab, the nummulitic coal occurs-
near the very base of the formation : in the Tharia section (p. 694) there
are about 1,000 feet of marine nummulities above the coal bed. If the
Upper Assam coal-ndeasures are nummulitic at all, they would seem to
belong to the upper limits of the formation.
Tipam and Dehing groups.' — We might without niuch risk speak
of these as Lower and Upper Siwaliks ; for in very many respects they
correspond with those S,ub- Himalayan formations as seen on the north
side of the alluvial valley ; and it is by no means improbable that the
two may yet be traced into actual continuity through the wild unexplored
country at the head of the valley. The greenish grey (pepper-and-salt)
sandstone of the Tipam range undoubtedly alternates with the top beds
of the coal-measures ; but the shaly beds rapidly cease, and the sand-
stone becomes very massive. Some coaly partings were also observed
well up in the Tipam group ; and fossil wood, whether silieified or semi-
Extra-Peninsular. ] TIPAM AND DEpiNG GROUPS. 703
cartonised, sometimes in very large blocks, is common throughout this
great sandstone formation, as well as in the upper conglomeratic beds.
The upper (Dehing) group is less like the corresponding group of the
Siwaliks than is the Tipam sandstone ; and two points are noteworthy
in it. Some of the bottom beds are coal-conglomerates, made up almost
exclusively of rolled fragments of coal, presumably of the coal-seams
underlying the Tipam group. This peculiar conglomerate has been ob-
served at great distances apart, at the top of the Tipam sandstone, along
the main fault. The ordinary conglomerates of the group also are com-
posed of well-rolled pebbles of fine hard sandstone, identical in appearance
with the Disang sandstone. The beds associated with these conglomerates
are blue sandy clays, not like the brown and red clays of the top Siwaliks,
at least of North-Western India^ The facts altogether seepi to si^ggest
that these top beds are of very late date ; and that the great disturbances
now displayed in these formations may bp to a great extent older than
the deposits which seem to have taken full part in them, as was suggested
in soine of the spetions in the Sub-Himalayas of K^ngrg, (p. 554 ). But
nntil the rocks at the head of the Assam valley have been studied, it will
be impossible to offer any explanation of the general features of this
region.
704 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
EXTEA-PENINSULAR AREA.
BURMA.
Area and physical geography — Geological data — Eock-gronps — Metamorphic rocks —
Mergui group — Maulmain group — Axial (triassic) group — Mai-i (Cretaceous) group
— Supposed cretaceous coal in Tenasserim — Negrais rocks — Serpentine — Nummu-
litic groupi — Arakan — Coal-bearing rocks of Tenasserim — Pegu group — Newer
tertiary heds in Arakan — Pliocene fossil-wood group — Tertiaries of Upper Burma —
Extinct volcano of Puppa — Trachyte in South-Western Pegu — Post-tertiary deposits :
laterite — Older alluvial sknds and gravels — Delta of Irawadi — Littoral concrete of
Arakan coast — Mud volcanoes of Bamri, &c. — Islands in the Bay of Bengal —
Andamans — Nicobars — Barren Island and Narcondam.
Area and physical geography.— British Burma, consisting of the
countries on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, north of the tenth
parallel of north latitude, comprises three divisions — Arakan, Pegu, and
Tenasserim. The first and last of these are mainly composed of narrow-
strips of territory extending along the coast ; the former north, the latter
south, of the Irawadi delta. Pegu consists of the lower Irawadi valley
south of the parallel of 19° 30' north latitude, together with the country
between the Irawadi and Sittoung (or Sitang) rivers. Martaban, part
of the Tenasserim division, includes a large tract between the Sittoung
and Salwin.
The whole region is traversed by hill ranges, having a general north
and south direction, parallel to the coast. All the principal streams have
the same general course, which is the strike of the rocks. To the
northward, in Arakan, the strike curves to west of north.
The main hill ranges of British Burma are three in number. Com-
mencing to the westward, the ridge running parallel with the coast,
and forming the watershed between the Bay of Bengal to the westward,
and the Prawadi valley to the east, is known as the Arakan Yoma?- This
range is the southern continuation of the somewhat complicated ranges
to the east of Chittagongj it becomes a well-defined ridge of great
' Yo-ma is a Burmese word signifying backbone. '
iSxtra-Jr-eninsular. J AEEA AND PHYSICAL QEOQRAPHy. 705
breadth, but of comparatively moderate height, east o£ Akyab, and con-
tinues steadily to Cape Negrais. To the northward the general height
of the watershed is about 3,000 to 4,000 feet, some peaks rising to as
much as 5,000 ; but to the southward the elevation is much less. This
range is the boundary between Pegu and Arakan.
East of the Irawadi valley, and forming the water-parting between
that river and the Sittoung, is another range, known as the Pegu Toma,
terminating to the southward, close to Rangoon, and extending north-
ward for some distance beyond the British frontier. The maximum
elevation of this Yoma is about 2,000 feet, and is attained near the
southern extremity^ in latitude 17° 55' ; thence northward to the frontier
the height of the w;atershed varies from 800 to 1,200 feet.
The whole of the mountains east of the Sittoung must be classed
with those of the Tenasserim provinces as parts of one great range,
greatly exceeding the Arakan and Pegu Yomas in elevation, and distin-
guished from both by being mainly composed of metamorphio rocks.
To the northward this range, which appears to have no general and dis-
tinctive name, is connected with the gneissic ridges and plateaus of Upper
Burma ; it forms the watershed between the Sittoung and Salwin, the
latter river cutting through it near Maulmain (Moulmein), where the
strike of the rocks ia north-north-west instead of north, and it continues as
a number of parallel north and south ranges in the Tenasserim provinces,
Towards the southern extremity of British Burma the various paralle
ridges coalesce into one general range, which forms the backbone of the
Malay Peninsula. The metamorphic hills frequently attain an elevation
of 5,000 to 6,000 feet, and some peaks are said to be as much as 7,000
above the sea.
It may be useful to notice that the great rivers of British Burma are
the Irawadi and Salwin, both of which rise far to the northward, in
Chinese territory. The Sittoung is a much smaller stream, coming from
but a short distance north of the British frontier. The Irawadi forms
a large delta, but the Salwin flows in a rocky channel almost to its
mouth. In Northern Arakan are several rivers of considerable size, the
principal being the Koladyne, all running from the northward; and in
the Tenasserim provinces, the river Tenasserim has a course of about
150 miles from north to south, before turning westward to run into the
sea near Mergui. The general parallelism of all the streams and hill
ranges gives an appearance of simplicity to the physical geology of the
country ; but, owing in a great measure to the prevalence of forest, it has
been found extremely difficult to determine the stratigraphy, and very
little can be said to be accurately known about the formations occurring.
ul
706 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA, [Chap. XXIX.
Geological data. — The province o£ Pegu has been geologically
mapped ^ j but, for the reason mentioned, the classification of the rocks in
the hill ranges is by no means satisfactorily settled. The formations
along the course of the Irawadi north of the British frontier to beyond
Ava have been cursorily examined,^ as also a tract on the upper Sal win* ;,
and the extinct volcano of Puppa, south-west of Pagan, has been
visited.* Occasional notes, too, have been collected, by various travellers
in other parts of Upper Burma. A few visits have been made to parts
of Southern Arakan in the neighbourhood of Pegu, and to the islands
of R&mri and Cheduba,^ the southernmost part of Arakan being in-
eluded in Mr. Theobald's map of Pegu, but the northern portion of the
division is geologically unknown. All that can be said is, that the
formations are probably similar to those of the Arakan Yoma, as the
same beds appear to extend northward into the Assam hills. Tenasserim
is similarly most imperfectly known, the neighbourhood of Maulmain,
and a few localities to the southward, being the only parts of which any
account exists.^
Rock-groups- — The following are the groups in which the rocks
found in Burma have been arranged, with their approximate geological
position. It should be repeated that, owing to the very great difficulties
in the way of a geological exploration of the country, the sub-divisions
are by no means so well defined as in the Peninsula of India. The fossils
found have not been compared and described ; and until this has been
done, it is impossible to feel sure that portions of different groups have
not, in some cases, been included in one sub-division.
Ifame, Sockt. Bv^oied geological age,
( Blown Band, littoral concrete, ")
I. Neweb Aliuvunn, &o. j regur, and recent alluvial \ Secent.
^ deposits. J
II. OiiDEE AlLirviUM . ( ^^""^ """^ ^''^^^^ °* *^« °1^«"^ \ PoH-teHiar^,
(. river alluvium, laterite, &c. )
III. FOSSK-WOOD GEOUP J Sand, gravels, &c., with sUiciaed j p^^.^^^^_
( wood and bones of Mammalia. )
' Theobald : Mem. G. S. I., X, pp. (189)— (359). Some earlier notices appeared in the
Records of the Geological Survey of India, but all details were incorporated in the Memoir
quoted.
2 Oldham : Tule's Mission to the Court of Ava, Appendix, pp. 309 — 351.
3 By Mr. Fedden.
^ J. A. S. B., 1862, XXXr, p. 215.
" MaUet : Eec. G. S. I., XI, pp. 188—223.
" Oldham : Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Home Department,
No. X, pp. 31—67.
Extra-Peninsular. ] METAMOEPHIC EOCKS. 707
Name. Bocka. Bvfpoted geohgieal age.
IV. Pegu GBOUP (Shales and Bandstones, occasion--) j^^.^^g^^_
\ ally calcareous; fossils numerous, j
f Shales and sandstone, with some >
v. NuMMTTHTio . j limestone bands containi^ig ^Eocene.
^ nummulites, &c. ^
VI. Neseais books . (Similar, hut much hardened, and)^„^^„^ ^^ Cretaceous.
\ sub-metamorphic in places. j
( Limestone, sandstone, calcareous")
VII. Mai-i sbotjp . \ shales, &c., with Ammonites f Cretaceous.
^ inflatus, J
( Shales, sandstones, &c., more or •\
Vm. AxiAli ctEOUP . ■< less altered, and occasionally f Triassia.
>■ schistose. •'
IX. Maulmain (JEOTTP ;f Limestone, reddish sandstone, and 1 ^^^j^^^^^^^^„^
(. shales. )
X. Mbegui geoup . iSlaty and schistose beds, grits, &c. ?
^T nr fGneiss, mica-slate, &c., with) .
XI. Meiamoephio . ) '. . * ' \ Azoic.
(. gramte veins. )
Iktetjsitk beitptitb books. — Serpentine, trachyte, &c. ; an extinct volcano in Upper
Burma.
0£ these various groups, it should be stated at once that the three
uppermost constitute the greater portion of the Irawadi valley ; that the
Pegu Yoma consists entirely of the mioeene Pegu group ; and that the
Arakan Yoma, and the spurs to the eastward and westward of the main
range, are chiefly composed of nummulitic, cretaceous, and triassic beds.
The carboniferous limestone and its associated beds, together with the
Mergui group, are, in British Burma, nearly confined to the Tenasserim
provinces j the former extending northward into Martaban, whilst the
main area of metamorphic rocks lies to the east of all the other forma-
tions. In describing the various beds, it will be best, as usual, to com-
mence with the lowest ; the intrusive rocks, however, being noticed with
the beds with which they are associated.
Metamorphic rocks. — The Burmese gneissic series consists of more
or less granitoid gneiss, hornblendic gneiss, crystalline limestone, quartz-
ite, and schists of various kinds. In many places the gneiss becomes a
true granite, and much of the area occupied by the crystalline formations
has been described by various observers as composed of granitic rocks.
Some of the granitoid portions of the rock weather into remarkable round-
ed masses,* isolated from each other by the decomposition of the inter-
vening rock, and forming huge piles of gigantic boulders, as in Southeni
1 Figures of some extraordinary isolated blocks of this kind, resembling perched
erratics, but really due to disintegration, are given by the Rev. C. Parish in his "Notes of a
trip up the Sal ween," J. A. S. B,, 1865, XX XIV, Pt. 2, pp. 135, &c., PI. VI, VII, VIII.
708 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIS
India (Hyderabad, Mysore, &c.) and parts of Western Bengal.^ Horn
blendic gneiss seems less abundant than in the main gneissic. area o
India, whilst crystalline limestone is o£ not uncommon occurrence.
So little attention has hitherto been paid to the metamorphic rock,
of Burma, that very little is known of the minerals occurring amongs
them. That the gneissic formations are metalliferous in places ha
long been known; gold is obtained, in small quantities, in many o
the streams, and tin stone is found in some abundance in parts of tin
Tenasserim provinces and in Martaban. Lead and silver mines, oni
of them at least — the famous Bau-dwen-gyee — of very large dimen
sions and highly productive, exist in the Shan States, north-east of Ava
The most valuable and productive ruby mines known are in the sami
direction, but nearer to the capital. Chondrodite associated with spine
in crystalline limestone has been found close to Mandalay, the combina
tion of minerals being similar to that occurring in certain localities nea
New York.
As already mentioned, metamorphic rocks occupy a large, but un
explored, area in Upper Burma : they form all the higher ranges in th^
neighbourhood of Ava, and extend throughout a great portion of tb
country, extending thence to the Salwin. Farther to the northward- the;
extend from Bham6 to the neighbourhood of Momein in Yunnan.^ Th
Irawadi below Ava turns more to the west, and flows through newe
rocks, whilst the crystallines continue to the southward, forming th
Bed Karen (Karen-ni) country and the hills between the Sittoung an
Salwin, and extend into Tenasserim. None occur in Pegu or Arakar
west of the range between the Sittoung and Salwin.
It is impossible to do much more than guess at the relations of th
Burmese metamorphic rocks to those of the Indian Peninsula ; but th
gneissic rocks of Burma ha?ve more resemblance to those of Peninsula
India than to the crystalline formations of the Himalayas.
Mergui group. — Resting upon the metamorphic rocks in th
southern portion of the Tenasserim provinces, there is a great accumuls
tion of pseudo-porphyritic sedimentary beds, the principal feature c
which is derived from imbedded crystalline fragments of felspar. Th
rock in its normal form is earthy, but highly indurated ; it passes, on tl
one hand, into slaty masses without the conspicuous felspar fragment
and on the other into grits and conglomerates. With these grits, an
resting upon them, are dark-coloured earthy beds, finely laminated, wit
hard quartzose grits. These rocks cannot be less than 9,000 feet i
' A form of " dome arneiss :" see ante. D. 20.
iiiiva-reninsiiiar. J MAUbMAiiN UKUuf. Yuy
thickness, and in places they must be 11,000 or 12,000., They have
only been noticed hitherto near Mergui, and nothing is known o£ their
relations.
Maulmain group. — The beds of the last group in the Tenasserim
valley are succeeded, in ascending order, by hard sandstones, often in thin
and massive layers, with thin earthy partings, sometimes in fine
laminae ; the prevailing colour is a reddish tint, and some of the layers
are calcareous. Some of the more soft and earthy beds contain marine
fossils. Over these sandstones occur grey shaly beds, also sometimes
calcareous and fossiliferous, with occasional beds of dark sandstone;
then come 150 to 200 ffeet of fine soft sandstone, thinly bedded with
grey and pinkish shaly layers intercalated ; and upon these, again, hard
thick limestone. The fossils found are unmistakably of carboniferous age,
Spirifer and Frodwctus being the commonest forms ; but the species have
not been determined, and it is rare to obtain specimens in a state suitable
for identification.
The thickness of the Maulmain group, exclusive of the 'limestone, is
estimated at about 5,000 feet, and the limestone itself near Maulmain
is 1,100 feet thick.
Near Maulmain the limestone is extremely conspicuous, and forms
large hills and ranges, extending far to the south-south-east up the
valley of the Ataran and Zami. The same rock occurs east of the
Salwin, but it does not extend far into Martaban, and it is wanting
in the Sittoung valley. Farther up the Salwin, however, in Karen-ni,
and elsewhere beyond the British frontier, large tracts of limestone
occur, probably belonging to the carboniferous series. Limestone is
said to abound in the Mergui Archipelago, and may very probably be, in
parts at least, identical with that found near Maulmain. Carboniferous
limestone is also extensively developed in Sumatra.i
Until the fossils are better known, it is impossible to say whether the
Maulmain group exactly corresponds to the carboniferous beds of the
Himalayas and the Punjab ; there can, however, be uo question that both
are of the same approximate age. The occurrence of marine fossHiCerous
rocks of the carboniferous period at the two extremities of the extra-
peninsular area of British India, and the complete absence of any
marine palseozoic fossils within the peninsular region, afford perhaps one
of the most striking illustrations of the great divergence between the
geological history of Peninsular India and that of the surroimding
countries.
1 Geol. Mag.. Dec. II, Vol. II, p. 478.
710 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX
Axial (triassic) group.— There is manifestly a great break be
tween the rocks already noticed and the mesozoic formations of Burma
the older beds are found in a distinct area to the eastward, and are assc
ciated with metamorphie rocks, whilst the triassic beds are only known t
occur west of the Irawadi, and are connected by stratigraphy and positioi
with the newer rocks of the Arakan Yoma range. This range, althougl
of no great height, forms an excessively broad belt of uninhabited forest
clad hills, only traversed by a single road and by a few difficult path
at wide intervals, and it is, in general, absolutely inaccessible, excep
along the tortuous beds of streams. Anything like satisfactory geolo
gical surveying becomes almost impossible in such a region, unless somi
well-marked and prominent beds occur to afford a clue to the stratigra
phy, or fossiliferous belts are numerous. In the Arakan range neithe:
is the case ; the rocks of the main range consist of rather hard sand
stones and shales, greatly squeezed, contorted and broken, traversed b]
numerous small veins of quartz, often slaty, and sometimes schistose
but there is a marked deficiency of any conspicuous strata. The fev
bands of limestone which occur are thin, isolated, and as a rule unfossili.
ferous. The rocks on the western, or Arakan, side of the range appear
on the whole, less altered than those on the eastern, or Pegu, slope ; anc
on the outer spurs, on both sides, unaltered nummulitic rocks appeaj
throughout a great part of the area, although not continuously.
The crushed, hardened, and somewhat altered rocks of the Arakai
Yoma were originally separated by Mr. Theobald from the newer-look
ing nummtditics under the name of " axials,^' and considered as com.
prising the oldest tertiary beds and their immediate predecessors in the
series. Although there is a well-marked difference between the num^
muUtic-beds and the "axials," there is no distinct break between them
the two present an appearance of conformity where they are noi
faulted against each other, and it is far from clear that some of -the
axials are not merely nummulitic strata, greatly crushed and contorted
But subsequently to the preliminary examination of the area, a creta-
ceous ammonite was found in Arakan ; and amongst some rather obscurt
fossils discovered near the frontier of British and Native Burma, wesi
of Thayetmyo, were a few specimens referred by Dr. Stoliczka to th(
typically upper triassic Salobia lommeli (PI. II, fig. 5). It became
therefore, necessary to distinguish both triassic and cretaceous beds
amongst the axial rocks of the Arakan range.
To the former has been referred a series of hard sandstones and shales
with grits and conglomerates, and a few bands of impure limestone, whict
Extra-Peninsular. J MAI-I (CRETACEOUS) GROUP. 711
southward, nearly to the parallel of Prome. The only characteristic beds
are some white-speckled grits, interhedded with shales and sandstones,
and attaining a thickness of 1,300 feet, in the Lhowa stream, 35 miles
west of Thayetmyo ; a band of dark-blue shale with conglomerate,
part of which is calcareous, 33 feet thick, below the grits j and some thick-
bedded shales, passing into massive sandy shales, with hard nodules inter-
spersed, attaining a thickness of 110 feet, and containing a Cardita and
some undetermined Gasteropoda. The calcareous conglomerate passes
into- a rubbly limestone, and appears identical with the beds contain-
ing Halohia lommeli. To the northward a band of limestone, much thicker
and purer than that of the Lhowa stream, has been traced in several
places. The speckled grits and conglomerates are, however, more con-
spicuous and more characteristic, • and it is mainly by means of them
that the area of supposed triassic beds has been mapped.
The whole thickness of the triassic group appears to be rather less
than 6,000 feet, the characteristic beds just noticed being near, but not
at the base of the group. To the eastward these beds are in contact
with nummulitic strata, the boundary having the appearance of a fault ;
to the westward it is believed that cretaceous beds come in, but the
country is difficult of access, and has not been surveyed. The area
occupied within the limits of British Burma is elongately triangular,
broadest at the frontier, where it extends for 15 miles from east to west,
and terminating in a point to the southward, west by north of Prome.
A few outbursts of serpentine occur within the limits assigned to
the triassic group. As these intrusive masses differ in no way from
some occurring farther south, amongst the rocks of the Negrais group,
it will be best to notice all the cases of serpentine intrusion together.
Mai-i (Cretaceous) group. — The existence of cretaceous beds in the
Arakan Yoma, like the occurrence of triassic strata, is only shewn by the
discovery of one species of mollusk in a single locality in Arakan ; the
species found. Ammonites inflatus, is a characteristic cenomanian cephalo-
pod, common in the Utatur beds of Southern India. ^ The only specimen
obtained was picked up in the bed of a stream, and had evidently been
derived from some shales in the neighbourhood. No other specimens
nor other fossil of any kind could, however, be found.
The spot where this ammonite was found was near Mai-i, in the
northern part of the Sandoway district of Arakan.
"What may be the extent of the cretaceous beds, and which strata
shoidd be referred to this group, are matters on which but little trust-
worthy information has been obtained. Mr. Theobald is disposed to con-
sider that a peculiar, compact, light cream-coloured argillaceous limestone.
712 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
resembling indurated chalk, sometimes speckled from containing sublenti-
cular crystalline particles, belongs to the cretaceous formation ; and this
limestone has been traced at intervals from near Mai-i^ about 30 miles
north of Tongup (Toungoop), to the neighbourhood of Sandoway, whilst
somewhat similar limestone, though not so characteristic, may be traced to
Keantali, some 30 miles farther south. The same limestone is found in
the western part of Ramri Island. Another peculiar formation is a greyish,
rather earthy sandstone, with, in places, a pisolitic structure, due to the
presence of small globular concretions of carbonate of lime and iron.
The concretions decompose, and leave small holes, which impart to the
earthy sandstone the aspect of an amygdaloidal trap. Like the limestone,
this peculiar sandstone is traced from Mai-i to near Keantali, a distance
of 94 miles ; and if, as appears probable, these beds are really cretaceous,
for both are closely associated with the shale from which the ammonite
had apparently 'been derived, the rocks of this formation may be con-
sidered as extending at least the distance mentioned. To the northward
their range is unknown ; to the south, they seem to be replaced by the
next group, which may, however, in part at least, be simply the same
beds, but more altered. The strata ascribed to the cretaceous group are
less hardened and metamorphosed than the other rocks of the Arakan
Yoma ; they are of great thickness, and may include all the beds to the
west of the triassic group, and of the main range of the Yoma as far
south as Keantali. No rocks which can be referred to the Mai-i group
have been detected east of' the main Arakan range in Pegu.
Supposed cretaceous coal in Tenasserim. — There is, however,
some probability that cretaceous rocks may exist in Tenasserim. On the
Lenya river,^ in the extreme south of the province, a bed of coal occurs,
of very laminar structure, and containing numerous small nodules of a
resinous mineral Hke amber. This peculiar association of mineral resin
is characteristic of the cretaceous coals in the Assam bilk, and it is
highly probable that the Tenasserim mineral is of the same age. At
the same time no palseontological evidence has been discovered; the rocks
assoqiated with the coal are soft clays and sands, having a more recent
appearance than those accompanying the other coal-feeams of the Tenasse-
rim provinces; and these other seams are, it is believed, not older than
eocene. The coal occurs as an irregularly developed bed, varying from
one to five feet or rather more in thickness, with thin layers of fine jetty
coal between bands of hard black shale, and rests upon clay with veo-eta-
ble remains, also containing patches of jet-coal ; thin coal laminte are
also found in the associated strata,
' Oldham : Sel. Eec. Govt. India, Home Dept., No. X, p. 48.
Extra-Peninsular.] NEGEAIS ROCKS. 713
Below the rocks, immediately associated with the coal, are fine, whitish,
earthy sandstones and indurated clay, passing into marl, with some
conglomerates. Above the coal is a series of soft muddy sandstones,
clays, marls, conglomerates, and a few seams of carbonaceous matter.
The whole may be 600 feet thick. The dip is considerable, about 35°,
and the rocks have undergone disturbance and faulting. Nothing has
been ascertained as to the relations of the coal-bearing beds to other
formations ; indeed, all that is known of the Lenya river coal is the result
of a hurried visit to a locality very difficult of access.
Negrais rocks. — The remainder of the rocks forming the Arakan
Yoma are either unfossiliferous, or the few organisms which have been
detected, mostly indistinct remains of plants and mollusca, are insuffi-
cient to afEord any trustworthy indication of age. Some of these rocks
appear to be a continuation of the Mai-i group ; whilst, on the other
hand, it is impossible to draw any definite line of boundary between the
hill rocks and the nummulitics of Pegu. In Pegu, away from the base
of the hills, comparatively soft, unaltered fossiliferous beds are found,
belonging to the older tertiary period j these strata appear to rest upon
the hill beds ; for, away from the axis of the range, both have, in general,
an eastwardly dip. The two rocks contrast strongly, the nummulitics
being soft and unchanged, the hill beds hardened, crushed, and in places
almost schistose ; but it is impossible to find a precise limit to either ;
the two are never seen in contact ; there is no evidence that they are
faulted against each other, and there appears to be a belt, often two or
three miles wide, of rock in an intermediate condition. On the whole, it
appears probable that the rocks of the Arakan Yoma in general comprise
representatives, shghtly altered, of both cretaceous and nummulitic rocks ;
but as it has hitherto proved impossible to draw a line between the two,
whilst, on the other hand, there is no clear proof that these Arakan
Yoma beds are identical with the Pegu nummulitics, it appears best
to distinguish the hill rocks by a separate name, and to class them, as
Mr. Theobald has proposed, as Negrais rocks. The name is derived
from Cape Negrais, the south-western point of Pegu, and the extreme
southern termination of the Arakan Yoma.
The Negrais rocks differ in no important particulars from the triassic
and cretaceous beds, already noticed, except that they are more altered
than the latter. They consist principally of hardened and contorted sand-
stones and shales, intersected throughout by numerous small veins of
quartz and carbonate of lime. Limestone is not of common occurrence ;
where it is seen, it does not appear generally in regular strata, but in
huge detached blocks, imbedded in the shales and sandstones, as if the
714 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX
latter had yielded without fracture to the pressure which dislocated the
limestone. Conglomerates also occur, sometimes passing into breccia.
The alteration of these beds is most capricious and irregular;
frequently for a long distance they are apparently unchanged, except in
being somewhat hardened; then they become cherty, slaty, or sub-
schistose, and cut up by quartz veins. One not uncommon form of alter-
ation is exhibited by the rocks affecting a greenish hue, due to the
presence of chlorite, such .rocks being generally much cut up by quartz
veins. In a few iustances, apart from the serpentine intrusions to be
mentioned presently, irregular dyke-like masses of either serpentine or a
decomposed steatitic rock are found j but this is far from being of fre-
quent occurrence. A more common form of alteration seen along the
coast north of Cape Negrais is apparently due to the infiltration of silica
in large quantities, and is shewn by the intense, and often, abrupt,
alteration of beds of sandstone into'cherty masses.
No satisfactory classification of these, the main rocks of the Arakan
Yoma, has been practicable ; they must be of great thickness, but the
stratification is too confused, in the absence of any well-defined horizon,
for a clear idea as to the succession of different strata to be formed. Some
massive sandstones on the Arakan coast north of Cape Negrais may
perhaps be high in the series ; they are little, if at all, altered, and dip
westward at a low angle. They are of a peculiar greenish hue, and
comprise subordinate bands of conglomerate, containing fragments -of
indurated shale and some quartz. It is possible that these sandstones
may be nummulitic ; but as it is almost certain that some of the Negrais
rocks are older tertiary, the separation , of the upper beds is useless
without further evidence.
Serpentine. — The occurrence of masses of serpentine has already
been noticed ; the intrusive rock generally occurs as irregularly-shaped
bosses of varying dimensions,^ but, especially north-west of Prome, dykes
also occur. The rock is a characteristic dark-coloured serpentine ; it
frequently becomes a gabbro, and contains bronzite, and it is intersected
by veins of gold-coloured chrysotile, or sometimes of carbonate of
magnesia. Occasionally it appears to be replaced by a form of green-
stone; or possibly the greenstone outbursts may be distinct, although
the two rocks occur in the same neighbourhood. The hiUs formed of
serpentine may be distinguished at a distance by their barrenness ; they
appear to support little except grass and a few bushes ; the greenstone
hills, on the other hand, are covered with luxuriant forest. In all
probability, the serpentine and greenstone outbursts were originally the
' Koue are sufficiently large to be marked on the map issued herewith.
Extra-Peninsular. J NUMMULITIC GROUP. 715
same, or nearly the same, and the former rock has undergone a chemical
change.
In the neighbourhood of some of the larger masses of serpentine,
the sandstones and shales are converted into greenstone and chloritic
schist; but the effect varies, and in some instances the neighbouring
rocks appear almost unaltered. It is, however, worthy of notice that,
except far to the northward, all the outbursts of serpentine appear eon-
fined to the Pegu, or eastern, side of the range ; and that, as has already
been stated, the rocks on the Pegu side exhibit, as a rule, more altera-
tion than those on the western slopes in Arakan. To the northward,
near the northern frontier of Pegu, serpentine occurs on the highest
hills of the Yoma, and, in one instance at least, on the western side ; but
elsewhere all the outbursts detected are not only east of the main range,
but near the eastern limit of the hill rocks. Not a single intrusion
has been detected in the unaltered nummulitie rocks.
It is unnecessary to describe the distribution of the serpentine masses
in any detail. , They are principally collected in three groups, the most
northern of which consists of the largest mass known, a horse-shoe
shaped intrusion, some 5 miles in length, forming Bidoung hill, amongst
the triassic rocks, nearly due west of Thayetmyo. Several masses occur
north-north-west of Prome, in the southern portion of the triassic area ;
and one of these, forming a long dyke-like mass, running for about 5
miles along the boundary ■ between nummulitics and trias, appears to
alter the triassic rocks, but not the nummulitie beds, although the latter
are greatly crushed. Probably, the difference is owing to the boundary
between the serpentine and nummulitics being a fault. The third group
is west of Henzada, where twenty-one distinct and isolated intrusions
occur, scattered over a length of 26 miles from north, to south, close
to the edge of the unaltered nummulitie area. The largest of these
masses is about 3 miles long by perhaps hal£ a mile broad; but the
majority are less than a mile in diameter. Besides these principal groups,
a few small and unimportant outbursts are found isolated here and there ;
none, however, are found south of the area west of Henzada.
Nummulitie group.— Beyond the much smaller amount of alter-
ation that they have undergone, and the resulting difference in mineral
character from the hill rocks, there is but little to distinguish the num-
mulitie beds of Pegu from the Mai-i and Negrais rocks, except the more
frequent appearance of fossils, and the occasional occurrence of limestone
containing nummulites, especially in the higher part of the group. The ,
ordinary beds are sandstones and shales, unaltered, but still frequently
hard and compact. The distinction from the Negrais rocks is far from
716 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX,
absolute ; the tendency to a passage at the foot o£ the hills has already-
been noticed, and there are, in places within the nnmmulitic area, hills
formed of hardened masses, perhaps older thdn the rocks around, but
which have much the appearance of being the same beds, slightly altered.-
The main outcrop of the nummulitie rocks extends from north to
south throughout the province of Pegu, east of the Arakan hills, and
west of the Irawadi river. The beds have a general dip to the eastward :
but to the southward it is difficult, if not impossible, to define the base
of the formation, on account of the apparent passage, just noticed, from
the nummulitie into the Negrais rocks. To the northward, west of
Thayetmyo, near the boundary of British territory, the section is better
defined, the lowest eocene strata, however, being, to all appearance, fault-
ed against the triassie rocks ; so that here, again, it is uncertain whether
the bottom beds of the tertiary series are exposed. In the Lhowa stream,
16 miles west by south of Thayetmyo, upwards of 4,000 feet of hard
sandstones, mostly grey, and of blue, grey, or yellow shales, are ex-
posed ; but throughout all this thickness of beds, no fossil remains have
been detected, except a few carbonaceous markings. Apparently at a
somewhat higher horizon on the Mahton stream, which joins the Lhowa
from the north, there is a great thickness of massive blue shales, of rather
a dark indigo-blue in general, but sometimes of lighter colour. These
shales cannot be much less than 3,000 feet in thickness ; but they are
almost as unfossihferous as the sandstones and shales on the Lhowa,
the only organic remains found being » some cycloid fish-scales. Above
these shales, again, there is a great thickness of sandstones and shales,
mostly unfossiliferous, but containing a few layers with Nummulites;
and at the top of the whole group is a band of nummulitie limestone,
from 10 to 100 feet thick. This limestone, however, is by no means
continnous : where it occurs, it seems to be the uppermost band of -
the group, but frequently it appears to thin out, and in fact to consist
of irregular lenticular bands in shale, rather than of an unbroken bed.
Denudation may, perhaps, also have removed the limestone m places
before the deposition of the next group. Other bands of limestone occur
at, a lower horizon, but they are more irregular'than that at the top of the
group.
The whole thickness of the formation must be considerable — probably
not less than 10,000 feetj but no estimate of any value can be made,
on account of the imperfect manner in which the rocks are seen. In
Northern Pegu, west of Thayetmyo, the breadth of the eocene outcrop
from east to west is 17 miles; but a few miles to the south the
width diminishes, till, west of Prome, it is not more than 6 miles. The
Extra-Peninsular. J. ABAKAN. 717
belt again expands in breadth near Thombo and Akouktoung, on the
Irawadi, above Myanoung; but the beds in general are very poorly ex-
posed, being covered with gravel and other late deposits. Farther to the
southward, west of Myanoung and Henzada, the nummulitic rocks are
much concealed by post-tertiary gravels ; and from Henzada to Bassein
the only rocks seen to the westward of the Irawadi plain are the altered
Negrais beds. The nummulitic strata reappear west of Bassein, and
continue thence to Cape Negrais ; but stiU the rocks are much concealed
by gravel. Throughout the area, however, limestone with nummulites
occasionally appears amongst the higher beds of the group ; and a pecu-
liar, very fine, white or greenish, argillaceous sandstone, with Foraminifera,
seen at Purian point, east of the Bassein river, and in Long Island on
that river, is also probably one of the uppermost eocene beds. This rock,
known as Andagu-lcyonh, or image stone, is employed by the Burmese
for carving into images of Buddha, and is quarried to some extent for that
purpose.
It is possible that nummulitic beds may crop out in places amongst
the miocene rocks of the Prome district ; but the only known exposure of
the former in Pegu, apart from the belt just noticed as extending along
the eastern side of the Arakan Yoma, is in a small ridge, known as Thon-
doung, or lime hill, about 5 miles south of Thayetmyo. This ridge
consists in great part of nummulitic limestone, resting upon shales and
sandstones ; and in the latter a promising bed of coal, 4 feet thick, was
discovered in 1855, but proved so irregular as to be of no value; the
coal thinning out, and passing into a clay with mere laminse and patches
of coaly matter, in the course of a few feet.^
Petroleum has been found in a few localities in Pegu within the
older tertiary area ; and it. is probable that when mineral oil occurs in
later tertiary beds, it has been derived frorh the underlying eocene strata.
Such, at least, is Mr. Theobald's opinion after surveying the country,
and it is in accordance with the geological distribution of petroleum in
Assam.
Arakan.— To the west of ^the Arakan range, limestone with nummu-
lites has been noticed near Keantali, a vUlageon the coast,, almost on the
1 8th parallel of nortl latitude; and there can be but little doubt that
eocene beds extend along the coast for a considerable distance. The
islands of Ramri and Cheduba consist of sandstones and shales closely
resembling those of Arakan, and doubtless belonging to the same series.**
These beds are also very similar to the nummulitic rocks of Pegu. A
' Oldham : Sel. Eec. Govt. India, Home Dept., No. X, p 99.
2 JUaUet : Kec. G. S. I., XI, p. 191.
718 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX,
few seams of coal have been found, resembling in character the num-
mulitic coal of Assam ; and petroleum is obtained in several places. The
limestone on' the eastern side of Ramri Island, as already mentioned, re-
sembles that of the Arakan coast near Mai-i and Tongup, and may,
therefore, be cretaceous ; but there is no marked character by which the
rocks of the island can be divided into two series.
Farther north the eocene beds probably continue, until they join those
of Assam ; but the intervening country is geologically unknown.
Ooal-bearing rocks of Tenasserim. — Although nothing definite is
known as to the age of the beds associated with coal in Tenasserim, ex-
cept that they are in all probability tertiary, there is more likelihood
that they belong to the older tertiaries than to the newer, because simi-
lar coal-bearing deposits in Assam on the one side, and Sumatra,^ Java,
and Borneo on the other, are known to be of eocene age. It will conse-
quently be best to notice the Tenasserim beds in this place.^ They have
received more attention than the other rocks of Southern Burma, but
still they are but imperfectly known.
The tertiary formations of Tenasserim consist of conglomerates,
sandstones, soft shales, and beds of coal. The conglomerates are never
coarse, the pebbles seldom exceeding a few inches in diameter; the sand-
stones are fine, gritty, and pebbly clean white quartzose sands, or earthy
and of a yellowish tint ; the shale beds are of a bluish-green or blackish
tint, and very regularly disposed in thin lamiase. The coal is also in
thin laminse, with earthy bands.
These coal-bearing deposits, the total thickness of which nowhere
exceeds 900 to 1,000 feet, are never traceable continuously over any
extended area. They are found occupying isolated and detached basins
in the great north and south valley of the Tenasserim river, between the
main dividing range to the eastward separating British Burma from Siam,
and the oiiter ridges to the westward near the sea-coast. The small
tracts of tei-tiary rocks are in all probability of fresh-water origin, and
have much the appearance of having been deposited in the small basins
they now occupy. The only organic remains found are, dicotyledonous
leaves and scales and hones of fish.
The most important coal localities known are Thatay-khyoung and
Heinlap on the great Tenasserim river, about 6 miles apart. At the
former locality there is a workable coal-seam,' 7 feet in thickness
including small partings of shale and clay ; at the latter the seam is
' Geol. Mag., Dec. 11, Vol^II, 1875, pp. .481, &c.
" This account is taken from Dr. Oldham's report : Sel. Kec. Govt. India, Home Dept.,
No. X 1856, pp. 34-56.
riiira-remnsmar. J fEou oauui'. yiy
between 17| and 18 feet thick. The quality of the coal is fair, the pro-
portion of volatile matter being large, but the percentage of ash is
small. At Kaumapying, three-quarters of a mile north of Heinlap,
there is a seam of about 8 feet in thickness, but containing much iron
pyrites. Some coal also occurs on the Little Tenasserim river ; but the
only known seam is not more than three feet thick. The Lenya river
coal, farther south, has already been shewn to be veiy possibly of cre-
taceous age.
Pegu group. — Above the nummulitic formation of Pegu, there is an
immense thickness of soft shales and sandstones, often fossiliferous, but
almost destitute of any horizon distinguished either by mineralogical
characters or by organic remains. The base of this group is assumed to
coincide with the band of nummulitic limestone, already mentioned ; but
there is no clear evidence that this bed is the uppermost rock of the eocene
group, and no unconformity has been detected between the nummulitic
rocks and the next strata in ascending' order. The upper limit of the
middle tertiary rocks of Pegu is equally iU defined, there being a gra-
dual passage from clays and sandstones with marine fossils into the
gravels and sands with silicified fossil-wood and mammalian bones.
The fact is that, without a thorough knowledge of the fossils, the
classification of rocks so obscure and so ill seen as those of Pegu is a
simple impossibility ; and until the tertiary mollusks, echinoderms, and
corals of Southern Asia are better known, it is hopeless to attempt more
than a general rough arrangement of the Burmese tertiaries. In the
absence of sufficient fossil data for the proper determination of different
beds, all that has been attempted at present is to class together all the
marine beds of Pegu without nummulites, and at a higher horizon than
the nummulitic limestone ; and the group thus constituted has been named
the " Pegu group " from its forming the greater part of the Pegu Yoma
between the Irawadi and Sittoung. There can be no doubt that a portion
of this group is of miocene age, and corresponds generally to the Gaj
group of Sind^; but it is probable that representatives of other forma-
tions are included.
The only approach to a sub-division of the Pegu group that has been
suggested is the separation of a considerable thickness of soft unfossili-
ferous blue shales, which near Prome rest upon the upper nummulitic
strata, and underlie the typical fossiHferous middle tertiary beds. These
shales'have been called the " Sitsyahn shales," from a village on the
Irawadi, 8i miles above Prome ; whilst the overlying sandstones and shales
with fossils are distinguished as " Prome beds," from their occurrence in
^ See ante, p. 463,'
720 GEOLOGY Of INDIA— BURMA. [Chap.'XXIX.
the neighbourhood of Prome. The Sitsyahn shales consist of blue elunchy
clay, with indistinct bedding, and, except that they are somewhat paler
in colour, .greatly resemble some of the nummulitic shales. The thickness
of the sub-division is about 800 feet, and the beds have been traced for
a considerable distance along the upper limit of the nummulitic rocks in
the Prome district.
The Prome beds succeed the Sitsyahn shales conformably, and are
composed of grey sandstones, occasionally hard, but frequently argilla-
ceous or shaly, hard yellow sandstones, and shales or clays of > various
colours. A section of about 2,500 feet of these beds is seen opposite
Prome on the right Bank of the Irawadi, and probably a much greater
thickness exists east of the river. One of the most fossiliferous beds is
a band of blue clay exposed at Kama on the Jrawadi, 18 miles above
Prome. The position of this band is high, and, above it, a bed, abounding
in Tmritelltz, and a hard sandstone containing corals belonging to the
genus Cladocera, are the highest rocks of the group, and mark the passage
into the fossil-wood beds.
In one locality, Minet-toung (Myay-net-toung), 24 miles east-south-
east of Thayetmyo, a bedded volcanic rock occurs, consisting of greyish
trap, interstratified with the rocks of the Pegu group, and, to all appear-
ance, contemporaneous. Nothing has been ascertained as to the source
of this igneous formation.
It is almost useless to give any palaeontologlcal details. Foraminifera
and IHchinodermata are rare, and the moUusca are not, as a rule, very
characteristic forms. A sessile cirriped, very common in some beds,
closely resembles Balanus sublmvis of the miocene in Sind. A few small
crabs occur ; small corals and sharks' teeth are common.
The Pegu group forms nearly the whole of the great range of hills,
known as the Pegu Yoma, between the Irawadi and Sittoung, no older rocks
being known with any certainty to occur in the country between the
two rivers. The area occupied by the middle tertiary beds is very broad
to the northward, where it extends from considerably west of the Irawadi
to the base of the metamorphic hills east of the Sittoung, and contracts
gradually betVeen the alluvial plains of the two rivers to the southward,
till it terminates in a long narrow spur at Rangoon, West of the
. Irawadi, the Pegu group extends to a little below Prome, and some hills
on the opposite side of the river below Prome are formed of the same
beds. It is, however, not quite certain that no older rocks appear
between the Irawadi and Sittoung ; for in some beds in Eastern Prome
a species of Pseudodiadema, a genus of echinoderms . with cretaceous
affinities, has been found, and a Terebratula with a very cretaceous aspect
Extra-Peninsular. J PLIOCENE FOSSIL-WOOD OEOUP. 721
was obtained near tlie town of Pegu. " In the former case the beds
appear to be high in the Pegu group j but owiag to the great extent to
which the surface of the country is concealed, both by gravel and other
alluvial deposits, and by forest, it is most difficult to make out the
geology satisfactorily, and lower beds may be brought up to the surface
by faults or otherwise. In the case near Pegu the position of the beds
is uncertain.
Newer tertiary beds in Arakan. — On the Araban coast, in latitude
16° 30' 50*, is a small island known as Kaurangyi (Koran ji), composed
of calcareous sandstone or earthy limestone, of a very pale brown or
cream colour, and containing eehinoderms, moUusks, sharks' teeth, and
other fossils. The s^me rock- occurs also at Nga-tha-mu on the main-
land opposite Kaurangyi Island, but has not been detected elsewhere.
Amongst the fossils the most abundant are a species of Ldbvphora
(Hckinodiscus) and an Hckinolampas, apparently H.jacquemontii, one of the
commonest fossils of the Gaj group in Sind : the Hchinodiscus also closely
resembles a Gaj species. The bed is somewhat similar to the " miliolite "
of Katty war, and may represent a portion of the Pegu group ; but it is
perhaps more probably of later date. One of the sharks' teeth, however,
closely resembles one found in the Pegu group south of Thayetmyo.
Pliocene fossil-wood group. — The highest member of the tertiary
series in Pegu is distinguished by the abundance of silicified dicotyle-
donous wood, and is the source whence all the fragments of that
substance, so abundant in the older and newer alluvial gravels of the
Irawadi, are derived. The fossil-wood group is much coarser than the
underlying formations, and consists of sands, gravels, and a few beds of
clay or shale, all, as a rule, being soft and incoherent ; although occasion-
ally hard sandstone or conglomerate bands occur. The group is thus
sub-divided : —
a. Fossil-wood sands. — Sand, in part gravelly and conglomeratic, cbaracteriSed
by a profusion of concretions of iron peroxide. '
h. Fine silty clay, with a few small pebbles.
c. Sands, shales, and a few conglomerate beds, with a little concretionary iron
peroxide.
The lowest bed c passes downwards into the marine bands of the
Pegu group, and contains, sparingly, rolled fragments of silicified wood,
and a few mammalian bones. Some sharks' teeth also occur. The
thickness of none of these sub-divisions has been clearly ascertained ; but
-the lower sands must comprise bed^ some hundreds of feet thick. The
fine silty clay does not exceed about 40 feet in thickness. This bed is
quite unfossiliferous, neither fossil-wood nor bones having been found
y 1
722 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
in it, and pebbles are rare, though a few occur. It thus forms a marked
band in the group, and contrasts with the beds above and below it.
The upper fossil-wood sands and gravels are by far the most import-
ant members of the formation, and it is from them that the greater
portion of the sUicified wood is derived. This wood occurs in the form
of large and small masses, some being trunks of trees 40 or 50 feet
long ; usually, however, such masses display marks of attrition, as if the
tree stems before being silieified had been transported, to a distance
and rolled. The wood is always, or nearly always, exogenous j a few
rolled fragments of endogenous wood found in newer formations being
nevertheless, in all probability, originally derived from the present group.
The wood is not coniferous j but owing to the very considerable amount of
decomposition it had undergone previous to silicification, its nature is
difficult to determine. Besides the fossil-wood, another characteristic
of this portion of the group is the abundance of concretionary nodules
of hydrated iron peroxide j these are in places so numerous as to have
furnished a supply of iron-ore for the native , furnaces. Mammalian
bones are of only local occurrence. i
The following is a list of the Vertebrata, exclusive of sharks' teeth,
hitherto obtained in the Irawadi valley from the beds of "the fossil-wood
group :—
' Mammalia.
Ta/pvrus, sp.
Equus, sp. [vadicus.
Sippopotamtis (Sexaprotodon) ira-
* Merycopotamus dissimilis.
Cerviis, sp.
Yishnutherium iravadicum.
Ursus, sp.
* Elephas (Steffodon) cliftii.
* Mastodon latidens.
* 31. sivalensis.
Rhinoceros iravadieus,
H., sp.
i
£os, sp.
E^PTILIA.'
Crocodiltis, sp. Emys, sp.
GJtarialis, sp. Trionyx, sp.
Testudo, sp. JEmyda, sp.
* Colossockelys atlas.
* Those marked with an asterisk are also found in the Siwaliks of the Sub-Himalayas.
It has been shewn^ in the chapter on the Siwalik fauna that the mam-
maliferous beds of the Irawadi valley are of approximately the same age
1 These genera are recorded amongst the Ava specimens in the collection of the Asiatic
Society, Falconer, Cat. Fos. Eem. Vert. Mu .As. Soc, 1859, p. 30; but as all the specimens*
were unlabelled, there is some doubt about the locality.
^ See ante, p. 588.
.Extra-Peninsular. J pliocenk fossil-wood group. 723
as the Siwaliks, or plioeenej if the views as to the relations of the Siwalik
fauna advocated in the present work be accepted. Silicified wood abounds
in places in some of the Siwalik beds of the Punjab and in the Manchhar
beds of Sind ; but in the Sub-Himalayan Siwaliks remains of trees are
carbonised, not silicified, and there is no great mineralogical resemblance
between the Siwaliks and the pliocene sands and gravels of Burma. In-
dependently of the fact that the rocks supplying the materials from
which the beds have been derived east and west of the Bay of Bengal
are probably very distinct, there is some doubt as to the conditions under
which the Burmese beds were deposited, owing to the frequent occurrence
of sharks^ teeth ; and it has been suggested that the f ossiUwood group
may have been, in part at least, marine or estuarine. The sihcified
wood itself is never bored by xylophagous moUusca {Teredinida or FAola-
did(B), ; and as in India, at the present day, not only all wood floating on
the sea, but all found anywhere in tidal creeks, and even the dead trunks
and branches of trees in places flooded by the tide, are riddled by boring
moUusks, it is extremely improbable that the wood found in the
Burmese pliocene beds can have been immersed for any length of time
in salt water ;_whilst the tree-stems can scarcely have been silicified before
being imbedded, as they would have been in that case too heavy to be
transported. It is true that the beds containing sharks' teeth are not
those in which the- fossil-wood is most abundant; but still some frag-
ments of wood occur with the teeth, and mammalian bones are common.
The beds generally are much too coarse for estuarine deposits ; and if
they are marine, it is difficult to understand why no mollusks or echino-
derms, &c., occur. On the whole, it is most probable that the fossil-
wood beds, like the Siwaliks and Manchhars, are fluviatile or subaerial,
deposited by streams and rainwash, and that the sharks inhabited rivers,
as some species do at the present day.
But another distinction between the Burmese and Indian pliocene
beds requires notice, as it indicates a wide diflerence in the later geolo-
gical history of the two countries. The Siwaliks, as has been amply
shewn in the chapters relating to the Sub-Himalayan tocks, have been
greatly disturbed, turned on end, and compressed by a lateral thrust.
The fossil- wood beds of Pegu and Upper Burma exhibit very slight dis-
turbance, and are generally horizontal. It is thus evident that the great
changes to which the Sub-Himalayan ranges, and probably a considerable
proportion of the Himalayan elevation, are due, did not affect the Irawadi
valley, or only affected it very slightly.
The fossil-wood beds in Pegu are evidently the mere remnants of a
formation which once occupied a far more extensive area, the former
724) GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
existence of the beds being shewn by the occurrence in abundance of
fragments of silicified wood far beyond the present limits of the group.
At present the only country within British territory where the beds still
occupy a considerable area is in Northern Prome. These pliocene strata are
rather extensively distributed east of the Irawadi, between Prome and the
frontier ; and some large patches still exist, although much denuded, on
the west of the river, in the neighbourhood of Thayetmyo. Judging,
however, from the occurrence of the larger blocks of fossil-wood alone,
and neglecting the small fragments in the alluvial gravels, the beds of
the present group formerly extended far to the southward, probably
along the whole eastern side of the Arakan Yoma, and almost certainly
as far as Kangoon along the Pegu range. A considerable area in the
Sittoung valley, north of Tonghoo, is also occupied by the fossil- wood beds ;
but no tra,ces of the former existence of this group is found south of the
Kaboung stream, which joins the Sittoung, from the westward a little
below Tonghoo. There is rather more clay associated with the pliocene
beds in the Sittoung than in the Irawadi valley ; whilst in two small
outlying patches, east and north of Tonghoo, the group is represented
by a form of laterite containing numerous pebbles.
Tertiaries of Upper Burma. — The Irawadi valley, from the
British frontier to the neighbourhood of Ava, where the metamorphic
area is entered, consists of the same tertiary rocks as are traversed by
the river in Pegu ; but the newer beds with mammalian bones and fossil-
wood occupy, comparatively, a much larger area than in Pegu. It is
uncertain whether any true nummulitic rocks occur in the neighbourhood
of the river, or whether all the fossiliferous clays, shales, &c., should be
referred to the Pegu miocene group; but the latter is certainly well
represented. From the pliocene gravels the majority of the mammalian
remains hitherto collected in Burma have been obtained.
About 50 miles above Ava, the river again runs through tertiary
rocks, in which, near Thingadau, some coal has been found. The quality
is not very good, but some of the seams are from 3 to 5 feet thick.
Nothing is known as to the extent of the coal-seams, nor have any
fossils been found to shew the age of the beds ; but they are probably
eocene.
The most important petroleum wells in Burma are at Yejian-khyoung,
60 miles north of the British frontier. The age of the rocks has
not been ascertained ; they contain marine fossils, and probably belong
to the Pegu group. The wells are situated on an anticlinal j all the
rocks are very soft— too much so for any fissures to remain open in them
and the mineral oil is apparently derived from a porous stratum.
Extra-Peninsular.] VOLCANIC ROCKS. 725
Extinct volcano of Puppa. — About 50 miles north-north-east o£
Ye-nan-khyoung, and 25 to 30 miles east- south-east of Pagan, both large
towns on the Irawadi, the extinct volcano of Puppa^ rises to a height of
about 3j000 feet above the undulating country, composed of pliocene
sands and gravels. The mountain has preserved its original form to some
extent ; but the crater has been greatly broken down by denudation, and
the rim completely cut away at one point, where the drainage from the
interior has made itself a means of exit. The peak consists of ash
breccia ; but lava-flows, mostly trachytic, form the lower slopes and the
surface around the base of the volcano. Amongst these flows, some
consist of a very beautiful porphyry, with crystals of pyroxene.
The horizontal beds of gravels and sands around the base of the
volcano contain fossil-wood and ferruginous concretions, and belong
apparently to the pliocene fossil-wood group. They are capped by the
lava-flows, and contain pumice and volcanic fragments ; and in one place
a bed of ash breccia was found interstratified with them. It appears
highly probable, therefore, that the volcano was active in pliocene times ;
but it may have continued to emit lava and scorisB at a later period.
Far to the northward, in Yunnan, in latitude 25°, another extinct
volcano has been observed near Momein.*
Trachyte in South-western Pegu. — About 4 miles east by north
of the village of Byangyee on the Bassein river, 14 miles south of
Nga-pu-tau', and 30 miles south of Bassein, a mass of trachyte occurs,
about 6 feet in diameter, and known in the neighbourhood as " kyouk-
ta-lon.'^ The relations of this mass are obscure, but it may be part of an
intrusive pipe vein : there is no reason to suppose that the block can
have been transported from a distance. It is remarkable that the spot is
only 15 miles east of a straight line from Barren Island, an active
volcano in the Bay of Bengal, to Puppa. It is by no means improbable
that the Momein volcanic outburst is connected with the same line of
vents, and that it is on the prolongation of the great chain of volcanoes
traversing the Malay Archipelago, or the Moluccan band of some writers ;
the idea, so commonly put forward in text-books, that the northern
extremity of this volcanic Hue is to be found in Ramri and Cheduba,
being due to a mistaken notion as to the nature of the mud volcanoes in
those islands : the real character of the latter outbursts will be explained
presently, after a brief notice of the post-tertiary and recent formations
of Burma.
1 J, A. S. B., XXXI, 1862, p. 215.
' Anderson : Report on tte Expedition to Western Yunnan, pp. 90, 312.
726 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BUEMA. [Chap. XXIX.
Post-tertiary deposits : laterite.— Here and there, on the edge
of the alluvial tracts of the Irawadi and Sittoung rivers in Pegu and
Martaban, laterite of the detrital low-level type is found, forming, as
usual, a cap to other rocks, and having a very low dip towards the river
from the sides of the valleys. The laterite appears to form the base-
ment bed of the post- tertiary gravels and sands ; and laterite gravels, ,
apparently derived from the denudation of the massive laterite, are largely
dispersed through the older alluvial deposits.
A few patches only of laterite occur in the Myanoung district, west
of the Irawadi ; but the rock is more common along the western foot of
the Pegu Yoma. To the east of that range laterite is generally want-
ing; but to the east of the Sittoung river there is a well-marked belt, of
this formation along the base of the metamorphic hills. The lateritic
rock here forms a plateau, rising 50 or 60 feet above the alluvium of the
Sittoung valley. Some laterite is also found in Tenasserim, whence it
extends into the Malay Peninsula.
Older alluvial sands and gravels. — Along the margin of the
Irawadi ahd Sittoung alluvium, there is a broad, but interrupted, belt of
undulating ground, clearly distinguished from the flat alluvial plains near
the river, both by the greater inequaHty of its surface and by its more
sandy character. This tract is locally known as " Eng-dain," or the
country of the Eng tree {Dipterocarpus grandiflora); but the same name is
naturally applied to the very similar sandy tracts occupied by the pliocene
fossil-wood group, so that the popular distinction does' not precisely
coincide with the geological limits of the formation.
The Eng-dain tract is composed chiefly of gravel, . derived in a krge
measure from the neighboijring hills, but partly from a distance. A
portion of the deposits, as on the edge of the Ganges valley,^ may simply
be "bhabar," the detritus washed from the surface of the hills by rain
and small streams, and forming a slope at the base of the range ; but in
Pegu, as in other countries with a heavy rainfall, this slope is inconsider-
able, and a great portion of the alluvial gravels are simply stream and
river deposits. Similar beds of sand and gravel are found in many
places underlying the argillaceous delta deposits of the Irawadi, and are
evidently of more ancient origin.
Besides the fringe, of variable width, formed by the gravels along the
edge of the older rocks, large tracts of the same older alluvial deposits are
found in places isolated in the delta, forming occasionally ground raised
to a considerable height above the flat country around. One such tract,
about 20 miles long from north-east to south-west, by 10 miles broad,
' See ante, p, 403.
Extra-Peninsular. ] delta OP irawadi. 727
occurs east of Nga-pu-tau and south of Bassein ; another, of about the
same dimensions, lies south-west of EaUgoon. These areas may he
ancient hhangar deposits, or they may he caused by local upheaval.
Delta of Irawadi. — Except in the immediate vicinity of the river
channel, there is no important expanse of alluvial deposits in the valleys
of the Burmese rivers ; the beds of all, immediately above their deltas,
are formed in places by older rocks, and there is no such continuous
alluvial plain as is found along the course of the Ganges and Indus.
Small tracts of alluvium occur, as usual, every here and there; but the
•wide undulating plains in the neighbourhood of the river in Upper
Burma are composed, not of river alluviimi, but of the pliocene fossil-
wood deposits'.
Compared with the Gangetic and Indus deltas, those of the Irawadi
and other Burmese rivers convey an idea of imperfection and backward-
ness, as though the latter were of more modern growth than the
former, and had made less progress towards the formation of a great
fertile plain. The Salwin cannot be said to have any delta at all ; and
in the Irawadi delta, as has already been mentioned, elevated tracts, both
of rock and of the older alluvial deposits, occur in the neighbourhood
of the sea. Considering the size of the river, the Sittoung delta, if the
alluvial plain extending to the northward beyond Tonghoo be included,
is proportionally more extensive than that of the L'awadi ; but still the
broad Gulf of Martaban extends into the very mouth of the Sittoung
river.
The Irawadi delta^ extends from the Rangoon river to the Bassein
river, and the head of the delta may be placed near Myanoung.^ The
first important distributary — that forming theJiead of the Bassein river —
leaves the main river a little above Henzada ; but water overflows in
floods some miles above Myanoung, and finds its way to the sea by the
Myit-ma-kha Khyoung, the origin of the Rangoon river. The various
rivers and creeks of the Irawadi delta are said to be far less liable to
change than those of the Ganges and Indus ; but it must be remembered
that the authentic history of the latter rivers, and especially of the
fadus, extends much farther back than does that of the Irawadi. The
general surface of the delta near the sea, with the exception of the
higher tracts already mentioned, diffei's but httle in elevation from that
1 Theobald : Rec. G. S. I., Ill, p. 21.
" Mr. Theobald considers Mengyi, 13 miles below Myanoung', .the apex of the delta; and
taking Purian Point, east of the Bassein riyer, and Elephant Point, west of the Eangoon
river, as the two lateral angles, he estimates the distances from Mengyi to Elephant and
Purian Points as 129 and 176 miles respectively, the two points being 137 miles apart.
The area of the entire delta would thus be 8,766 miles.
728 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
of the great Indian rivers ; and Mr. Theobald considers that at least 2,000
square miles must be below the level of high spring-tides. Large
marshes or jhils (" eng," in Burmese) are found occupying the depressions
between the raised banks of the principal streams; and the whole region,
especially in the neighbourhood of the sea, consists of a network of
tidal creeks. Little appears to be known as to the progress of the delta
seaward: judging by the contour of the coast, it would appear that
the Irawadi, owing to its far greater size, and perhaps to the larger pro-
portion of silt transported by its waters, had pushed its delta seaward far
beyond the Sittoung. The Salwin traverses for the most part an area
of hard metamorphic rocks, and probably brings down but little detritus ;
so that the conversion of the Gulf of Martaban into land, if it is ever
to be effected, must depend largely upon the deposits from the Irawadi.
I The alluvial plain and delta of the Lower Irawadi consist mainly of
a clay ^ very similar to that found in the Gangetic plain, but containing
much less lime, and, in consequence, poor in kankar. The colour is
generally yellowish-brown, sometimes reddish, owing to the presence of
peroxide of iron. The proportion of sand varies, and is, on the whole,
greater than in the Gangetic alluvium. A few thin layers of sand occur,
interstratified with the clay ; and a band of dark-blue or carbonaceous
clay, a few inches in thickness, has been noticed in several localities.
The clay, in many places towards tbe head of the delta, is seen to
rest upon pebbly sand, and the latter is frequently found beneath the
clay in the delta itself ; wells being sunk tbrough the argillaceous surface
formation to the porous stratum beneath. In the absence of any bor-
ings, however, it is impossible to say wbat tbe nature of the beds at a
depth below the surface may be ; and it is not clear whether the sand is
the underlying formation throughout, or whether it is merely intercalated
between beds of clay.
On the surface of the clay, in the immediate neighbourhood of the
river, deposits of silt and sand are found in some places, and resemble
the khadar deposits of the Ganges vaUey. No extensive area, however,
is covered by these sandy beds ; they form a narrow belt along the river "
channel above the influence of the tide, and occupy a ratber larger area
around Pantanau. The deposits of the Sittoung alluvial plain closely
resemble those of the Irawadi.
' Mr. Theotald considers this clay marine or estnarine, but no fossils have been found
in it ; and Ms main arguments, founded on the similarity between the clays of the Irawadi
and Gangetic deltas, are of course favourable to the fluviatile origin of the Irawadi day, if
that of the Ganges be also, as has already been contended [fmU, p, 393), of fresh-water
origin.
Extra-Peninsular.] MUD volcanoes op RAMEI, etc. 729
littoral concrete of Arakan coast.— In many places on the
Arakan coast, and especially along the course of several of the less
sheltered tidal creeks, a more or less compact calcareous sandstone, con- '
taining shells and corals of recent species, is found at some elevation
above the level of the highest tides. The. rock is porous, evidently
formed by the cementation of shells, sand, &c., by carbonate of lime ;
and precisely similar to the littoral concrete of Bombay, Kattywar,
&c. As in "Western India also, the presence of this calcareous rock on the
Arakan coast affords, evidence of a rise of land within a geologically
recent period.
On the shores of Ramri and Cheduba, the evidence of elevation is
very marked, and some details of the amount and date of the latest move-
ments have been recorded. ^ By these accounts it is shewn that the last
rise of the land took place about 1760, and varied in amount from 9 to
22 feet, being greatest, in the north of Cheduba, and less to the south-
east and north-west.
A few sand dunes are found on the Arakan c'oast, but they are small
and unimportant.
Mud volcanoes of Ramri, &C.T-The peculiar geological pheno-
mena presented by the so-called " mud volcanoes " of Arakan and Burma
deserve a passing notice. The best known vents are those of Membu '^
(Menbo or Memboo) on the Irawadi, 43 miles north of the British fi'on-
tier, and those of the islands of Ramri and Cheduba on the Arakan
coast ; a few others are reported, but they are small and isolated, and
consist only of temporary outbursts.*
The Ramri mud volcanoes are more interesting than the others, since
they alone, so far as is known, are subject to paroxysmal eruptions of
great violence, and from them alone stones have been ejected and flames
emitted. Some of the principal phenomena may be briefly described
here. There are about a dozen or rather more vents in R^mri Island
itself, more than half that number in Cheduba, and a few in the other
1 Halsted : .T. A. S. B., X, 1841, p. 434 ; see also Mallet : Rec. G. S. I., XI, p. 190 ; and
Map of Arakan Islands.
2 For a description of the mud volcanoes of Membu by Dr. Oldham, see Yule's
t' Narrative of the Mission to the Court of Ava in 1855," p. 339. The Ramri and Cheduba
mud volcanoes are described, with full references to earlier accounts, by Mr. Mallet : Rec.
G. S. I., XI, p. 188. Figures of the cones are given in both cases. Mr. Malltt's paper
was published after page 379 of the present work was printed ; hence the omission of a
reference.
3 No " mud volcanoes " are found in the Indian Peninsula or in the Himalayas ; but there
is one in Assam, and there are some on the Baluchistan coast, west of the British frontier.
See for descriptions. Trans. Bom. Geog. Soc., IX, p. cviii j X, p. 154 ; Stifle : Q. J. G. S., 1874
p. 50. The details differ in no respect from those of the K£mri vents.
730 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
neighbouring islands. Near Kyouk-phyu (Kyauk or Kyouk-phyoo) in
Ramri, six occur in a line, within a distance o£ about a mile and a half,
along the summit of a low broad ridge.
Many of the vents consist of truncated cones, built up of the dried
mud ejected by outbursts of gas. The crater, filled with mud, more
pv less liquid or viscid, through which the gas escapes, occupies the top
of the conical hillock. The majority, however, of the Ramri '' mud
volcanoes " consist of mounds composed, on the surface, of angular frag-
ments of rock, and having scattered over them a few small mud cones
of trifling height (from a few inches to 8 or 10 feet), with craters at the
top. When gas ceases to be emitted from a vent, the mud is rapidly
washed away by rain, and a low mound remains, composed of angular
fragments of rock, ejected together with the mud ; and a similar process
accounts for the formation of the mounds. The mounds ia Ramri are from
50 to 100 yards in diameter, with a height of from 15 to 30 feet; two of
exceptional size, in Cheduba, near Pagoda hill,. being 200 and 350 yards
across. The cones in which the mud is viscid are very steep, being built
iip partly of small quantities of mud spurted out by the evolution of
gas, so as to form a hard rim round the mud crater, partly of mud
poured out from the crater down the slopes through broken portions of
the rim.
Besides the gas and mud, a small quantity of petroleum is usually
discharged from the vents. The gas consists mainly of marsh gas (light
carburetted hydrogen), mixed probably with some of the more volatile
hydrocarbons usually associated with petroleum. The mud is simply
the grey shale or clay of the tertiary rocks, mixed with water, contain-
ing some salt in solution. There is not the slightest connexion with any
real volcanic action ; no igneous rocks are found, and if some few stones
appear to have been subjected to heat, this is due to the occasional ignition
of the inflammable gases emitted. The only distinction between " mud
volcanoes" and ordinary emissions of marsh gas is, that in the former case
the gas traverses a bed capable of being easily mixed with water, so as
to "form mud," and this, like the water and petroleum, is. carried to the
surface by the gas. The term " volcano " applied to such phenomena
conveys a false idea of the nature of the action.
The association of petroleum with large quantities of marsh gas,
and the frequent emission of water, usually saline, and of gas in abund-
ance, from borings for mineral oil, are .too well known to require the
recapitulation of details. Both the petroleum and the gas are produced
during the slow change of woody fibre into lignite and coal, and both
products are known to be found in many localities amongst the "tertiary
Extra-Peninsular.] MUD VOLCANOES OF RAM EI, ETC. 731
rocks of Extra-Peninsular India and Burma. Not unfrequently both
gas and mineral oil issue with water, in the form of a bubbling spring ;
both water and petroleum being, perhaps, forced to the surface by the
pressure of the gas. Whether a spring of this kind forms a " mud vol-
cano " or not, depends evidently on the nature of the beds traversed on
the way to' the surface. As a rule, the mud in these vents is either of
the same temperature as the air, or a little higher ; ^but in the Ramri
craters a higher temperature has been recorded after the more violent
eruptions.
These paroxysmal eruptions appear to occur at irregular intervals, and
are at times very Ariolent ; they appear frequently, perhaps usually, to
accompany earthquakes ; mud and stones are shot out with great force,
accompanied by large quantities of inflammable gas, which in many
cases takes fire, and lights up the country for miles around. Some of
these eruptions of ignited gas have taken place at sea off the coast of
Ramri; and in one case a small island was formed near False Island, south
of Ramri and south-east of Cheduba ; but it was soon washed away again.
The ejected stones are in all cases fragments of the tertiary rocks, chiefly
shale or sandstone, some of them being from half a cubic foot to a cubic
foot in size, and a few larger ; but the majority are from half an inch
to 5 or 6 in'ches in diameter. The ignition of the gas is ascribed by
Mr. Mallet to frictional electricity,' and not to the high temperature
at which the various ejecta issue ; the fact that the stones and even frag-
ments of lignite thrown out during eruptions are, as a rule, entirely un-
changed by heat, proving that the gas is not in a heated state previous to
emission. A very few fragments of burnt and reddened shale have been
found, and these have probably been calcined by the flaming gas j but they
are rare and exceptional.
It should be noticed that even the fiery eruptions of the "mud' vol-
canoes " of Arakan have nothing in common with the igneous outbursts>
of true volcanoes. In the former, gas emitted at, in all probability, a
low temperature, is ignited, or perhaps occasionally exploded, when, mixed
with atmospheric air, and fla;me ensues ; in the latter red-hot lava and
scorise are ejected, and the appearance of flame is due either to the high
temperature of the substances projected into the air, or to the reflection of
masses of flowing lava by condensed vapours or by cbuds of volcanic dust.
" I. C; p- 202. Mr. Mallet points out that the principle of the hydro-electric machine,
in which the production of electricity of high tension is due to the issue of partially con-
densed steam through small orifices of such fornl as to produce great friction, is similar to
that of violent evolution of gas from such vents as those of Bamri. He also notices the
well-known fact that lightning often accompanies Volcanic eruptions.
732 GEOLOGY OF INDIA— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX,
Islands in the Bay of Bengal. — Of the islands in the Bay of Ben-
galj exclusive of those forming the Mergui Archipelago, which consist
of detafched fragments of the Tenasserim rocks, and of the geology
of which but Httle is known, the only groups requiring notice are the
Andamans and Nicohars, Narcondam and Barren Island.
The Andamans, and probably the Nicobars, are a continuation of the
Arakan Yoma, the islands of Preparis and the Coco's being parts of the
same line of elevation, and serving to connect the northernmost of the
Andaman group with Cape Negrais. The idea expressed in some geologi-
cal works, that the continuation of the line of summits formed by the
Nicobars and Andamans is to be traced in the islands of Cheduba and
Ramri, is not quite accurate, as may be seen by examining a good map.
To the southward, the same line of elevation may, perhaps, be continued
in Sumatra and Java, as the rocks of all these islands present some points
of similarity ; but no trace of the volcanic band, so conspicuously de-
veloped iu Java and Sumatra, is known to exist in the Nicobars or
Andamans; and the northern extremity of the great series of igneous
vents which traverses the Malay Peninsula may probably be found, as
already noted, in Barren Island and Narcondam, and perhaps still farther
north, in the extinct volcanoes of Upper Burma and Yunnan.
Andaman Islands. — Although there has been a large convict settle-
ment on the Andamans for nearly twenty years, and although the islands
have repeatedly been visited by geologists, very little is known of the
rocks, except in the neighbourhood of Port Blair, the British station.
The islands are for the most part covered with dense, almost impenetrable,
forest, and the coasts, owing to coral reefs and rocks, are difficult of
access. The only geological information of any importance hitherto
published is contained in Mr. S. Kur/Zs " Report on the Vegetation of the
Andaman Islands,'^ i and in a few details given by Mr. Ball * of the
neighbourhood of Port Blair.
The Archipelago consists of Great Andaman, comprising North,
Middle, and South Andaman, and Rutland Island, all separated from each
other by narrow straits or inlets; Little Andaman, about 35 miles
south of Rutland Island, and numerous small islets. The larger islands
are hilly, and consist of ranges having a general direction from north by
east to south by west, parallel to the longer diameter of the group and .
to the line running from the North Andaman, through the Cocos and Pre-
paris, to Cape Negrais. The highest elevation. Saddle Mountain, in North
' Putlished in 1870. A Geological map is given, sliewing the nature of the roclis in
all places visited hy Mr. Kurz.
" 3. A. S. B., 1870, XXXIX, Pt. 2, p. 231.
Extra-Peninsular. J ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 733
Andaman, rises to rather more than 3,000 feet above che sea; Ford Peak
on Rutland Island may exceed 2,000 ; but most of the ridges are lower.
Nothing is known of the geology of North Andaman, nor of Little
Andaman ; but they in all probability consist of the same rocks as the
other islands.
The formations of Middle and South Andaman are extremely simi-
lar in appearance to the Negrais rocks of the Arakan Yoma, and in all
probability belong to the same group. The prevailing rock is sandstone,
fine-grained, grey or greenish in colour, and often containing shales
intercalated. Traces of coal occur, chiefly in nests, no true seam having
been detected.
An indurated chloritic rock of a dark-green colour, rather fel-
spathie, intersected by small veins of quartz and calcite, and containing
crystals of quartz and other minerals in small cavities, extends for a
considerable distance northwards from Port Blair, and probably the same
band reappears in the Middle Andaman. This bed has the appearance
of being a greatly altered form of sandstone, and is precisely similar to
one of the rocks occurring in the Arakan Yoma. Serpentine and
gabbro are found largely developed south of Port Blair and on Rutland
Island, and are doubtless intrusive. A " micro-crystalHne syenite " was
noticed in one locality by Mr. Kurz ; it is doubtless a form of the dioritic
rock found locally associated with the serpentine in Pegu.
Unlike the Arakan coast and the Nicobar Islands, the Andamans
appear recently to have undergone depression.^ Stumps of dead trees
are found in several places in the sea ; and although some of these trees
grow in the mangrove swamps, others belong to species which grow
above the limit of high tides. There mre also some records of encroach-
ment by the sea on the coast, since the period of attempts at settlement
in the islands towards the end of the last century ; but these changes
might be due to marine denudation. The evidentje afforded by the tree-
stumps appears, however, indisputable, and it shews that the movement
of sinking must be very recent. No raised coral reefs have been
detected, although some bands of conglomerate on the western side of
the islands may indicate local elevation ; but, on the other hand, the exist-
ence in abimdance of kitchen-middens,^ just where they might be
expected to occur, close to the coast, appears to indicate that the sinking
has been local, or else that the late movement of depression is excep-
tional.
1 Kurz : I. c, p. 4.
2 StoUczka : Proc, A. S. B., 1870, p. 13,
734 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.— BURMA. [Chap. XXIX.
Nicobar Islands. — The geology, of the Nieobars has been described
by Danish and Austrian observers, members o£ the Galathea and Novara
Expeditions.^ The interior of the larger islands has pever been examined ;
butj from observations made on the coast, a fair idea oi the general
geology has been obtained. There is a vague report of the existence
of an active volcano in Great Nicobar, but no traces of recent igneous
rocks have been discovered on the island,; and although Hochstetter
remarks thatthe highest peak of Great Nicobar has the form of a volcano,
he is disinclined to believe that the mountain is really of volcanic
origin.
The rocks of the Nicobar Islands, so far as they are known, comprise
the following formations : —
1. Becent coiral reef formations.
2. Marine deposits, consisting of sandstone, shales and clay.^
8. Serpentine and gabbro (intrusive).
Rink considers that there are sedimentary deposits of two ages, exclusive
of the raised cgral reefs ; and he calls the newer "older alluvium," and the
older " brown coal formation.^' The former comprises some argillaceous
formations in the northern islands ; the latter the sandstones and shales
of which the southern islands are chiefly composed. Hochstetter classes
all together, and is inclined to refer the whole to the newer tertiaries, and
probably to upper miocene.
This view cannot, however, be accepted as conclusive in the case of the
sandstones and shales. Ball ^ has pointed out the similarity of these beds
to those of the Andamans, where the rocks are in all probability older
tertiary or cretaceous ; and the association of serpentine and gabbro is
a character common to the rocks of the Nicobars, the Andamans, and
Arakan., The principal tertiary formations of Sumatra also are known
to be of eocene age ; and it is highly probable that similar rocks to those
of the Sumatran mountains occur in the Nicobar Islands, as the latter
appear to be merely a prolongation of the former. With the excep-
tion of a few obscure vegetable organisms, no, fossils, have been found
in the Nicobar sandstones and shale's.
' Rink, Di,e Nicobariscben Inseln j Kopenbagen 1847 '. Hochstetter, Beise der Novara ;
Geologiscber Tbeil, II, pp. 83-112 ; Vienna, 1866. A translation of tiie latter by Dr.
Stoliczka . was printed in the Records of the Geological Survey of India, II, p. 59. The
geology of the neighbourhood of, Nancowry harbour has also been described by Mr. Ball :
J. A. S. B., 18T0, XXXIX, Pt. 2, p. 25.
2 In Rec. G. S. I., II, pp. 64, 65, &c., the German term "mergel" is translated clay-marls.
This is incorrect, as the beds in question are free from lime : see Bajl, J. A. S. B.,
1870, Pt. 2, p. 27.
3 I. c, p. 27.
Extra-Peninsular. J BARREN ISLAND AND NARCONDAM. 735
If, however, the sandstones and shales of the Southern Nicobars be
older tertiary, it is far from improbable that Rink was right in separating
the whitish yellow clays of Camorta, Nancowry, and others of the
northern islands of the group ; and the newer age of these clays is sup-
ported by the occurrence in ' them of detrital serpentine and gabbro
fragments ; for these igneous rocks are shewn to be of later date than the
sandstones and shales, by being intrusive in the latter. At the same
time the clays in question are, locally, much disturbed.
The whitish clays of Camorta and Nancowry collected by Eink were
found by Ehrenberg to contain Pol^cisiina in great abundance, no less
than 300 species having been identified from Camorta alone.^ The
species are nearly the same as those composing similar clays in Bar-
badoes in the West Indies, and are considered as probably of miocene
The serpentine appears to be much more largely replaced by gabbro
than in the Arakan Yoma, diallage and bronzite being of very common
occurrence. These intrusive rocks break through the shales and sand-
stones, but fragments are associated with the Poli/cistma clays ; and
consequently the period of the serpentine eruptions, although posterior
to the former, was prior to the latter. Serpentine and gabbro are chiefly
developed in the northern islands, Teressa, Bompoka, Camorta, and Nan-
cowry j whilst Tillanchang is almost entirely composed -of ^ these rocks.
The upraised coral reefs are found on the coasts of all the islands in
places ; they form a raised flat fringe, a few feet above the sea, and are
covered by a forest of cocoanut palms. On Car Nicobar, Bompoka,
and several other islands, these coral banks are of great thickness, and are
raised 30 or 40 feet above the sea. The formation is clearly the same as
the " littoral concrete" of Arakan and Western India, but richer in corals ;
and the same conclusions as to a recent rise of land are to be drawn from
the occun-ence of this fringe of sub-recent marine beds. A large collec-
tion of Foraminifera was made from the raised coral reefs of Car Nico-
bar by Prof. V. Hochstetter, and described by Dr. Conrad Schwager.^
Barren Island and Narcondam. — The, last of the Bay of Bengal
islands requiring notice differ entirely from all the others, by being, the
one certainly, the other in all probability, recent or sub-recent volcanoes.*
Barren Island has b;een repeatedly described by various visitors ; Narcon-
1 Monatshefte K. Aiad. Wiss., Berlin, 185.0, p. 476 j Abh, K. Akad. Wiss., Berlin, 1875,
p. 116. Numerous recent and sub-recent fresh-water infusoria from the Nicobars are
described in the same author's " Microgeologie."
2 Eeise der Novara, Geol. Theil, II, pp. 187-268. '
8 For an account of these two islands, with full references to former descriptions, see
Ball, Rec. G. S. I., VI, pp, 81-90.
736 GEOLOGY OP INDIA— BURMA. [ Chap. XXIX.
dam has never been properly examined, and no one appears to have
recorded an ascent to the peak.
Barren Island is about If miles in diameter, and nearly 6 miles in
circumference, the highest peak being about 1,000 feet above the sea.
The island rises from deep water. A high encircling ridge, broken
down nearly to the sea-level on the north-west-by-west side, surrounds
a central hollow, in the middle of which a cone rises to a height of 950
feet, with a small crater at the top. The whole consists of basaltic lava
and ashes, the encircling rim being doubtless the remains of the original
cone, after a large portion had been blown ofE by a violent eruption.
The statement in many geological works, that the sea enters the inner
basin, within the encircling rim, appears to be due to a misunderstanding
of the original description.
This volcano was very active at the close of the last and beginning of
the present century ; of late years it is not certain that any eruptions
have been recorded.
Narcondam, like Barren Island, rises abruptly from the deep sea to a
height of about 1,300 feet. In consists of a tolerably regular cone,
somewhat truncated at the top, where it forms three small peaks. , The
rocks on the beach consist of a conglomerate containing boulders of
trachytie porphyry. The island is encircled by dense forest, which it was
found impracticable to penetrate in the only recorded visit made by
geologists. There can be no reasonable doubt that the island is a volcano ;
but no eruptions have been recorded, and the igneous action to which
the peak is due may be extinct.
GLOSSAEY.
AciciTLAE: (acicula, a little needle). Needle-like, long and fine; a term
applied to crystals.
AcEOGBN : (ciicpos, summit; ylyvofiai, I am formed). A siiMivision of
cryptogamic plants, comprising Eqmsetacece, ferns, mosses, &c.
AcTiNOLiTE : (xtKn's, a ray; Xt'Oos, a stone). A variety of hornblende' or
amphibole, usually of a green colour, and frequently translucent ;
it occurs in Ipng acicular crystals, and is often found in metamor-
pMc rooks.
AcTiNQZOA: (mtri'j, a ray; Z<^ov, animal). A class of Codenterata, called
also Anthozoa. ^
Agate : (derivation said to be from the river Achates in Sicily) . A variegated
form of silica, banded with different colours, or with opaque and
translucent layers alternating. It is commonly found Kning
cavities in basalt and other volcanic rpcks.
Albite : {alhiis, white) . A kind of felspar, usually of a white or grey
colour, and differing from orthoclase or common felspar in contain-
ing soda instead of potash, and in crystallizing in the tricUnic or
anorthic system.
Alg^ : {alga, seaweed). A class of cryptogamic plants, comprising various
aquatic forms, such as seaweeds, and also very many low types,
such as GonferviB and BiatomaeecR.
Alluvium : (oIImo, I wash against) . Clay, silt, sand, and gravel deposited
from water. The term is usually restricted to deposits from rivers,
lakes, and seas, still existing, or which existed in very late geolo-
gical times ; and it is especially appKed to the deposits formed by
rivers when overflowing their banks.
Alum : (alumen). A hydrous double sulphate of alumina and of an alkali.
Common alum contains potash. ~
Alumina : An earth : the sesquioxide of the metal aluminium, containing
two equivalents of the metal and three of oxygen. Alumina
combined with silica is the basis of all clays.
Ambthtst : (afiiBvirTosi). Quartz or rock crystal, of a pink or purple colour,
the colour being due to the presence x)f manganese or iron.
w 1
738 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
Ammonite. An extinct genus of tetrabranchiate ceptalopod moUusca, cham-
bered witMn, and coiled in a plane spiral. The shell is distinguish-
ed from that of the still-surviving genus Nautilus hj the sutures
being much curved and crenulated, and by the siphuncle being
dorsal or external. By many modem palsebntologists the genus
has been divided into several. Ammonites range from car-
boniferous to cretaceous, and are especially characteristic of
mesozoic strata.
Amoephous : (a, privative, and juop^^, form) . A term applied to such
mineral substances as present no appearance of crystallization.
Amphibia: (dp0f, both, and /3(os, life). A class of vertebrate animals, com-,
prising the living frogs, newts, and salamanders, and the extinct
Labyrinthodonta. By some naturalists these forms are classed with
reptiles, but the two differ greatly in .embryonic, characters, and
in the fact that all amphibia breathe with gills during part of their
life, whereas reptiles breathe with lungs throughout.
Amphibole : {a/^^iQoXo^, ambiguous ; the mineral having been confounded
with tourmaline) . See " Hornblende."
Amygdaloid: (d/iuySaA.oi', almond ; elSos, form). A volcanic rock containing
small nodules of quartz, felspar, zeolite, or some other mineral.
These minerals have been deposited in cavities which were origin-
ally,, in most cases, air-bubbles in the molten rock.
Analcime : {avdXKt;, weak ; in aUusion to its weiak electric power when rubbed) .
A zeolite, composed chiefly of silica, alum.ina, ajid soda, and crys-
tallizing in the cubical or monometric system. The ordinary form
is a trapezohedron.
Anamesite : (avdfieao;, intermediate), A fine-grained variety of dolerite or
basalt, in which the constituent minerals are so minutely crys-
tallized, that the rock appears homogeneous, except under the
microscope. ,
Anastomoze : (dj/atrtd/iuiTts, inosculation) . To open into each other. A term
applied to the veins of leaves when they unite to form a network.
AnGIOSPBEMS : (ayy eiov, a vessel; (rwip/ja, seed). The great subdivision of
dicotyledonous phanerogamic or flowering plants, with their seeds
encased. All ordinary dicotyledonous plants, except cycads, conifers,
and Gnetaaece aa^e ajigiospermous.
Annelida : (annellus, a little riag). Annelids, a class of ApMulosa or
Artiaulata, comprising worms, Serpuli^s, &c.
Annulosa : (jcmnulus, a ring). A primary division or subkingdom of
animals, comprisiug worms, crustaceans, insects, &c., and corre
spending, to the Cuyierian Artiaulata.
Anokthic : (av, negative; cJpflos, straight). A system of crystals distin-
guished by having the three axes unequal and all obliquely
inclined to each other.
GLOSSARY. 739
Anthozoa: (AvOoi, a flower-; liwov, an animal). A class of Caelenterata,
called also Actmoeoa, comprising the coral-animals, sea-anemones,
and some other forms.
Ahtrbacite : (&vdpa^, carbon). Coal, deprived of tnost of its Tolatile
ingredients,, and consisting almost Tviiolly of carTbon.
Anticlinal : (^avri, opposite, and kXjVw, I incline). The curvature of strata
in a ridge-like form, the convexity or salient angle being up-
ward.
Anticlinal axis. A line 4rawn along the summit ridge of an anticlinal
curve.
Apatite : (oTraraw, I deceive : the name was given from the resemblance to
other minerals). Mineral phosphate of lime, crystallizing in the
hexagonal system.
Apophtllite : {a/irmi>v\\il!oi, I exfoHate). A hydrous silicate of Kme and
potash, with some fluorine ; allied to the zeohtes, and occurring in
the same manner as zeolites in volcanic rocks. It crystallizes in the
tetragonal or pyramidal system. >
Aqueous ROCKS : (agwa, water). Rocks deposited by water, in contradis-
tinction to igneous rocks, the formation of which has been due to
heat.
Arenaceous : (arena, sand). Sandy or composed of sand.
Argillaceous: (argilla, clay). Composed of clay, or containing a large
proportion of it.
Aekose. a detrital rock, composed of the materials of granite, quartz,
felspar, and mica, and consisting frequently of angular fragments
of those minerals in a sandy or argillaceous matrix.
Aethropoda: {apdpov, a joint; irous, a foot). Those classes of Annulosa
which have jointed limbs : spiders, insects, myriapods, and crusta-
ceans.
Aeticulata: (flwfe*J!ts, diminutive oi artws, a, joiat) . Cuvier's name for
the great animal subkingdom comprising worms, insects, Crustacea,
&c., now classed generally as Annulosa, or subdivided into Annelida
and Arthropoda.
AetiodACT?la : {aprw?, even; SaxruXos, a finger or toe). A subdivision of
the ungulate or , hoofed mammals, having the toes of the feet
either two or four in number. This group comprises the ruminants
and some of the pachyderms of Cuvier, such as the pig.
AsCiDioiDA: (aaKO'^, a bag; J^os, form). A class of Molluscoida^ also
known as Tunicata.
Ash, Volcanic A general name applied to fragments of rock and dust
(lapillse, scorise, &c.) ejected from volcanoes. When consolidated,
the mass forms a breccia, consisting of larger and smaller masses
of various igneous rooks, such as basalt or trachyte, in a finer
matrix. ■
740 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.
Atol : (a Malay word) . A coral island consisting of a more or less perfect
ring of coral rock surrounding a lagoon. The Maldive and
LaccadiTe islands consist of atols.
Adgite : (avyii, lustre). A mineral known also as pyroxene; one of tlie
principal constituents of lavas, and especially of dbleriie. It is
composed of silica combined with, lime, magnesia, iron, and other
hases in varying proportions. Augite differs but little in com-
position from hornblende, and both crystallize in the same system,
the oblique or monoclinic, but the angles differ.
Ayes : (Latin for birds) . Birds : one of the classes of the animal sub-
kingdom of Tertebrata.
Azoio : (a, privative ; ^wi], life) . A term applied to the oldest rocks, in
which no organic remains have hitherto been discovered. See p. 37.
Backwater. A name applied to expanses of salt water close to the coast,
and separated from the sea by sand-spits.
Basalt : (basaltes, Grr. and Lat.) An igneous rock, 'composed of augite
and labradorite, often with olivine in disseminated grains. The
term is chiefly applied to the hard, black, crystalline form of
dolerite, and especially to that variety of the rock which exhibits
prismatic structure.
Basin. A defined area composed of strata, dipping in a concave form from
the circumference towards the interior.
Basset or basset edge. A miner's term for the outcrop of a bed.
Bathymeteical : (/3a0os, depth ; fiirpov, measure) . Distribution according
to depth in the sea.
BateachiA: (jGarpaxos, a frog). The Anura or tail-less Amphibia, includ-
ing frogs and toads.
Bid. a single definite layer of a sedimentary rock, irrespective of thickness.
Belemnite : dSikefiyov, a dart). An extinct genus of dibranchiate Cepha-
lopoda, having a straight, subcylindrical internal shell of great
strength, solid and pointed at one end, and expanded so as to form
a conical chambered- area, known as the phragmocone, at the other.
Belemnites abound in mesozoic rocks, especially in middle second-
ary or Jurassic strata.
Beetl : (j3)7puXXos ) . A mineral composed of silicate of alumina and
glucina, crystallizing in the hexagonal system, and usually occur-
ring in hexagonal pyramids. Emerald is a finely coloured and
transparent variety of this mineral.
BhXbee: (Hindi). See p. 403.
BhXhgae: (Hindi). See p. 404.
Bhil : (Bengali) = jhil : a marsh. See p. 406.
BiOTiTE : (named after M. Biot). Uniaxial or magnesian mica ; a silicate
of alumina, iron, and magnesia, crystallizing in the hexagonal
system, and usually dark-green or black in colour.
GLOSSARY. 74,1
BoTETOiDAL: (fioTpvs, a bundi of grapes; tUos, form). Minerals and rocks
are thns termed when, owing to concretionary structure, the surface
IS raised into numerous convex projections, resembling grapes.
Boulder. A mass of transported rock, too large to he classed as a pebble.
Beachiopoda: (IJpaxluv, the arm; ttous, foot). A- class of bivalve shells,
placed by some naturalists with true moUusca, but by most modern
systematists in the Molluscoida, with Bryozoa and Tunioata or
Asciddoida. The BracJiiopoda may be distinguished from true
bivalve moUusca or Lcrniellibranchiata by their bilateral symmetry,
by the structure of the hinge and texture of the shell, and, in
many cases, by having one valve larger than the other.
Bebccu: (Italian). A rock composed of angular fragments cemented
together.
Beonzite. a mineral allied to pyroxene, consisting of silicate of magnesia,
.with a variable proportion of iron, having frequently a bronze
colour and lustre, and often associated with serpentine. Called
also Enstaiite.
Beown-coal. Lignite of a brown colour, found in tertiary rocks, and so
abundant in certain miocene beds in Germany, as to have been
furnished a name used by many geologists for a particular epoch.
Betozoa : (fipvov, moss; l^Giov, an animal). A class of compound aquatic
animals, called also Folyzoa, forming a coating of cells on sea-
weed, shells, rocks, &c., or else branched aggregates (corallines) .
One of the best known forms is the sea-mat or Flmstra. The
Bryozoa, were formerly classed with the Bad.iata, and subsequently
with MoUusca ; but by most modern systematists they are placed in
the MollusGoida with BracMopoda, to which they are nearly allied
in structure.
Buntee: (German; variegated). The name applied to a subdivision of
the Trias formation in Germany, on account of the prevalence of
variegated sandstones. The term is now used for a group of the
new red sandstone, in England and elsewhere, equivalent to the
German Bunter.
Cjinozoic or Cenozoic : (Katros, recent; 4^wjj, life). The latest great sub-
division of geological time. The name has been applied by some
geologists, in preference to tertiary, in order to preserve unifoml-
ity of nomenclature, and to introduce a term corresponding to
mesozoio and palsBozoic.
Calcaiee gbossiee: (Fr., coarse limestone). The name of an important
subdivision of the French eocene tertiary beds.
Calcaebotis: (oafo, lime). Composed of lime, or containing a consider-
able quantity of it.
Calcitb : (cah>, lime). Mineral carbonate of lime, crystallizing in the hexa-
gonal system.
742 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
Cambeian. a subdivision of palssozoic ro.c]$3, inferior to. the silurian. Tlie
name i^. derived from Cambria or Wales,
Caeboniibeous : {carlo, coaj ; fen, I bear). A subdivision of upper palaBo-
zoio rooks, resting upon the devoniaj;, and beneatL the permian.
The name, is derived from the circumstance that all the most
important coal beds of Western.Europe belong to the formation.
Caenivoea: (caro, flesh; voro,l devour). An order of mammalia, com-
prising cats, dogs, weasels, civets, bead's, seals, &c.
Cataoltsm : (KaraKXuir/ios, inundation). A violent flood or deluge.
Oenomanian : (from Oenomanum, the Latin name for the town of Mans). A
group of the cretaceous system,, nearly corresponding to the upper
greensand of English geologists.
Cephalopoda: (ke^oA.^, head jirous, foot). A, class of mollusks,, comprising
cuttle fish, argonauts, Nautili, Ammonites, Belemnites,, &c.
Cbtagba : (K^Tof, a whale). An order of mammalia comprising whales and
porpoises.
Cekatites : (KEpaf, a horn). A genus of Cephalopoda, nearly- allied to .4m-
OTowies, but distinguished by a more simple form of suture. The
distinction, however, is now known to be less important than was
formerly supposed. The genus is almost peculiar to triassic strata,
though species, have been found in carboniferous beds in India.
Cebtjsite : {cerMssa, white lead). Mineral carbonate of lead.
Chabasitb : (xa|Saf 105, a kind of stone) . A zealitic mineral, a hydrated
silicate of alumina, lime and soda with a little potash, crystalliz-
ing in the rhombohedral system, and generally occurring in ba-
ChaIiObpont or CALCEDomr : (derived,, from, the town of Chalcedon). A
variety of uncrystallized silica, with a waxy lustre, and either
transparent or translucent
Ghalcopteitb : (xctXKoj, brass ; Truptrj/j, pyrites). Copper pyrites, sulphide
of copper and iron, crystallizing in tha pyraniidal. system.
ChaiiE. a soft, white limestone. A rook of thisj kind, belonging to the
upper cretaceous period, is largely developed in England and
France, and has furnished the name used for the period,
Ohab : ' (Hindi ; frequently written chur) . A sandbank in a river. The term
is applied to the banks of sand and silt left dry on, the subsidence
of rivers after the flood, season, and frequently cultivated during
the dry weather.
Chbet. Impure silica, or flinty portions of rocks*
Chieoptbea : {x^ip,h&Ti^; ■KTtpov, wing). An.orderof mammalia compris-
ing the bats.
Chlorite : iyXwpos, green). A hydrated silicate of alumina, iron and mag-
nesia, resembling mica, but of a green colour and very soft, oocuTr
ring chiefly in scales and small crystals in metamorphic rocks.
GLOSSARY. ' 743
Chondeodite : (xo^^pof, grain)!. A silicate of magnesia, with pa*t of ttie
oxygen replaced hj fluorine, occurring usually as yellow or brown
grains in crystalline limestone.
Chrysolite : (^(puo-dj, gold) . A mineral identical with oliTine, composed of
silicate of magnesia and iroii, and crystallizing in the prismatic or
orthorhombic system.
Chetsotile : (j^puijoj, gold; riXoi, hair). A fibrous variety of serpentine
with a silky lustre, and frequently a yellow or green colour.
CinoPODA : (cilium, an eyelash ; ttous, a foot). A name proposed by Dr. Sto-
liczka for Bryozoa.
Class. In zoology, one of the great subdivisions of the animal kingdom,
bel6w the rank of subkingdoms. Ehizopods,- sponges^ corals, echi-
noderms, Crustacea, insects, brachiopods, cephalopods, fishes and
mammals are classes.
Clastic : (KXaoroj, broken in pieces). Detrital: a general term applied to
rocks formed from broken fragments of other rocks. The term is
intended to include breccias, volcanic ash, and re-arranged detritus of
all kinds, as well as ordinary sandstones, congl'omferafces, clays, &c.
Clay ieonstone. A niixture of carbonate of iron and clay, found in beds
and nodules, and espebially common in the coal-measures.
Claystonb. a term of somewhat- loose application, generally used for
compact felspar, felsite, or very felspathio igneous rocks. The
term is also applied to disintegrated felsite, and sometimes, but
rarely, to a sedimentary rock composed of hardened clay.
Cleavage. A fissile structure, not due to' the original bedding of a rock,
nor, as a rulfe, coincident with it. Cleavage is characteristic of
true slates, and has been shewn to be due to pressure exercised at
right angles to the cleavage planes.
Coal. Vegetable tissue, converted into a substance prbpdrtiohally poorer in
water and volatile ingredients; and richer in carbon. Lignite has
undergone less change than coal, but the two. pass into each other.
CcELENTBRATA : {koiKos, hoUow ; ivTEpd, viscera). A group of animals distin-
guished from the lower forms (Infusoria and Protozoa) by having
a hollow digestive cavity. This grdup comprises the Antlwzoa or'
Adimizoa eioA Sy^ozoa, and,, according to some naturalists, the
Sponges.
CoLbssocfiELTS : {Kokoimog, gigantic statue; x^^vf, tortoise). A gigantic
genus of tortoise, found in Siwalik rocks.
Compact, rirm and close-grained : a term applied to rocks.
CoNCHiFEBA : (conoJta, a shell ;/ero, I bear). A name formerly used by some
naturalists for LameUibrancMata.
CoNFOKMABLB.. Beds having their stratification planes perfectly parallel, and
in which the lower has not been eroded before-' the deposition of the
upper.
744 UEULUUY Oi' IJNUIA.
CoNQiiOMEKATE : {^aon, together, and glomero, I collect). Rocks composed of
rounded pebbles cemented together, or imbedded in a sandj argil-
laceous or calcareous matrix.
CoNiFEEJ! : (conms, a cone ; fero, I bear). An order of gymnospermous exo-
gens, including pine and fir trees and their allies, and largely de-
veloped in past epochs.
COPPBE GLANCE. Native sulphide of copper, crystallizing in the prismatic
or orthorhombic system, and known also as chalcocite, redruthite, '
and vitreous copper.
Copper pteites. Sulphide of copper and iron, containing, when pure,
34'6 per cent, of copper, crystallizing in the pyramidal or tetra-
gonal system.
CoPEOLiTE : (xdirpof, dung). Petrified excrement.
CoBAL: (rapaXAtov). A general term for the calcareous structures secreted
by Anthozoa and Hydrozoa.
CoKAL BEEF. A shoal Or low island formed by the growth of corals, and by
the accumulation and consolidation of their debris. In many tropi-
cal seas, archipelagoes of great extent are entirely formed of coral
reefs. These have been shewn to have been built upon sub-
merged land, the reef-building coral animals, which can only
live at certain moderate depths, having gradually built up the
island as the base sank.
CoETiNDUM : (kdrand, Hindi) . Pure alumina, crystallizing in the hexa-
gonal system. Sapphire and ruby are forms of corundum, and
emery is a granular variety, mixed with magnetite or hssmatite.
COSMOGONT: (Koir/ioj, world ; yoc^, origin). An hypothesis of the origin of
the universe.
Cbag. The local name for the pliocene beds of Eastern England.
Ceatbe : (jcpaTrip, a cup). The orifice of a volcano.
Ceinoidba : {Kpivov , a lily ; tlSof , form) . An order of EcMnodermata consist-
ing of a cup-hke body, giving off a variable number of arms
(usually five), and either supported on a jointed peduncle or sessile.
Ceop: Ceop otjt. To appear at the surface. See " Outcrop."
Cbtjstacea : (jyrusta, a shell). A class of arthropodous Awmdosa, or articu-
lated animals, including crabs, lobsters, cyprides, cLrripeds, Squilla,
wood-lice, king-crabs, copepods, trilobites, &c.
Cbyptogamia : (xpuiTTos, concealed ; yafiibi, I marry) . One of the primary
divisions of plants, in which flowers and cotyledonous seeds are
wanting.
Ceystal: (KpiffToAAos, ice). A mineral or salt having regular polyhedral
structure. All crystalline forms known are divided into six systems :
the cubical or isometric ; the pyramidal, dimetric, or tetragonal ;
the prismatic, trimetric, or orthorhombic ; the hexagonal or rhom-
bohedral ; the monoclijlic or oblique ; and the triclinic or anorthic.
a LOSS A RY. 745
Ctenoid : (xre/s, a comb; JSos, form). An order of fishes- in Agassiz' ar-
rangement, distinguished by their scales being pectinated on the
posterior margin.
Cubical. A system in crystallography in which all the three axes are equal
and at right angles to each other.
CrCADEACBiE. A great subdivision or natural order of gymnospermous
exogens, comprising a few living genera, as Gycas ^nd Zamia, and
numerous extinct .forms.
Cycloid : (kukXos, a ring ; ^I?os, form). An order of fishes, in Agassiz' ar
rangement, distinguished by having round smooth scales, with a
simple margin.
Ctclopteeis : (KvK\6i, a ring ; eltpls, a fern). A genus of fossil ferns,
distinguished by having more or less rounded leaflets,, without a
midrib, but with dichotomous veins, radiating from the base to
the margin.
Ctpeis. a genus of bivalve entomostracous freshwater crustaceans, having
two flattish valves, with elliptical outlines.
Debris : (debris, fragments or wreck) . An accumulation of loose material
derived from the waste of rocks.
Degradation. The wasting and wearing away of rocks by atmospheric or
, aqueous action.
Deinosauria. See " Dinosav/ria."
Dbinothbeium. See " Dinothervum."
Delta. The alluvial land near the mouth of a river. The name was
originally given to the triangular tract near the mouth of the Nile,
and was derived from the resemblance of this area in form to the
Greek letter A .
Denudation : (dewudo, I lay bare) . The removal of the superficial crust of
the earth by the agency of the atmosphere and water.
Deposit: (depono, I lay down). Aiiy substance originally suspended or
dissolved in water and precipitated therefrom.
Detritus : (detero, I rub off) . Material removed by disintegration and other
agencies from the surface of rocks.
Devonian. A subdivision of palaeozoic formations, resting upon the silurian,
and overlain by carboniferous. The name is derived from the
county of Devon in England.
Diabase : (lia^aaii, a passage). A compound of plagioclase felspar (oH-
goclase, labradorite, albite or anorthite), with pyroxene and some
chlorite. The rock in its fresh state is dark-green ; it is usually
fine-grained or micro-crystalline, and is distinguished from dolerite
by the. presence of chlorite.
DiALLAOB : (iLoKhxyri, difference). A foliated form of pyroxene, usually of a
green or greenish grey colour. The name is also applied to forms
of the allied minerals, bronzite and hypersthene.
. 746 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.
DiASPOBB : {Svaanslpio, I scatter) . A hydrate of alumina, crystallizing in the
prismatic system, and fotmd in small scattered crystals associated
, with corundum.
DicoTTLEDONOTJS : (St's, twice ; KomXijSfciv, seed lobe). Exogenous : the great
suhdivision of phanerogamous or flowering plants, distinguished
by having seeds with two or more lobes or cotyledons, leaves with
divided veins, and wood, if any, arranged in concentric layers.
DiCTNODON : (2/5, twice ; Kuwi', a dog ; o^owf, tooth). An extinct reptile with
two canine-like teeth, found hitherto in South Africa and India
only.
Dike. See " DyJce."
Diluvium: (Lat., a deluge). This term isusedi, as opposed to, alluvium, to
indicate deposits produced by extraordinary water action. It was
thus applied to the drift gravels, boulder clays, and erratics attri-
buted originally to a deluge ; and although the name is now but
little used by English geologists, it is still commonly applied by
French and German writers in the sense of post-tertiary or
pleistocene.
DiMETEiC : (2(f, twice ; /iErpoi', a measure). A name formerly used by Dana
for the pyramidal system in crystallography, now called by him
tetragonal.
DiNOSAUEiA : (Setj/oj, terrible ; aavpa., lizard) . An extinct order of reptiles
having marked affinities with birds. The order included, amongst
other genera, Igncmodon and Megalosaurus.
DiNOTHBEiUM : (SnVdj, terrible ; drjpiov, a' beast) . A genus of proboscidian
mammals, having a very different dentition from Hl&phas and
Mastodon.
Dio&iTB : (hopdta, I distinguish). A rock, usually fine-grained, of a dark-
green colour, and consisting of felspar (not orthoclase) and
hornblende.
Dip. The angle at which a stratum slbpes from the horizontal plane of
the earth's surface.
DiPTEEA : (Si's, twice ; irTspov, a wing). An order of insects, including flies
and gnats, and distinguished by having' only two wings.
DoAB: (do, two ; db, water • Persian). The area between two confluent
rivers, and the confluence itself.
DoLEEiTB : (SdAof, a trick 'or deceit). A rock of volcanic origin, composed of
labradorite and pyroxene; and distinguished from trachyte and its
allies by the much larger proportion of bases to silica.
Dolomite: (named after Dolomieu). Magnesian limestone : a carbonate of
lime and magnesia in equal proportions when pure.
Dune : (Fr.) A sand-hiU.
Dtkb. Volcanic or plutonic rock,. filling a crack in a pre-existing forma-
tion.
GLOSSARY. 74,7
EcHiNODEEMATA : (l^'t'of , a hedgeKjog ; depfia, sfcim) . A great class of in-
vertebrate animals, including seai urcMns, star-fishes, brittle-stars,
feather-stars, sea-slugs {Holuthwmdiea}, &c.
Edentata : (e, -without ; dens, a tooth) . An order of mammalia in which
the teeth are absent or deficient. The sloths, pangolins, anteaters,
and armadillos .belong to this order.
Efflorescence: (effioresco, 1 -pni forth flowers). A saline crust forming
on the surface of the ground or on rocks.
Blvak. a Cornish term, for a felsitic rock, occurring in dykes. For
Elvamte, see "Porphyry."
Blttritm: : (jiXvTpov, a cover) . The wing case of a beetle, being one of the
anterior pair of wings which are modified into sheaths to cover the
second pair.
Enaliosatjeia : (IvaAioj, marine; (raiipa, lizard)'. An extinct order of, rep-
tiHa, fitted to live in the sea, and comprising IcMhyosomrus, Plesi-
osati/rus, &c. It is now considered to include two distinct orders,
the loMhyoscmria and Plesiosanria.
Bnceinitbs. a genus of fossil crinoids. The term is often used for fossil
crinoids generally.
BndOGEN : (ev?ov, within ; ylyvofiai, I am formed) . Monocotyledonous flow-
ering plants, such as grasses, pahns, lilies, &c., with simple veined
leaves, seeds with one cotyledon, and the wood-, if any, not in con-
cen-tric layers.
Entomostkaca : {ivrifivui, I cutup ; oorpaKov, a shell). The lower Crustacea,
so called from the segments of their bodies being unconsolidated.
Eocene : (Jii>S, dawn; Kaivoi, recent). The lowest great subdivision of ter-
tiary strata.
BOLIAN : (JEolus, god of the -winds). Aterm occasionally appljed to wind-
carried' formations, such as blo-wn sand.
Bpidote : (kiriloaii, increase) . A mineral composed of silicate of alumina,
iron and lime, crystallizing in the oblique system, and generally of
a green colour.
Bpistilbite : (eitj, upon ; and otj'XjSi;, lustre) . A zeolite ; a hydrated silicate
of alumina and lime, -with some soda, crystallizing in the oblique
system.
Epoch. A period in geological time.
Eeeatic. a transported fragment of rock, at a distance from the original
bedi The term has been especially, applied to the blocks of stone
scattered over the plains of Europe, and formerly supposed to have
been transported by a deluge, or wave of translation, but now gen-
erally considered to have been carried by ice ; hence the term "erra-
tic" has become generally synonymous with an ice-borne boulder.
BSCAEPMENT. An inland, cliff, usually produced by the outcrop of a hard
stratum. •
748 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
EsTHBEiA. A genus of bivalve Crustacea.
EcjPHYLLiTE : (eu, beautiful; ipvWov, a leaf).. A mica-like mineral belonging
to tbe margarophyllite section, and composed of hydrated silicates
of alumina, lime, potash, and soda.
ExOGEN : (i^ai, outside ; yiyvofiai, I am formed). The same as "dicotyledon-
ous"
ExDViJ) : (Lat., cast clothes). Remains of animals, especially the shelly
coverings of invertebrates.
Eacies : (Lat., the face). A term used to imply the general aspect or rela-
tions of a fauna or flora.
Ealse bedding. Oblique lamination ; the arrangement of sand and other
materials of which a bed is composed in laminae not parallel with
the planes of bedding. False bedding is especially common in
beds of sandstone deposited by running water, as by a river, or by
tidal currents in the sea.
Family. In zoology and botany, a group of allied genera.
Fault. A miner's term for any break in the continuity of a coal seam or
mineral vein, however caused. In geology, the name is only ap-
plied where fracture of. any rocks has taken place, accompanied by
the shifting, either vertical or horizontal, of the opposite faces of
the crack.
Fauna (Fauni, rural deities). The whole collection of animals inhabiting
a given area, or preserved in a particular bed or formation.
Felspar or Feldspar : (the latter spelling is correct, the word being de-
rived from the Grerman feldspath) . A very important group of
minerals, one or the other species being a principal constituent of
almost all igneous rocks. Orthoclase, albite, oligoclase, and labra-
dorite are felspars ; all consist of double silicates of alumina and
one or more alkalies or alkaline earths, and crystallize in the oblique
or anorthic system.
Felsite or Fblstone. A rock of compact texture, usually pale coloured,
but sometimes black or brown, weathering white, composed chiefly
of felspar with some quartz. Felsite is the matrix of most por-
phyries.
Fenestblla : (Lat., a little window). A genus of Bryo^zoa found in the
palaeozoic rocks.
Feeeuginous : (ferrugo, iron rust). Impregnated with iron oxide.
FiEECLAT. Clay capable of resisting great heat without fusing.
Flag or Flagstone. Hard laniinated or fissile stone, especially hard sand-
stone in thin slabs.
Flint. Silicious concretions, usually translucent and tolerably homogeneous,
occurring in chalk or limestone.
Flora : (the goddess of flowers) . The whole collection of plants inhabiting
a given area, or preserved in a particular bed, formation, group, or
series.
GLOSSAEY. 749
Foliation. The arrangement in alternating laminae of different minerals,
as commonly occurs in gneiss and other metamorphic rooks.
PoEAMi?[iFEEA : {foramen, a small opening; fero, I bear). A group of Bhizo-
podn, living in hollow perforated shells, frequently chamhered.
Globigerma, Alveolites, b,iiA Niomnmlites are examples.
PoEMATiON. An assemblage of rocks of similar origin, connected by mineral
characters, by organic remains, or by being of the same geolo-
gical age.
Fossil : (fossilis, dug out of the earth). Originally, this term applied to
all mineral substances ; now, it is restricted to organic remains,
animal or vegetable, imbedded in rocks.
Freestone. A stone, usually a sandstone, easily cut and dressed.
FuooiD : {fucus, sea-weed). A sea-weed, or a sinjilar plant.
Gabbeo : (Ital.) A rock composed of labradorite and diallage pr hyper-
sthene (bronzite). It is frequently associated with serpentine.
Galena : (Lat.) Native sulphide of lead, crystallizing in the cubical sys-
tem.
Ganoid : (yayo;, brightness; kilo;, form). An order of fishes, distinguished
for the most part by hard polished rhomboidal scales. Ganoids are
far more common in the upper palaeozoic and lower mesozoic
formations than at present.
Garnet : {granatus, like a grain). A mineral, crystallizing in the iso-
metric or cubical system, and composed of silicate of alumina and
lime or iron ; the alumina often replaced by sesquioxide of iron,
and the lime by magnesia or some other oxide.
Gasteropoda : (yaarrip, belly ; ttov;, foot). A class of moUusks, comprising
ordinary univalvies, whelks, cowries, cones, periwinkles, limpets,
&c.
Gault. An argillaceous bed in the cretaceous formation between the upper
and lower greensand.
Genus : (Lat., a race). A group of allied species.
GhIt : (Hindi). A landing-place, ford, or pass. This term " ghats," origin-
ally appKed to the passes through the mountain ranges that run
parallel, or nearly so, to the coasts of the peninsula, has now been
transferred to the ranges themselves.
Glacial epoch. A period of low temperature intervening between ter-
tiary and recent times.
Glacier (French). A mass of ice moving slowly down the valleys and
other depressions of snow-clad mountains, and formed by the
accumulation and consolidation of snow.
Glaubeeitb. • Native anhydrous sulphate of lime and soda, crystallizing in
the oblique system.
GlosSOPTERIS : (yXwaara, the tongue; irrcp/j, a fern). A genus of simple
leaved ferns, with reticulate venation and a distinct midrib, com-
750 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
mon in tie Indian coal-bearing rocks of iike Damuda period, and
in Australian coal-measnires, but rare elsewliere.
Gneiss : (a German, miner's term) . A MgUy fojiated rock, composed of
quartz, felspar, and miea in crystals. The mica is sometimes re-
placed by hornblende, and garnets or otker m.inerals are imbedded.
Gneiss passes by insensible gradations into granite.
G0NIA.TITE : (yuifla, an angle). A genus oi Gephalopoda^llieiiio Ammonites,
but distinguished by having the sutures in angulate zigzag
lines.
Granite. A plutonic rock, rich in silica, and composed of felspar, quartz,
and mica. The felspar is almost always orthoclase ; a second
felspar, usually oligoclase, being frequently present also. In some
forms of granite the mica is absent (aplite or pegmatite) .
Gbaehite : (ypd^u, I 'write) . A form of carbon, occurring pure or mixed
•with m.ore or less iron oxide in crystalline rocks.
Geaptomtes: {ypd^b), I write; Xi'eof, a stone). A group of fossils, charac-
teristic of the Cambrian and silurian periods, composed of straight
or curved rods, with denticulation corresponding to cells on one
or both sides, and supposed to have been Sydrozoa, allied to the
recent sertularian zoophytes.
GRAUWACKi. A German miner's term for thfe older argillo-arenacebus beds,
and often employed at one time as a name for the transition series.
The term is now obsolete.
Geavel. Loose pebbles, with or without sand.
Geeen-baeth. a hydrous silicate of iron and potash, found chiefly in
basalt and other eruptive rooks.
GsEENaAND. The name of two important siibdivisions of the cretaceous
system in England — the upper and lower greensands.
Geeenstone. a general name for "igneous rocks, composed principally of
felspar and hornblende. By some writers certain plutonic rocks
containing augite are also called greenstones.
Geetwack^. See " Grawwackie."
Geit. a coarse sandstone, or, according to some writers, a sandstone in
which the grains of quartz are angular. The term is applied
I somewhat loosely.
Geoup. An association of beds agreeing in mineral character, or varying
amongst themselves in mineral character, but containing the same
fossils. The terms " group " and " series " are frequently used by
geologists as equivalent terms. In' the present work, " series " is
always understood as implying a more extended range of forma-
tions, and usually as comprising several " groups."
Gtmnospeems : (yu/ii/of, naked; anipiia, seed). Dicotyledonous flowering
plants, with naked seeds composed of two or more cotyledons.
Conifers and cycads are included.
GLOSSARY. 751
Gypsum: (yv^os, lime orehalk). Hydrated sulphate of lime, crystallizing
in tlie oblique system.
G-TBOQONITES : (yu(jdf, round; yovog, seed), The spiral seed vessels of
GharacetB, found in freshwater heds.
Habitat. The country, district, or kind of -locality in which an animal or
plant is found Hving in a wild state.
HEMATITE: (aT//a, blosd). Native iron oxide in a massive form, either
crystalline or amorphous. The crystalline variety, kaown as
specular iron, crystallizes in the hexagonal systems
Hbmihedral : {fifii, half ; ilpa, side) . Crystalline forms made from other
- . regular solids by the obliteration of half of the bounding planes.
Heulandite : (named after Heuland, a mineralogist). A zeolitic mineral;
a hydrous silicate of alumina and lime, crystallizing in the oblique
, or monoclinic system.
Hexagonal : (li,, six ; ywvla, angle) . A system in crystallography in which
four axes are present, three equal lateral axes meeting at angles of
60°, and the vertical axis at right angles to the others.
HiPPARiON (iTrirdpiiijy, diminutive of iTnros, horse,) or Hippotherium. A
genus of mammals found in the later tertiaries, and closely allied
to the horse, but distinguished by the lateral digits of thfe feet
being better developed and furnished with hoofs.
HtPPUKiTES : (tTTirovpis, a horse-tail). A genus of cretaceous bivalves of
very .peculiar form, one valve being conical or shaped like a horn,
the other resembling a lid.
Hornblende, A silicate of various bases, usually lime, magnesia, or iron, or
combinations of these with each other, part of the silica being
often replaced by alumina. The crystallization is oblique. Horn-
blende is an important constituent of many igneous rocks, such as
syenite, diorite, &c.
HoRNSTONE. A variety of flint or chert, resembling horn in appearance.
HxDEOZOA: (ySpn, a water dragon; ^uiov, an animal). A class of animals
belonging to the subkingdom Goelenterata, allied to the Anthozoa,
and comprising the hydroid or sertularian polypes; most of the
jelly-fishes {Aealepha), and some other forms.
Htpebsthbnb : (limp, very ; aQivoi, tough). A silicate of iron and magnesia,
usually containing also some lime and alumina, closely allied to'
bronzite.
HtpoGENB : (tiTo, below ; yiyvofiai, I am made) , A term proposed by Lyell
for the metamorphosed sedimentary formations formerly known as
primary. The term is intended to express the idea that the beds
in question had been transformed from below.
ICHTHTOSAUEUS : (ix^uj, fifih ; aavpa, lizard). An extinct genus of reptiles
inhabiting the sea, having no exo-skeleton, the limbs converted
into paddles, a large head, short neck, and probably a tail like that
752 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
of Getacea. The genus gives its name to the order Ichthyosauria,
which abounded in the mesozoic epoch, and especially in Jurassic
times.
Igneous : (ignis, fire) . A term applied to all geological phenomena supposed
to be due to the action of heat. Igneous rocks are such as are
believed to have undergone fusion. Particular igneous rocks were
formerly supposed to be characteristic of different geological
epochs, and some geologists stiU believe in the distinction, which
' has, however, been entirely abandoned by all the best English
writers.
Ilmenitb : (named after Ilnien) . Titaniferous iron ore ; hematite, in which
part of the iron, is replaced by titanium.
Infea : (Lat., below) . Applied to strata, infra implies a lower position :
thus Infra-JIrol (p. 600) is the name of a group inferior to the
Kr&l ; Infra- Vindhyan implies beds underlying the Vindhyans.
InfusobiA: {in, axid f undo, Ijiour). A class of microscopic animals, named
from their occurrence in vegetable infusions.
Innate : (in, and natm, bom) . A term applied to certain igneous rocks,
which have undergone transformation, without intrusion or other
• change of position. Such rocks are believed to have been found
by simple fusion in situ.
Insbcta: (mseco, I cut in pieces) . A class of the arthropodous subdivision
of Annulosa, characterized in all perfect forms by the possession of
three pairs of legs attached to the thorax, and in most cases by two
pairs of wings.
Insectivoea : (insedum, an insect ; voro, I devour) . An order of mammalia,
comprising moles, shrews, hedghogs, Twpaice, &c.
In situ: (Lat., in place). A term applied to a rock or fossil when still in
the exact position in relation to the matrix or surrounding rocks
in which it was formed or deposited.
Inteetebeata : (in, privative; vertebra, a joint). All animals except the
Vertehrqta.
Ieonstonb. Any ore of iron; but generally the name is employed for
carbonates, especially the argillaceous carbonate of iron so common
in the coal-measures, and generally known as " clay ironstone."
Isometeic : ('iaos, equal; fiirpov, a measure). . Dana's name for the cubical
system in crystallography.
IsOTHEEMAL : ■'(tiTOf , equal ; dipfiri, heat) . Equal in temperature : a name
applied to lines and zones of equal temperature, for any given
period, on the earth's surface.
Jade. A name applied to several hard compact minerals, resembling each
other in being tough, translucent, and very homogeneous in texture.
One form (nephrite) is a variety of amphibole, another (jadeite)
is a silicate of alumina and soda.
GLOSSARY. 753
Jaspbe. Impure opaque coloured quartz, often of a bright red colour, or
striped red and black or white.
Jet : {gagates, from Gagas, a place in Lycia) . A variety of coal' having a
very low specific gravity, homogeneous texture, and resinous lustre.
JnfL : (Hindi). A marsh or shallow lake.
Joints. Parallel fissures or planes dividing rocks into more or less regular
masses.
Jurassic : (from the Jura mountains.) A system of rocks belonging to the
mesozoic period, comprising the lias and oolite, and intervening
between the trias below and the cretaceous above. By some geo-
logists, the lias is separated from the Jurassic system, and the
latter then corresponds with the oolitic series of English geologists.
Kankar. See p. 381.
Kaolin: (Chinese). Tine porcelain clay, derived from the decomposition
of felspar.
Keupee: (German). The upper subdivision of the triassic system.
Khadab. See p. 403.
Khal : (Bengali). A tidal creek.
KiESEEiTE : (from Kieser, a proper name). Hydrous sulphate of magnesia,
crystallizing in the prismatic system.
Knorria: (from Knorr, a proper name). A carboniferous genus of Irt/co-
podiaceoB, founded on stems with projecting leaf-sears arranged
■ in a spiral.
KuNKUE. See p. 381.
KiTPFERSCHiEPEE : Qiv^fer, copper; sehiefer, slate). A subdivision of the
permian system in Germany.
Labeadorite : (from Labrador, the original locality). A kind of felspar
composed of silica, alumina, lime, and soda, crystallizing in the
anorthic or triclinio system, and forming a constituent of many
igneous rocks, such as basalt and diabase. Labradorite, when in
large crystals, is often distinguished by a peculiar play of colours
on the surface.
Labyeinthodon : (Xa^uptveoj, a labyrinth; dSouj, a tooth). An extinct genus
of Amphibia, named from the compHoated foldings on the trans-
verse sections of the teeth. From this genus the order TJahy-
rvnthodonta was named : it comprised salamandriform animals with
a long tail, and existed in upper paleozoic and lower mesozoic
times.
Lacustrine : (locus, a lake). Of or belonging to a lake.
Lagoon: (laguna, Ital.) A shallow salt-water lake or inlet, nearly or
entirely cut off from the sea.
LamellibbANCHIATA : (lamella, a thin plate; ^pdyxia, gills). A class of
Mollusca, comprising ofdinary bivalve shells, such as oysters,
mussels, cockles, &c.
X 1
754 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
Lamination: (lamina, a thin plate). The division of rooks into thin paral-
lel layers.
LapilIi : {lapillus, a little stone) ^ The finer forms of volcanic ash.
Lateeite. See p. 349.
Latjmonite or Latjmontite : (from Laumont, the name of the discoverer).
A hydrous silicate of alumina and lime, crystallizing in the oblique
system, and usually found in the cavities of basalt and similar
rocks associated with zeolites.
Laueentian. Some of the oldest rocks in Canada, of age anterior to the
Cambrian, and named thus from the river St. Lawrence. From
these rocks the fossil Eozoon, supposed to be the oldest form of
life known, was first obtained. The nature' of this fossil is, how-
ever, disputed, and by some naturalists its organic origin is doubted.
Lava : (Ital.) The molten rock that flows from ' a volcano in eruption.
Lavas have the same composition as intrusive volcanic rocks, and
are divided into two great sections : (1) Doleritic or basic, con-
sisting largely of pyroxene, and not containing more than 45 to
65 per cent, of silica ; and (2) trachytic or acidic rocks, with 60 to
80 per cent, of silica, and composed inainly of felspar.
Lepidolite : (Xem'e, scale) . A kind of mica containing lithia.
Lbucite : QiiEVKOQ, white) . A silicate of alumina and potash, crystallizing
in the cubical or isometric system, and found in volcanic rocks.
Leitcopteite : {\evk6q, white; Trvpirr)Q, pyrites). Arsenide of iron, crystal-
lizing in the prismatic system.
Lias. The rooks at the base of the Jurassic or oolitic system, classed by
som.e with that system, by others as a distinct formation, inter-
mediate between the oolites and the trias.
Lignite : (Ugnum, wood) . Fossil wood, carbonised and altered, but still
containing a much larger proportion of volatile ingredients than
true coal.
Limestone. Indurated carbonate of lime.
LiTTOEAL: Qittus, the shore). A term applied to deposits formed in
shallow water close to the coast.
Loam. A soil composed of clay and fine sand.
Loess. A term applied to a very fine unstratified or imperfectly stratified
formation, composed of clay, very fine sand, and some carbonate of
lime, occurring in the Rhine valley. Similar, beds of great thick-
ness have been found in China and other parts of Central Asia,
and shewn to have been probably formed of fine dust transported
by the wind.
Ltcopodiace^s. a class of acrogenous cryptogamic plants comprising the
living club-mosses and numerous fossil forms.
Ltdian stone, a black siUceous rock, either a kind of jasper, or an altered
siliceous shale.
GLOSSARY. 755
Magnetite : Magnetic iron ore. An ore of iron composed of one eqni-
valent of sesquioxide and one of protoxide, or of three equivalents
of iron and four of oxygen. It crystallizes in the isometric or
cubical system, and is usually found in octohedra.
Mammalu: (mamma, breast). The highest class of Ferfe&rato, comprising
all animals that suckle their young.
Marble. Properly this term is only applied to the finer and more crystal-
line forms of limestone. Commonly, however, all rocks capable of
being polished are thus called.
Marl. Clay mixed with carbonate of lime, but not consolidated into hard
rock. The term is sometimes erroneously applied to non-calcare-
ous clays.
Mastodon: (^affrog, breast ; dSouc, tooth). An extinct genus of ProSoscit^ea,
closely allied to the elephant, but distinguished by the form of the
teeth, which bear a number of rounded protuberances on the
surface.
Megalosaueus : (/uEyoXo-great ; o-aupoj, lizard). A genus of DinosoMna of
great size, with curved sabre-shaped teeth.
Mesozoic : (fii(TOQ, middle ; ^lofi, life). AU formations, from the trias to
the cretaceous inclusive, belonging to the middle or intermediate
period between the palseozoic and tertiary or csenozoic epochs.
Mbtamorphic rocks : (ftETo, after; liop^n, form). Rocks which have under-
gone a change of structure and become crystalline. The term
is especially applied to sedimentary formations, which, through the
agency of heat or chemical action, have acquired crystalline
structure.
Mica : (mieo, I shine). A group of minerals, distinguished by being easily
split into thin elastic plates, composed of silicates of alumina
and various earths and alkalies, and largely developed in crystal-
line rocks.
Mica schist. A metamorphic foliated rock composed of mica and quartz.
Micaceous iron orb. A variety of haematite occurring in scales like mica.
Miocene: (fieiuiv, less; Kai cos, recent). The middle subdivision of tertiary
formations, above the eocene, and below the pliocene.
Mollusca: (mollis, soft). One of the primary divisions or subkingdoms
of animals', comprising cuttle-fish and ordinary univalve and
bivalve shells, or Cephalopoda, Oasteropoda, Pteropoda, and Lamelli-
hranchiata.
Molluscoida: (mollusoa, and eldos, resemblance). A primary division or
subMngdom made for certain classes formerly united with
Mollmea, but considered distinct by many modern naturalists.
These classes are Ascidioida or Tmiicata, Bryoeoa or Polyzaa, and
Brachiojpoda.
756 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.
MoNOCUNAL : (fiovos, single ; kXivw, I incline) . A bend, crtrve, or angle in
strata, where one portion of the stratification plane is horizontal
and the other inclined.
MoNOCLiNic : (fiovos, single; K\iv(a, I incline). Dana's name for the oblique
system in crystallography.
MoNOCOTTLBDONOUS : (ftovos, single; KorvXriSuiv, seed lobe). Endogenous:
the great subdivision of phanerogamous or flowering plants, dis-
tingfuished by having seeds with one lobe or cotyledon, leaves with
snbparallel and generally simple veins, and the wood not in con-
centric layers.
MoNOMETEio: (/iovos, single; ^eVpor, a measure). A name formerly used by
Dana for the cubical system in crystallography.
Monsoons : (a corruption of mdusim, a season, Hindi). Seasons of the year
distinguished by the prevalence of winds which blow in opposite
directions at different periods.
MoBAiNB : (French, of Switzerland). The accumulation of angular frag-
ments of rook at the termination and along the sides of glaciers.
The rocks are brought down from the mountains traversed by the
glacier, and deposited where the ice melts.
MoOEUM : (Dakhani Hindustani). Decomposed rock of any kind. The
term is commonly used for partially disintegrated basalt near the
surface.
MusCHELKALK: (German, muschel, a shell; kalk, limestone). The middle
group of the triassic formation.
Muscovite : (from muscovy-glass, an old name). Common mica or potash
mica ; one of the constituents of granite, gneiss, and mica schist,
chiefly a silicate of alumina and potash, with some iron, magnesia,
soda, &o., and crystallizing in the prismatic system.
Nala: (Hindi). A rivulet or brook, ditch, cabal, ravine or valley. The
term is especially applied to a watercourse or ravine.
Nateolitb : (natron, soda). A zeolitic mineral, crystallizing in the pris-
matic system, usually assuming acicular forms, and consisting
of hydrous silicate of alumina and soda.
Nautilus: (vaurtXoj, a sailor). A genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopodous
Mollusca-mth. coiled chambered shells, allied to Ammomtes, but dis-
tinguished by having simple sutures. Some species are still living.
Neocomien: (Neoconiim, Neufchatel). The lower subdivision of the creta-
ceous system.
Neogene: (vios, new; yiyvo/tai, I am formed). A term used by German
geologists for all tertiary beds of later age than eocene.
Neozoic: (vio;, new; fiu^, Hfe). All formations from the trias upwards,
including both mesozoic and csenozoio or tertiary. The term is
used in contradistinction to paleeozoic.
GLOSSARY. 757
Neptunian : (Neptmius, god of the sea). The stratified or aqueous deposits
are thus termed in contradistinction to plutonic or igneous.
Few red sandstone. The sandstones, permian and trias, above the coal
measures in the British Islands.
NoDTJLE. An aggregation of a mineral, such as carbonate . of lime or silica
around a nucleus, or central point.
NoBGGBEATHiA : (named after Noggerath, a botanist). A genus of plants
of somewhat doubtful aflSnity, found in palseozoic rocks. The
original types are now referred to OyoadeacecB, but it is uncertain
how far the various forma referred to the genus are really con-
generic.
Ntjllah. See"Nala."
NuMMULiTE : (mmmius, a coin). A genus of Foraminifera, consisting of
lenticular shells composed of chambers aiTanged in a spiral.
Nummulites are so abundant in eocene beds as to be characteris-
tic.
Oblique. A system in crystallography in which the three axes are unequal,
and whilst two of the axial intersections are rectangular, one is
oblique.
Obsidian. A lava that has cooled rapidly and is consequently vitreous, like
glass oi; slag. The term is especially applied to vitreous acidic or
trachytic lavas, composed mainly of felspar.
Ochre. Clay, strongly coloured by oxide of iron.
Old red sandstone. The sandstones, now referred to the Devonian period,
underlying the coal measures of the British Islands.
Oligocenb : (6\lyo;, Kttle; Kaivo;, recent). A term employed by many
Grerman geologists for a subdivision of the tertiary epoch corre-
sponding to the lower miocene and uppermost eocene beds of
English geologists.
Oligoclase : (dXj'yof , little ; xXaw, I cleave) . A species of felspar, chiefly
a silicate of alumina and soda with some lime and potash, crystal-
lizing in the anorthic or triclinic system, and commonly found in
granite and other plutonic rocks.
Olivine. A tribasio silicate of magnesia and iron, usually of a greenish
colour and translucent, crystallizing in the prismatic system. The
transparent forms are known as chrysolite. Olivine is common in
basalt, and usually occurs in imbedded grains of a dark yellowish
green colour.
Oolite: (b>6v, egg; \ido;, stone). Limestone composed of small rounded
concretionary particles. From the prevalence of such limestones
in the middle secondary ro.cks, the term ' oolite ' has been applied
to the system of beds underlying the cretaceous.
Opal. An amorphous form of silica, having a resinous lustre. Precious
opal has a peculiar play of colours.
758 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.
Opikctjlum: (Lat., a little cover). A shelly or homy appendage to the foot
in many gasteropodons Mollusca, serving to close the mouth of
the shell.
Ophidia : (o<pis, a snake). An order of reptiles comprising the snakes.
Oedeb. In animals and plants, a group of inferior rank to a class : thus
in the class Mammalia the orders are Primates, Garnivora, CJiiroptera,
Ungulata, &c.
Organic eemaests. Any recognisahle parts or impressions of animals or
vegetables in a fossU state.
Oeiental. a name' applied by Mr. Wallace to one of the great zoological
regions into -which the surface of the earth is divided. The
Oriental region, by many ^.oologists known as the Indian region,
includes India, the Burmese and Malay countries, Southern China,
Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, with the western half of the Malay
archipelago.
Oethoceeas : (opSoj, straight ; (ctpaj, a horn). A genus of cephalopcJdous
Mollusca with a chambered shell allied to that of Nautilus, but
straight, not spiral.
Oethoclase: (diuSdj, straight ; kXcim, I cleave). Common felspar, essentially
a silicate of alumina and potash, crystallizing in the oblique or
monoclinic system, and forming an important ingredient of granite,
gneiss, and many other rocks.
Oethoehombic : (dpOoj, straight ; pdju|3o5, a rhomb). Dana's name for the
prismatic system in crystallography.
Ossifeeotis : (os, a bone; fero, I bear). Bone-bearing: applied to beds
yielding bones of Vertebrata.
Outcrop. The edge of a bed, where it appears on the surface of the
ground.
Outlier. A portion of a bed detached from the main area by denudation.
Pachtdeemata : (ttoj^uj, thick; lipfia, skin). A mammalian order of Cuvier's,
comprising elephants,' hyraces, and certain ungulates.
PALiEARCTic : (iroXdios, ancient ; apxroj, a bear, wrsa major) . The great zoo-
logical' region comprising Europe, Africa north of the Sahara, and
all Northern and Central Asia.
Pal^iontologt : (iroXaids, ancient, 6)v, beiag, Xdyoj , discourse) . The science
of ancient forms of life.
PALiEOZOiC; (iraXotdf, ancient; l^iari, life). The lowest great division of
stratified rocks, comprising the permian, carboniferous, devonian,
sUurian, cambrian, and laurentian systems.
Peat. A brown or black carbonaceous substance formed in marshes from
vegetable tissue by a process of chemical change. In Western
Europe peat is mainly derived from the growth and decay of a
kind of moss.
GLOSSARY. 759
Pegmatite : (w^y/za, anything fastened together). Usually, a binaiy gra-
nite, composed of quartz and felspar without mica. By some
German geologists, the name is applied to a granite containing
orthoclase, quartz, and white mica. The term aplite is given by
German petrologists to the pegmatite of English writers.
Pelagic, or Pelagian : (irtXoyoj, the open sea). Termed, living or deposit-
ed in the deep sea. The term is used in opposition to littoral or
estuarine.
Pelbctpoda: (a-iXticwf, an axe ; Trouf, foot). A term used by some natural-
ists instead of La/mellibranohiata, q. v.
Perched blocks. Fragments of rocks transported by glaciers and left
isolated on slopes of hills.
Period. A subdivision of geological time.
Peeissodacttla : {yrtpiaaoi, Uneven ; laKrvKo;, toe). A subdivision of the
Uhgulata distinguished by having an odd number of digits, and
comprising horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, PalcBOtheria, &c.
Permian. The highest subdivision of palaeozoic rocks, resting upon the
carboniferous, and overlaid by triassic beds. The name is derived
from the district of Perm, in Russia.
Petroleum : (jpetra, rock ; olewm, oil). Earth-oil ; liquid hydrocarbons
found oozLQg from rocks in places, or occupying cavities, and form-
ed during the slow alteration of organic matter.
Peteologt : (irETpo;, rock ; '\6yos, discourse). The science treating of
rocks, their structure and composition.
Peteosilex. a synonym of felstone or felsite, sometimes applied also to
hornstone.
Phanerogamia : (9aj'£pdj, apparent ; ya/tf'w, I marry). One of the primary
divisions of plants, including all with flowers and cotyledonous
seeds. All plants without flowers and with obscure repro-
ductive organization are, on the other hand, classed as Gryp-
toga/mia.
Phlogopite : (^AoyuTToj, fire-like, in allusion to its colour). A kind of
mica consistiog essentially of silicate of alumina and magnesia,
usually of a red colour, and often occurring associated with ser-
pentine or crystalline limestone.
Phonolite : ((jxavv, sound; XWog, stone). A felspathic volcanic rock, known
also as clinkstone ; a compact mass, usually of a greenish grey
colour, with here and there cleavage surfaces of vitreous felspar.
' This rock is named from its ringing sharply when struck by a
hammer.
Pisces: (Lat.). Pish: a class of the subkingdom FerfeSraia.
Pisolite : {pisti/m, a pea). A concretionary limestone similar to oolite, but
of coarser texture, the concretions being larger.
760 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
PiTCHSTONB. A vitreous, dark-coloured rock of igneous origin allied to
obsidian, but less glassy, of resinous lustre, and frequently contain-
ing small crystals and grains of quartz, felspar, &c.
Placoid: (7r\a|, a flat plate; elSoy, form). An order of fishes with flat
smooth integument. This order comprises the sharks and rays.
Plagioclasb : (irXayiof, oblique; /cXaw, I cleave). A name proposed by
Breithaupt for the group of triclinic felspars, albite, oligoclase,
labradorite, and anorthite.
Pleistocene^: (irXtioros, most; (catyoj, recent). Post-tertiary or post-
pliocene.
Plbsiosaueus : {irXriaios, near; aavpa, lizard). An extinct genus of marine
reptiles somewhat allied to Ichthyosaurus, having, in a similar
manner, limbs converted into paddles, and occurring in mesozoic
strata. The neck is usually produced and the head small.
Pliocene: (ttXeiwi', more ; koivoj, recent). The uppermost great subdivi-
sion of tertiary strata.
Plutonic : (Pluto, god of Hades). Igneous rocks formed beneath the surface
of the earth and not erupted.
Poikilitic^ : (notKiXo;, many coloured). A term proposed originally as an
equivalent for the New Red Sandstone, comprising '^joth permian
and triassic beds. Subsequently the name was used in a more
restricted sense, but it has recently been revived by Huxley with
its original meaning. At present, when employed, it is generally
understood to include both permian and trias.
POLTCTSTINA : (ttoKvs, many ; KvtTTis, a bladder). The minute siliceous
shells of Badiolaria.
Polype : (woXvj, many ; irovs, foot). The animal of a hydrozoan or antho-
zoan (actinozoan) ; that is, of a hydroid zoophyte, sea-anemone,
or coral.
PoLTZOA : (woXiis, many ; ^aiov, animal) . A synonym of Bryozoa,, q. v.
PoEPHTET : (TToptjtvpios, purple) . An igneous rock, composed of a com-
pact finely crystalline mass, in which large crystals of felspar are
imbedded. Occasionally other minerals, besides felspar, occur in
large crystals, and the term is applied by some geologists to rocks
in which any mineral is developed in conspicuous crystalline
masses. A porphyritic granite, syenite, greenstone, &c., is a rock in
which the felspar is in large distinct crystals. The term ' porphyrite '
has been introduced by German geologists for quartzless porphyries
consisting of a felsitic base with crystals of felspar, hornblende, or
mica ; porphyry being considered essentially quartz jporjphyry or
1 This should be written ' plistoeene,' like pliocene.
^ Correctly ' pcecilitie.'
GLOSSARY. 761
elvanite, a compact felsitic mass, with crystals of felspar and
quartz.
Peehnite : (named after the discoverer). A hydrous silicate of alumina
and lime, crystallizing in the prismatic system, but usually occur-
ring in reniform crystalline masses associated -with zeolites.
Peimart : (^primus, first) . A term applied by the earlier geologists to the
azoic rocks, and especially to the crystalline formations, granite,
gneiss, &c. The name is stiU occasionally used as synonymous with
palaeozoic, q. v. Primitive has been used in the same signification
as primary.
Primates. The highest order of Mamvmalia, including men and monkeys.
By Linnaeus a more extended meaning was given to the term.
Prismatic. A system in crystallography in which the three axes are un-
equal and all are at right angles to each other.
Peotoginb : (irpiirof first ; yiyvofiai, I am formed). A granite containing
talc or chlorite instead of mica. ,
Protozoa: (TrpCrof, first; .fJioi', an animal). The lowest subkingdom of
animals, comprising Oregarinida, Shizopoda, and Radiolaria. By
most naturalists the sponges are also included.
Pteeopoda: (irrepdi', wing; wouj, foot). A class of Mollusca in which part
of the foot is developed into wing-Hke processes, with which the
animal swims. The Pteropoda are pelagic animals, living near the
surface of the ocean.
Phlmonata, or Pulmo-gasteeopoda : (puhno, lung) . A class oi Mollusca,
distinguished from true Gasteropoda by intestinal and reproductive
characters. It comprises snails, slugs, pond snails (Lymnece),
&c., but not the operculate land shells, Gyclostoma, Helicina, &c.,
which are ordinary Gasteropoda.
Pumice. A kind of volcanic froth, the mass of air bubbles from the surface
of lava consolidated, and forming a spongy rock, allied to obsidian
in composition, but so light as to float upon water.
Ptritb. Iron pyrites; bisulphide of iron, crystallizing in the cubical
system.
Pyrites: (irup/rij? from irup, fire). Several sulphides of metals are thus
termed; iron pyrites (pyrite), copper pyrites (chalcopyrite), &c.
The term used alone generally signifies pyrite.
Pteoxene : (tvp, fire ; ^vo(, a stranger. The name was given by Haiiy
under the impression that the mineral was not igneous, whereas it
is, except felspar, the commonest volcanic mineral). Augite, q. v,
Pyeamidal. a system in crystallography in which all three axes are at right
angles to each other, and two of the three are equal to each other,
but not to the third.
Quadettmana : (q^Mtuor, ioxiT;manus, hand). A suborder of PrMwa^es, com-
prising monkeys.
762 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
QuAQUAVERSAL : (quaqua, whereao&vef ; verto, I turn). Dipping on, every
side : .applied to the strata wMcli dip ia all directions towards or
from a common centre.
Quartz. Pure silica, crystallizing in the hexagonal system. The word is
a German mining term.
QuARTZiTE. A metamorphic rock composed entirely, or almost entirely, of
silica.
QuARTZ-REBP. A vein of sUioa traversing other formations.
Qtjatbenart. a term used by some geologists for post-tertiary and recent
formations.
Race. A subdivision of a species comprising individuals related by descent.
Eadiata : (radius, a spoke). Cuvier's name for one of the primary sub-
divisions of the animal kingdom. This subkingdom included
the modern Protozoa and Goelenterata, the JEchinodermata, and the
Bryozoa.
Radiolaeia : (radiolus, dha. oi radius'). A class of Profo0oa, the skeleton of
which, when any is present, usually consists of silica. Shells of
Hadiolama are commonly known as Polyeystina.
Recent. In geology, the present epoch ; the period during which no im-
portant change has taken place in the plants and animals inhabiting
the earth.
Reh. See p. 413.
Reptilia: (repo, I crawl). A class of Vertebrata, comprising, besides cro-
codiles, lizards, snakes and tortoises, the extinct orders of IcMhuo-
sauria and FlesiosoMria, (which are united by some naturalists
into a single order Enaliosauria,') Bicynodontia, Pterosauria, and
Dinosauria.
Rhjetic. a group of beds formerly classed in England as lower lias, and in
Southern Germany as upper trias, but now separated by many
geologists as an intermediate formation, and named from the
Rheeti, the ancient inhabitants of the Tyrol. This group is also
known as the Avicula contorta zone, and in Southern Austria as
Kossener-schichten.
Rhizopoda: (pt^a, a root; ttovs, a foot). A class of Proio«oa, comprising
the Foramirdfera and many forms without shells, such as Amoeba,
all of very simple organization, and having the power of thrusting
out portions of their body as processes of variable form called
' psevdo^odia.'
Rhombohedeal : (po/i^o;, a rhomb; elpa, a side). A name often used in-
stead of hexagonal for the system in crystallography with four axes.
Rhtolite : {pvofiai, I protect). A rock allied to trachyte and felsite in com-
position. A compact or vitreous matrix enclosing grains or
crystals of felspar, mica or quartz. The proportion of silica is
larger than in trachyte.
GLOSSARY. 763
Roches moutonn^ es. Rocks that have been rounded off and polislied by-
ice action.
Rock. In geological writings, this word is understood to mean any mineral
substance occurring in large masses. Sand and clay in large
quantities form rocks, as well as limestone or granite.
Rock salt. Common salt occurring as a rock.
RoDENTiA : (rodo, I gnaw). An order of mammals distinguished by having
the anterior teeth in each jaw modified into powerful cutting
weapons. Rodents comprise squirrels, rats, porcupines, hares,
and a few other forms.
RtTMiNANTiA : (rvmimo, I ruminate). A subdivision of the mammalian order
Ungulata, comprising all animals which chew the cud, such as
oxen, sheep, antilopes, deer, and camels.
Rdtile : (rutilus, redi). A mineral composed of titanic acid, crystallizing
in the pyramidal system, and occurring, usually, in imbedded
crystals, and not unfrequently in acicular forms traversing quartz,
in granite, gneiss and other rocks.
Sacchaeoid: (acLK^ap, sugar; Hloi, form). A granular structure resem-
bling that of loaf-sugar.
Salipeeous oe Salipeeian : {sal, salt ; fero, I bear). Salt-bearing : a term
applied by some geologists as a distinctive name to the triassic
system.
Sandstone. A rock composed of sand cemented together.
Saueian : (ffowpa, lizard). Reptiles, and especially fossil reptiles, akin to
lizards.
SOAEP. A steep face of rock bounding a bed.
Schist: (<rxtf<i>, I cleave). A metamorphio rock, having a distinctly
foliated structure.
SCHOEL. The black opaque variety of tourmaline, common in metamor-
phio rocks.
ScoiECiTE : ((tkoiXj/I, a worm ; in allusion to its behaviour before the blow-
pipe). A zeolitic Inineral, occurring in acicular crystals, belonging
to the oblique system, found chiefly in basaltic rocks, and con-
sisting of hydrous silicate of alumina and lime.
ScoEiJi : (Lat., slag). The vesicular portions of a lava flow, or the equally
vesicular fragments ejected from volcanoes during eruption. The
term is sometimes used as synoliymous with volcanic ash, which
is, however, of more general appUoation.
Seam. A bed or stratum: a term often used for beds of coal.
Secondaet. a term originally applied to the sedimentary fossiKferous rocks
above the primary crystaUine strata and below the later or tertiary
beds, but subsequently restricted to the formations from the
triassic to the cretaceous inclusive, and used as synonymous with
mesozoic.
764 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
Section: {seco, I cut). A face of rocks exposed by nature or art, or
represented in a drawing.
Sediment. Earthy deposit from mechanical suspension in water.
Sedimentary books. Rocks formed of sediment.
Sbnonian : (from Senones, the Latin name of a people whose chief town
was Agendicum, now Sens). A subdivision of the cretaceous
system in France, corresponding to the upper chalk of English -
geologists.
Series. A collection of beds comprising several groups, connected by
stratigraphical relations or by similarity of organic remains.
See " Group."
Serpentine. A mineral, usually of a greenish colour, consisting of
hydrous silicate of magnesia ; a rock composed of the mineral in a
more or less pure state.
Shale. A consolidated and well-laminated argillaceous rock.
Shingle., Loose pebbles, especially those on the sea-shore.
Silica: (silex, a flint). Silicic acid, a compound of the element silicon
and oxygen. Quartz is the same as silica.
Siliceous. Composed partly or wholly of silica or quartz.
Silt. Fine sediment from water, especially from rivers.
Silurian : {Silures, the ancient inhabitants of a part of Western England
and Wales). A system or series of lower palaeozoic rocks, above
the Cambrian and below the Devonian. '
SiRENiA: {atiphv, a siren or mermaid). An order of marine mammals,
including the dugong, manatee, and Rhytina.
Slate. A fissile non-crystalline argillaceous rock, the planes of separation
in which are not due to bedding, but to cleavage. This is the
true geological definition ; but the term is often applied to hardened
shales, which are bedded, not cleaved, and to schists, which are
crystalline.
Slickensides. a mining term applied to the smoothed and striated sur.
faces of a fissure along which movement or faulting has taken place.
Soapstone. See " Steatite."
Spar. A common term for mineral crystals.
Species. All plants or animals which resemble each other so closely in all
characters, that it is convenient to call them by one name, form a
species. They are suppcised to be in general more closely con-
nected by descent than different species are ; but this rule is not
quite accurate or certain; The term was originally applied to aU
individuals supposed to be descended from one pair, or one parent
stock ; but the definition is no longer considered sufficient, as it is
believed that different species are connected by descent, and that
specific distinction is frequently a matter of convenience in
classification.
GLOSSARY. 765
Spinel. A mineral composed essentially of alumina and magnesia, the mag-
nesia being sometimes replaced by lime or iron protoxide. Spinel
crystallizes in the cubical system, and generally occurs in oc-
tobedra.
Spongida, or SpongiozoA: ((TTroyyia, a sponge). Sponges: a class of animals
referred by most -wTiters to Protozoa, but lately by some naturalists
to Gcelenterata, and considered by others a distinct subkingdom.
Spore : (^avopd, seed). The reproductive germ of a cryptogamic plant.
Stalactite : {aTaXdaaut, I drop). Earthy matter forming icicle-like projec-
tions, and separated from solution in water, through the evaporation
of the latter, whilst trickling down cliffs, or dropping from the
roofs of caves. The material is commonly carbonate of lime, less
. frequently chalcedony or some other mineral.
Stalagmite : {ardXayfia, a drop). Projections from the floor of a cave, pro-
duced, in the same manner as stalactites from the roof, by the
evaporation of water dropping 'from above, and depositing carbonate
of lime or any other mineral from solution.
Steatite, or Soapstone : {ariap, fat). A form of talc ; a massive soft mineral,
having a waxy lustre and a greasy or soapy feel.
Stilbitb : (arlX^ri, lustre). A zeolitic mineral : a hydrous silicate of alumina
and lime, crystallizing in the prismatic system, and occurring
commonly in basaltic rocks.
Stratum : pi. Strata : (stratus, spread). A bed or layer of a sedimentary
rock.
Strike. A line drawn along a bed at right angles to the dip, being the
intersection between the plane formed by the bed and the earth's
surface, if horizontal. The line of outcrop of any stratum on level
ground.
SuBCRTSTALLiNE* Imperfectly crystalline. The prefix svib, under, indicates
that the word to which it is added is to be understood as employed
in a minor or inferior degree.
Sub-Himalayas. The low ranges, along the southern base of the Himalayas,
composed of tertiary rocks. The term is also applied to the rocks
forming the low ranges in question.
Submetamorphic. Partially or imperfectly metamorphic. The term is
applied to the transition rocks of India, which are sometimes
highly crystalline, but more frequently unaltered.
Syenite : (from Syene, in Egypt). A plutonic rock, composed of felspar,
quartz, and hornblende, and only differing from granite by the
substitution of hornblende for mica. This is the signification of
the term as employed by English geologists; but by German
writers the name is used for a tock composed of orthoclase felspar
and hornblende, without quartz, and the quartziferous rock is called
syenitic granite.
766 GEOLOGY OF INDIA.
Syltinb : (from Sihius, a proper name). Native cHoride of potassium.
Symphysis : (o-u/u^uirtf, a growing together). The union of two bones.
Synclinal: {aw, together; kS1vu>, I incline). The curvature of strata in a
trough or valley like form, the convexity or salient angle being
downward.
Synclinal axis. A line drawn along the lowest portion of a synclinal
curve.
System. A term applied in geology to the whole series of beds representing
a subdivision of geological time, as the cretaceous system or
tertiary system.
Talc : (derivation uncertain ; said to be from an Arabic word). A hydrous
silicate of magnesia, rarely crystallizing in the prismatic system,
more commonly occurring in f oKated masses or granular, very soft,
and with a pearly lustre. The massive form is known as steatite
or soapstone.
Talus. The loose detritus accumulated by falling from the face of a cKfE,
precipice or slope, and not rearranged by water.
Tbeai. See p. 404
Teetiary. The third or upper great division of geological time, including
all formations above the cretaceous and below the deposits of the
glacial epoch. The name is synonymous with Gcenozoio.
Tbteagonal : (Ttrpayu 1/05, four-angled). Dana's name for the pyramidal or
dimetric system in crystallography.
Thomsonitb : (named after Prof. Thomson). A zeolite, crystallizing in the
prismatic system, and consisting of hydrous silicate of alumina,
lime and soda. It usually occurs in radiated masses.
TiN-STONE. Oxide of tin, crystallizing in the pyramidal system.
TotJEMALiNE : (turamali, Cingalese). A mineral, crystallizing in the hexa-
gonal system, and commonly occurring in six-sided prisms. It is
of variable composition, containing silicic and boracic acid, with
alumina and magnesia, iron, soda, potash, or other bases, as well
as a small percentage of fluorine. It is common in metamorphic
rocks, occurring most frequently in the form of sdhorl.
Teachytb : (rpaxv?, rough). A volcanic rock, usually of a pale colour, and
mainly composed of felspar ; a rough mass, frequently with
imbedded crystals of sanidine (glassy felspar, a variety of ortho-
clase). Some hornblende or augite and dark-coloured mica are
■ also present in most trachytes.
Teansition: {trimseo, I go over). The rocks forming a passage from the
crystalline gneiss and schists to the fossiliferous sedimentary rocks.
Teap: (trajppa, a stair, Swedish; treppe, German). A name originally
applied to tabular greenstone and basaltic rocks, from their fre-
quently occurring in hills with step-like terraces on the sides.
The term subsequently was used in a somewhat vague manner for
GLOSSARY. 767
all igneous rocks not distinctly granitic. By some geologists the
name is now disused ; by others it is restricted to stratified lavas,
whether basaltic or trachytic, and to intrusive dykes and masses of
basalt, greenstone, trachyte, or similar rocks. The term is too
generally used to be abandoned ; and for the ancient bedded lavas,
which cover so enormous an area in India, no term equally
expressive exists.
Teavbetine : (Tiburtirms, from Tibur, near Eome). Calcareous tufa de-
posited from the water of springs holding lime in solution.
Teemolite : (from Tremola, in Switzerland). A variety of hornblende, of
a pale and often white colour, usually in fibrous radiated aggregates,
and composed of silicate of magnesia and lime.
Teias. The lowest subdivision of mesozoic strata, overlying the permian
or uppermost palaeozoic series. The name is derived from the
three groups of which the series consists in Grermany and
elsewhere.
Tkiclinic: (rptj, thrice; kX(v(u, I incline). A name of Dana's for the
anorthic system in crystallography.
Teimeteic: (rpii, thrice; nirpov, a measure). A name formerly employed
by Dana for the prismatic system in crystallography, now called
by him orthorhombio.
Teilobita: (Tpij, thrice; XojSof, a lobe). A group of OrMsiacea only found
in palaeozoic rocks, and having some resemblance in general form
to a woodlouse. The cephalic shield is longitudinally divided
into ttiree by sutures.
Tufa : (Ital.) Any porous vesicular rock. The term is generally restricted
to calcareous deposits from springs.
TuPi'. A volcanic formation composed of loose material, scoriae, lapilli, &c.,
cemented together. The term is especially applied to subaqueous
volcanic accumulations,
TuHiCATA : (tunica, a garment). A synonym of Aseidioida : a class of Mol-
luscoida without shells.
UnCOKFoemable : Unconpoemitt. Strata are unconformable to each other
when the lower has suffered from denudation before the deposition
of the upper, or, in a minor degree, when the upper overlaps the
lower. As a general rule, the planes of deposition in unconform-
able strata are not parallel to each other, but there are exceptions
for instance, the lower bed may have been partially denuded whilst
still perfectly horizontal, and a second horizontal bed may be
deposited on the denuded surface of the first, without the latter
having been disturbed. In this case the bedding planes in both
continue parallel, although the two are quite unconformable.
Ungulata: (ungula, a hoof). An order comprising all herbivorous and
hoofed mammals, except the Proloscidea. It includes the Pachy-
v768 GEOLOGY OP INDIA.
dermata and Rwminardia of Cuvier, with the exclusion of JElephas
and Hyrax.
Uniclinal : (mms, one ; kXivui, I incline). See " MonocUnal." The term
'uniolmal' being of improper construction, has been generally
abandoned for the synonym.
Unsteatipied. Rocks which do not occur in layers or strata.
Variety. A subdivision of an animal or vegetable species founded on
minor characters.
Vein. In geology, a fissure filled with some mineral substance differing
from that of the rock around.
Vebmes : (Lat., worms). A Linnsean name for several classes of Invertehrata,
including insects, mollusks, Zoophyta, &c. It is now sometimes
used as a synonym of Armelida ; sometimes of Anwuloida. At
p. 286, it is employed in the former signification.
Vertebbata : (vertebra, a joint, from verto, I turn). A primary division or
subkingdom of animals comprising all provided with a spine or
backbone composed of joints called vertebrae. Mammals, birds,
reptUes, amphibians, and fishes constitute the subkingdom.
Volcanic : (Vuharms, god of fire). Igneous action at the surface of the
earth, in contradistinction to phitonio action, which takes place
beneath the surface.
Volcanic ash. See " Ash."
Wack6. a German mining term for a somewhat decomposed state of
doleritic and greenstone rocks.
Whin : Whinstone. A Scotch term for basalt or greenstone.
WoLLASTONiTE : (named after Dr.WoUaston). Silicate of lime, crystallizing
in the oblique system.
Zamites. a genus of fossil cycadeaceous plants allied to the existing
Zcmda.
Zechstein: (German, mine-stone). A German term for the upper sub-
division of the permian series, corresponding to the magnesian
limestone of England.
Zeolite : (few, I boil). A group of minerals, hydrous silicates of alumina
and various earths and alkalies, all characterized by intumescence
before the blowpipe. Several of the species are common in
amygdaloidal volcanic rocks, filling the cavities.
Zircon: (from ja/rgon, an old term for the gem). Silicate of ziroonia,
crystallizing in the pyramidal system. Zircons are found in some
crystalline rocks.
ZoOPHyTA : (f<5ov, an animal; (jivrov, a plant). A term applied to the
animals of Hydroeoa, sea-anemones and corals, or to all typical
sessile Gcelenterata, and sometimes to Bryoeoa.
INDEX.
Abbottabad, 498, 500, 501, 502, 505,
511,
Absence of fossils in oldec rocks .
Abu,, Mount ....
Abu, Mount, Himalayan planfe on
Accessory minerals in Bundelkhand
gneiss
Adam's bridge
Adjai river . . , .• 178, 179,
Adjai river, Talchir outliers on
AfBnities of recent, land shells
Africa and India, land connexion be
tween . * . xxxv, xxxix, lii, Ixviii,
Africa, recent mammalia df
Africa, Soutb, cretaceous beds of .
Africa, South, Jurassic beds of
Africa, South, formations allied to
Gondw^nas' xxxiii,
Afridi mountains, 478, 485, 498, 502,
503, 505,
Agani valley
Agate flake, Godavari alluvium
Agates in Deccan traps
Agates in tertiary gravels
Agate knives and, cores
Agori
Agra .
Agra, height above sea
Agror
Ahmedabad
Ahoni .
Aikona
Ajabgarh group
Ajigarh
Ajmir ...... 48,
Akbarpur •
Aknapali
Akola .
Akouktoung
Akrani
Aktagh
Aktasb
Akyab
35, 78,
PASE
PAHB
Alampur
\ .
220
Alandanapuram
276
567
Alapali
235
1
Alhertia
speciosa .....
114
48
Albite granite, Pamir
657
374
Albite in
central gneiss of Himalayas
628
Alethopt
ens whUlyensis . 157, 159,
160
16
Alikur
248
377
Allahabad . ,
. 30
184
Allahabad, height above sea
392
173
Alii .
295
Ixix
Alluvial
deposits of Tibet . ...
672
Alluvial
deposits, older ...
382
' Ixix
Alluvial
plains of Narbada, Tapti, &c. -.
' 383
Ixvii
Alluvial
plains of Tapti valley .
387
292
,»•
„ ,„ elevation
388
261
„
„ „ salt in .
. 388
Alluvial sands and gravels, older, Burmi
726
122
. Alluvium, Indo-gangetic, see Indo-
gangeticalluvium.
512
Alluviun
, old, of Narbada . .
384
74
- 7,
„ „ thickness of .
384
389
>,
„ „ in a rock basin
385
30S
„ ■
„ fossils
385
341
J,
,> „ stone implement
441,
in . '
386
85
„
1, „ of fluviatile ori-
69
gin . • .
387
392
„
„ of Godavari .
•388
499
„
of Indo-gangetic plain,.
391
425
.,
_ raised area of in Ganges delta
408
217
»)
older, west of Ganges delta .
■410
230
»,
east-coast . . . .
422
49
„
west-coast ' . ;
424
11
„
Bombay
424
50
„
Guzerat ....
425
83
13
Kattywat and Ciitch .
426
234
Almod beds . ,
134
388 '
Alpine triassic fauna in Himalayas
xlvii
717
Almora
609,
610
222
Alwar .
. . . . 49,
50
'6S4
Alwar gneiss and schists.
5
658
Alwar group
49
705
Amddi stream
217
Y 1
770
INDEX.
Amarkantak . . 202, 300,
Amarkautak plateau . . vi,
Amb
Ambala, see Umballa.
Amerumbode
Ammonite bed of Kucbri ,
Ammonites Bagavapuram sbales
,; of Sripermatnr beds
„ in carboniferous rocks
Ammonites athleta , '.
355,
203,
501,
148,
149,
250,
(« . . . 258,
Ammonites maerocephahts . 253, 254,
. 259,
. 253,
in Oohdwana
117, 128, 131,
. 578,
Ammonites (FhyUocerasJ oldhami
Amtdonites plarmlatus I .266,278,
ATti/monitiBspoitingeri
Ammonites serrig'er '
Amphibia;, remains of,
rocks . " .
Amphicyon ,
Amr^oti
Amri
Amrnfith
Amrii hill
Analcime, B^jmahSl traps .
Analysis of porcellanic rpck from Gwa-
lior beds
Analysis of trappoid rook from. Lower
Vindhyans . . ' .
Analysis of porcellanic rock from Lower
Vindhyans ....*..
Analysis of laterite . . ~ .
„ of kankar . . ' . 382,
„ of cotton soil ...
„ of Riniganj coal .
„ of Assam coal
Anamal^ v,
Anameeite, Bljmah^l . . . .
„ Deccan traps
Ailundpur, Guzerat . . .' .
Anundpiir, Sub-Himalayas .
Anaram ; . '. . . .
Ancient zoological and botanical re>
gions
Xndagou kyouk
Andaman Islands ....
Andaman islanders, stone implements
of 441,
Andaman Islands, depression of land iu
FAQS
PABB
363
Andhfoi
46
308
Animal kingdom,,claSBiflcation of
Ixxix
515
Anjar river . .
217
Antargaon 231
234
370
Anthi
45
264
Anthozoa, see Corals.
246
Antri
94
Apatite in gneiss
Id
265
Apophyllite in Decoan traps
306
492
Aptian beds, Cutch
266
256
Arabia, Southern, cretaceous fossils of
297
264
Arabian coast, depression of land on
376
255
Arakan . * . . . 704, 717
721
258
Arakau coast, littoral concrete of
729
491
„ „ rise of land on
729
289
„ „ san^ dunes on
729
263
Arakan, nummulitio beds of
717
254
„ newer tertiary- beds in .
721
Arakan Yoma . xi, 704, 707, 710
713
132
Arakeri .^
68
580
Araucarites cutchensis . 154, 159
160.
388
Aravelly, see Arvali.
448
Aravulli, see Arvali.
660
Area larkanensis ...
463
463
Arohegoscmriis . . . . J.I7
128
170
Arconum junction . . * .
248
Arcot, gneiss of ...
25
58
Area of 6ondw'£nas
• 97
Area of Eajmahal volcanic action
. 142
79
Areas of. gneissic rocks . , 4
5
Arenaceous group, Cutch
347
79
Argilla'ceons group, Cutch .
. 317
349
irialur 280
287
note
Arialfir group
280
430
. „ „ distribution .
281
702
„ ,, relations to lower groups
282
702
„ „ paleontology
283
18
Arjuna, Gondwdna outlier near .
227
170
Arki ...■..".
. 608
302
■ Arur . . . . ^ .
418
48
Arvali area, gneissic rocks . xviii, 5
27
550
„ boundary of Vindhyans .
88
155
Arvali range . . iv, v, vi, 48
, 437
„ region ....
44
101
„ series of transition rocks , £
, .44
717
Asansol
. .183
733
Aserali .....
. 237
Asirgarh
. 385
442
Ash, volcanic, in Deccan traps . 303
, 326
733
Ashraopettah ....
. 239
INDEX.
771
TAOS
Assam 391
Assam coal-fields .... 699
As&am gneiss . . . xv, xix, 4, 17, 26
Assam hills, transition series . -xv, 40
Assam range . . . ' . x, 2^ 682
„ „ area to be described . 682
„ ,i distinction between Sbil-
long plateau and Barail —
Patkai range xi, 683, 685
' „ „ formations present . 684
„ '„ general structure . . 684
„• Sylbettrap . . .686
u „ cretaceous series . 1 687
„ „ ■ nummulitic series . ■ 693
. „ „ upper tertiarios . . 696
„ „ Assam coal-fields . . 699
Assam, stone implements . , . 441, 442
„ Sub-Himalayas of '522, 523, 545
„ upper and lower, distinction of 699
„ upper, area of Sub-Himalayas 545
„ valley . . . ; 372, 405
Astarte major . ■ . . . . 262
Astor 625
Ataran river , 709
Atgarh and Atgurh, see Atbgar.
Atbgar .140, 243
Atbgar Gondwana basin . . . 243
Atolls in Indian seas .... 376
Attica, pliocene fauna of Pikermi in . 583
Attock . . . 478, 483, 498, 515
Attock slates .... xxr, 499
Aucella . . . . . . 149
Augite in gneiss .... 19
Auk group 70
Anlathor 282
Australia connected with India in
palseozoic times . ■ • . . . xxxiv
Australian coal-fields, beds of . . 119
Australian region . . . . Ixiv
Ava . . ': . . . . 708, 724
Axial (triassic) group, Burma . . 710
Axis, granitic, of Himalayas . . 629
„ main gneissic of Himalaya . ^4
' „ of earth, change of direction in
xxii, xxxvii, ^68
„ the Ladik gneissic ■ . . . . 625
Azoic, application of term ... 3
Azoic rocks . . . .xviii, 1
„ „ origin of . . . . xviii
„ . „ three-fold division of . 3
PAHB
zoic rocks, section of . . .
6
„ „ general composition and
distribution of
9
„ „ classification of
9
„ „ salt range
485
BacyMies vagina
Bachao . . .
Badalgarh beds .
Badhdno
Badnera, elevation of
Badraw^h 631;
Badsar-Nurpur fault, Sub-Himalayas
549,
Big, see Bagh.
B^gh 221, 293,
Bagh beds . . . . xxxix,
„ „ mineral characters and dis
tribution .
„ „ resemblance to Lametas, 295.
.. >, physical geology
„ „ palseqntology
„ „ relations to cretaceous rocks
of South Arabia
u „ probable conditions of depo
sition
B^h, Bijawars of
imara .
B^gbmati river .... 675,
Bagpura, quartz reef at .
Bagra group
„ „ Satpura basin
Bagwa, quartz reef at .
Bahadur Khel
„ salt beds at .
Bah£walpur .... 436,
„ height above sea
Bakkar
B£lagh£t copper and silver implements
Balanpur
B^lasan river
Balmir . . 53,54,263,264,
„ sandstones
Balch pass .
Ballarpur ■ .
Baltistan
Baluchistan, mountain ranges of
„ disturbance in .
773
INDEX.
Baluchistan, cretaceous and lower ter
tiary rocks of
„■ Makran. group of
Balumath .
Bambai'
BtoaganpiU group
„ 'bone cave near
„ diamond mines
Banalah
Bancoora, see Bankura. ■
Banda
Bandar coal-field
Bandugarh fort .
Banganga river .
Bauihal pass
Banks of rivers raised by blown sand
„ „ flood deposits
Bankura
Bannu .... 45'8,.
„ plain. . . 478,505,514.
Bansloi river. . . ' • 165,167,
Bara ..■■■■•
Bara-Bhagal .... 631,
Barabar hills
Bdrai . . • • . •
Barail range . . . • 683,
„ origin of .
Barail-Patkai range . xi, 683,
„ relations to Himalayas .
Barffli river
Barakar group .
„ ■ river . . 174, 176
Barakars, relations to Talchirs
„ thickness
„ coal of
„ Kajmahal hills .
„ Tangsuli basin
,j Sahajori field
„ Jainti or Karauu field
„ Kavharbari field .
„ Eaniganj field
Jharia coal-field .
„ Bokaro field
■ E4mgarh field
„ South Karanpura field
„ Earanpura field.
■Chop6 field-.
„ Itkuri field
„ Daltonganj field . '
,, near Latiahar
115,
178,
453
470
197
. 11
70
.381
70
608
442
226
203
549
665
404
406
184
495
515
169
58
633
38
58
698
699
685
685 .
xi
124
180
125
125
125
167
171
172-
173
175-
180
186
188
190
192
194
196
197
rt7
198
Barakars, South Eewah field
Tdlohir pebbles in
basalts interstratififid with
•Jhilmilli field
Bisrampnr field
Lakbanpur field
Korba field
Eaigarh-Hingir field
Tilchir field
S£tpura basin
Bandar field
Wardha field
Godavari valley . . 235
Kamaram field
Singareni field
Athgar basin
BaraWcha . . ix, 629/ 630, 631,
Baralatse, see BSralacha.
Bardhi
Bareta
Bargandi .
Barhatpur .
Barhi
Bari Doab sand hills
Bari hill
Bari Tawi river . . . • . 564,
Barmandal .
Barmaur
Barod hill .
Baroda
Bdrrah hill .
Barren Island
Barus
JBarwai
Barwar
Barwarna . . . ...
Basalt, in coal, Raniganj field' .
„ intrusions, Gdniganj field
„ dykes. South Eewah
dyke, Athgar basin
„ columns . . . .
,, interstratified with cretaceous
', beds of Sind . . . .
Basauli " . . . ; . 549,
Basauli-Naushera fault, Sub-Himalayas
Basins of upper transition rocks .
Gondwdna ' . .
„ sedimentary, of Cei^tral Hima
layas . ■. . .
Baspa river .....
223, 304
631,
308,
84, 99, 221, 294, 296,
. 12,.
PA en
202
203
•204
205
206 .
206
208
209 ■
212
Sfl7
226
229
239
241
241
243
639
78
13
217
89
37
439
33
568
'564
632
49
425
448
735
661
385
13
554
180
185
204
244
303
449
568
567
56
161
638
597
INDEX.
773
Bassein ^17,
„ river
Bastar . . . . .76,
Bath Oolite, or Bathbnian of Cutch .
Bau-dwen-gyee .....
Baxa
Baxa series . . ' .
Bay of Bengal
„ islands in, geology of .
Bazdrgaon
Beaches, old. sea
Be£ha 49,
„ beds
Beas, see Bi^.
Beaufort beds, S. Africa - .
Beawar ....
Beddadanol coal-field .
Beerbhoom, see Birbhum.
Behar . . . " .
123,
Bijawars
„ lower Vindhyans
Southern, Gondw£ua basins in
177,
„ stone implements in .
Beharinath hill
Bela . . .58, 251, 254, .
Belaspur, Kangra . . . 552,
„ section, Sub-Himalayas
Belemnites grantiatfas . . 258,
„ katrolensis . . 259,
Belemnopteris
Belgaum .... 300,308,
Bellary •
Bellerophon in triassic rocks
Benaiesy height above sea .
Bengal, 391,
„ gneissicarea . . .
„ south-western, transition rocks
„ upper, plains of . . .
„ south-eastern, stone implements
Benodakatta
Berdr . • • ■ -227, 311,
Beryl in gneiss
Besram stream , . . . .
Betul .,.■... . • 220,.
Betwa river, fossil bones found, in
Bezwada
Bhabar
Bh^bar slope ai foot of Himalayas
PAG*
727
Bhdbar slope, Siud .• . .
725
Bhabeh pass . 596, 627, 628, 630, 639,
355
„ series
254
Bhadrachellam . . 233, 238, 239,
708
BhMwahiU
618
Bhigalpur
618
Bhaganw^la . . . . ■ .
.408
Bhagirathi, oscillations of , ' .
732
Bhagotoro copper implement
225
„ hills . . ■ . . .•
376
Bhdgsu . . . . , .'
51
Bhngw^ho, trap dyke at . . .
50
Bhamo
Bhaudak
133
Bhand£ri .'
50
Bhdngar .......
239
„■ of Gangetic plain .
Bhanrer beds
391
„ limestone
36
Bhartpur
19
Bheng river ....-,
78
Bhiaura hills . * . . 20, 36,
Bhima basin, transition rocks . 66,
196
„ series, subdivisions and thick'
442
ness '
184
Bhimbar
345
Bhimgarh near Goa
555
Bhimtal '.
555
Bhit range . . . • .
26.0
Bhitfi
260
Bhodta
118
Bhokara- near Nagpnr
362
Bhooj, see Bhdj.
355
Bhopal . ,
494
Bhorla ...
392
Bhos^wal, elevation of .
410
Bhiij
18
Bhdgti hills . . vii, 479, 480,
43
Bhur land •
410
Bhurtpore, see, Barhatpur and Bhart-
441
pur.
180
Bhutan ......
^55
„ Duars
19
„ frontier, absence of Sub-Hima-
183
layan rocks . . 521,
224
„ Sub-Himalayas of . ...
403
„ loyper Himalayas of
238
Bhutra .'.....
403
Bias river ......
412
„ „ former course of
774
INDEX.
Bi& river, Sub-Himalftyas on, 548, 553
„ valley, lower Himalayas of . 602,
» » ^ upper
Bibra .
Bichiako . .
Bidar 354,
Bidoung hill ^ .
Bijawar formation , , ■ 6, 7,
„ basin
Bijfiwars of DhSr forest
„ of middle Narbada area
„ of Son-Narbada area
„ of Son area
„ of Behar
„ of Bagh and Jobat
Bijigarh
115,
12S,
127,
199,
80,
103, 139, 165
and Karharbari
597,
Bijiragugarh
Bijori group
Blkauir . .
■ Bikrampnr .
Bilaspur . . . '
Bilheri
Billa Sdrgam . ,
Bimphcdi .
Bindrabun, Bajmabal hills
Biotitein gneiss .
Bir . . . .
Birbbum .
Birbhum, Deogarh
Gondwaua region
Bisahir
Bisramganj ghat
Bisrampnr coal-field .
Black band, Kaniganj field
Black Pagoda near Pooree, formerly on
sea-shore ,
Black soil .
„ distribution of
„ origin of
Blaini group
„ . river
Blown sand
„ of Indian desert
Bogapdni river
Bogin river
Boileauganj
Boj mountain
Bok^ro coal-field
404
41, 686, 690,
533, 534,
. 106,
rXBlTS
554
606
632
237
543
355
715
28
28
81
32
33
34
36
45
85
84
80
218
437
11
200
90
381
611
•170
19
559
171
171
598
83
205
181
377
429
431
432
599
699
435
486
694
83
601
599
187
187
Bole in Deccan traps . . 304,
Bompoka
Bon
Bone-cave, Billa Sfirgam
Bos (BuhalusJ palcBindieus 386, 402, 578,
Boulder bed, Talchif, xxxv, 109, 173,
180, 186, 188, 190, 194, 205, 206, 211,
229, ,
Boulder bed in transition rocks .
„ „ . South Africa . xxxvi.
Boulders in post pliocene rocks of
Punjab ....
„ striated in olive grodp. Salt
Bange . . xsxvi,
., in Pangi slates . xxxvi, 632,
„ Kangra valley
Bombay . . 299, 304„319,
„ evidence of depression at
„ intertrappeau beds of
„ „ fossils
„ raised shell beds at
„ alluvium ....
„ littoral concrete
Borghit . . .. - . .'306,
Bor hill ......
Bor Fat^r ......
Borobhtiiu
Bore-hole, Fori William, Calcutta, 378,
„ Umballa ....
„ Sabzal-ka-kpt
„ ^nkakheri, Narbada valley .
Borendo pass .....
Boring, Madras . .
Botanical regions, ancient .
Bothriceps atistralis
Boundary, abnormal, of upper tertiaries,
Punjab
Brachiopoda Utatur group . 27.3,
,-, Trichinopoly group, 278,
„ AriaMr group . 283,
Brachiopa laticeps . . ' . ■ 123,
Brdhmani river, B^jmah^l hills 165,
166,
„ coal-field
Gondwina region
„ river, Orissa
Brahmaputra river
„ delta
„ changes in course of
312
785
535
381
582
386
234
xxxvi
112
515
496
664
669
320
Ixxi
319
321
377
424
426
320
449
692
. 43
397
401
402
384
597
423
101
131
483
275
280
286
131
170
167
199
210
viii
405
107
INDEX,
775
Bramaputra valley . . . 405,
BAOB
682
„ section of tertiary rocks near
696
Br^bminabad
418
Breynia carinata . . . 466,
470
Broach, . . .. 267, 339, 425,
435
„ higber tertiaries of . ;
340
Bronze implements ....
443
Bronzite, Hundes ....
650
in serpentine, Burma .
714
„ Nicobars' . .
735
JBryozoa, Arialur group
286
Bubhdr gorge . , . 549,
669
„ Siwaliks at . . . 551,
555
„ and Bilaspur sections of Sub-
Himalayas compared
555
Budbavada . . i . 141,
246
Bugaoti river, fossil bones found in
403
Sulimtis insularis . • , . • ,
576
Bulsar .. , . ,
427
Enndair, see Bhanrer.
Bundelkhand area, gneissic rocks, xviii, •
5
„ gneiss ....
10
„ „ composition of
10
„ „ accessory minerals in
16
„ „ relations .to conti-
guous formations 'xviii, 16, 31,
55
Bundelkhand, Bijawars of . ' . 29,
55
,, Vindhyaus . 69.81;
87
„ laterite of, vi. 355, 354
363
„' stone implements in.
442
Bunnoo, see Bannu.
Bunter flora . . ' . .114,
118
Burail range
27
Buramuk near Tezpur, height .above sea
392
Bnrdwan coal -field , .
178,
„ height above sea
392'
Buriadih ......
175
Burma, area afld physical geography .
704
„ rivers and ranges of
X
„ geological data
.706
„ rock-groupa ....
706
„ gneiss of . . .
six
„ metamorpbic rocks
707
„ Mergui group . ...
708.
709
„ Axial (triassic) group
710
„ Mai-i (cretaceous) group
711
„ Hegrais rocks
713
„ Serpentine ....
714
„ Nummulitic gfbup
714
Burma, Pegu group . , •
„ Pliocene fossil wood group
„ upper tertiaries
„ tertiary disturbance in
Volcanic rocks
„ poSt-tertjary deposits
,, stone implements in
Byangyee ....
Byieuconda (juartzites -
61,
Cacbar ... . . . 683,
Cairns . • . •
Calcutta bor^-hole ....
„ neighbourhood of .
Calder's description of Indian geology
Callian, see Ealyan.
Cambay, Gulf of . 339. 341, 342.
Camorta
Campbellpur
Canals, effects of, on reh lands . .
Candona Tcotahensis . . . 152,
Cane river, see Ken.,
Canning town, peat at . . .
. Cape Monze .... 464.
Carboniferous fossils, Salt Bange
„ „ Zanskar area
„ „ . ^iti, Hundes
„ „ Milam pass
„ „ Kashmir . .
„ . in Maulmain group
Carboniferous rocks of Australia, 119,
„ „ Punjab saltrange
xxiv,
„ „ West of Indus .
„ „ Northern Punjab,
XXV,
„ „ Changchenmo
„ „ Karakoram.
„ „ Ku'enlun .
„ Sa.rikol
„ „ of Kashmir
„ „ supposed, of Pir
Panj&l
Cardita heatimonii . . 449,
Cardium (ProtooardmmJMllaimm 280,
Caribarj, see Karibari.
Carter's summary of the geology of
India
719
721
724
Ivii
725
726
442
725
62
693
441
397
, 407
Ixxii
425
735
503
414
154
400
.470
491
633
648
650
661
70s
120
489
490
501
654
65S
656
658
660
• 666
497
Ixx
776
INDEX.
FA.GB
riOB
Cashmere, see Kashmir. '
Chahgrizing ....
629
Cauvery river . • 269, 383,
433
Chano
195
Cave deposits
881
Chari ... ,. . .254,
255,
256
Cawnpore, height above sea
392
„ group ....
255
Celts . . - . • • . _ ■
"442.
„ „ fossils
257
Central and lower Himalayan gneiss
Charwar range . . 252, 257>
258,
260
identical • — .
597
Chatarhill
219
Central gneiss of Himalayas . xxvi,
627
Chattarkot . ■. . , .
83
„ „ stratigraphical relations.
Chaura
58
age of, &c.
628
Chebu . . . .
81
■87
„ „ terminal extensions of .
630
•Cheduba Island . . ...
717,
729
Central Himalayas, definition of . 519,
529
„ mud volcanoes of .
729
„ (Tibetan) Himalayas
622
Cheirolepis . ■ .
155
Central Himalayas, see Himalayas.
Chel river
614
Central Provinces, gneiss of
22
Chela . . . . ...
694
,j ■ „ stone implements .
441
Chemmtda tmdosa ....
.277,
292
Cephalopoda Paohham group
254
Chenab river. . . '.
44,
52
257
„ „ see CbiB&b.
Kantkot sandstone
258
Chendragiri ridge
612
„ Katrol group
. 258
Cherakhan
294'
„ TJmia group . .
260
Cherat hills . . . . 477,
498,
500
„ distribution of, in" Cutch
Cherra Poonjee . . 684, 686,
698,
694
Jurassics . ' . . .
262
„ „ cretaceous beds at
6^9
„ of Utatur group . 272,
274
„ „ coal of .
693
„ of Trichinopoly group • .
278
Cherra sandstone ....
690
,i of Arialfir gEOup . 283,
284
Chessagarhi ridge
611
Ceratite beds, Punjab salt range
493
Chetrai, quartz reef at
14
Ceratites in carboniferous roclis
492
Cheyai'r group
61,
62
Ceratoius . xxxiy, Ixx, 100, 101,
15-4
Chhataip)ur
11,
14
Cerusite in gneiss
19
Chhatisgarb 75,
128,
• 199
Cervus namadicus
38ff.
Chichali hills, 478, 480, 485, 490,
493,
Ceylonese subregion . . .
Ixv
. 495,
505,
507
Chagos islands, depression of
376
„ „ nummulitics of
506
Cbaibassa ....
43
Chicli^U pass
'496
Chainpur
87
Chikiala group ....
141,
152
Chalsai
174
,', „ Godavari valley .
237
Chaki river ....
558
Chikkim limestone
635
Chalicotherium .
580
„ shales .
635
Chamba ....
631,
658
Chiklik psiss . . .
657
Chambahill
503
Chilka lake, estuarine shell-beds near .
424
Chimpagiri
692
Chimiir
,
226
Champanir beds .
46
Chinab river . viii, 562, 566
567,
676
Chanch •
.180
„ upper valley of .
658,'
665
Chsinda . 75, 110, 124, 227
,231
432
„ origin of gorge, at Riassi
562,
676
Chanda coal-field.
227
Chinakuri ....
,
182
Chandanwari
660
Chin^ni ....
.
566
Chandnai stream .
207
Chinese jllant fossils
,
122
Chang range
654
Chiniot .....
44,
52
Chdngchenmo .
. 658
654
Chinna Tripetty ,
148
Changes of level, subreceut .
Ixxi
Chihiir . . . . 234, 235
,236,
237
INDEX.
777
V\GH
Chip^ . ■ .
604
Coal, Eimgarh field . . . .
Chitapahar, 478, 485, 498, 503, 503, 505,
512
„ South K^ranpura field
Chitlong . . .
. ..
6U
„ Kfiranpura field . . . 194,
Chittagong . . ' .
. ■
704
,, Chop^ field. . . . ;
Chittorghar . ...
84
„ Itkuri field. < . . ,
Chlithrolepis
, ,
120-
„ Daltonganj field .....
Chlorite in gneiss
.
10
„ near Iiatiahar . . . .
Chondrodite, Mandalay
708
„ reported near Kurea, Jashpur,
ChDpg ...
164
Chutia Nagpur
Chop^ eoal-field .
,
196
„ South Rewsh field
Chopra
,
82
„ Jhilmilli field . . . .
Chor mountain ...
. 598,
607
„ Bisrampur field ....
„ gneiss of .
, ,
608
„ Lakhanpur field . . ' .
Chor.ar . ...
251,
354
„ Udepur (Chutia Nigpur) .
Chorkheri .
,
225
. „ Korba, Bil^spur ....
Chota Nagpore, see Chntia Mgpn
r. '
„ ftaigarh-Hingir field .
Ghota TIdepur
,
221
„• Tdlchir field . . . .
Choti T^wi river ...
564,
566
„ Lameta ghat ....
Chotan ....
,
54
„ Satpura basin . . ,' .
Ch'rysotile in gneiss
19
„ Bench valley ....
Chumalari
,
' X
„ Mopani
Cbnnar ....
78.
87
„ Bandar field ....
Chupai'bhita pass . 165, 167
,168,
169
„ Wardha (CJi^nda) field .
j_ „ coal-field .
167
„ God^vari valley . 234, 235,
Churiagh^ti range, Nepal
543
„ Madaviram field
Chnrna Island
•
464
„ Beddadanol field _ .
Chutia Nagpur .
142,
199
„ Kamfoam field- ....
,', „ plateaii, iv, vi, 18,
106,
„ Singareni field ....
163,
lily
35d
„ from Calcutta bore-hole
gneiss .
21
„ Eanikpt group, Siud
„ _ . „ Goiidwfina outliers
in .
207
„ Jurassic, Punjab salt range .
„ „ stone implements
442
,', SnlemSn range
Chutro
197
„ nummulitic, Salt Range
Classification of animal kingdom .
Izxix
„ supposed, of Sabdthu
„ of azoic rooks .
9
„ cretaceovis, Khasi hills
Climate, change of, efi'ects on fan
aa .
585
Garo hills .690;
Climate of Gondwdna epoch
XXXV .
. „ basins of Eongreng and DSrdng
Coal, in Talchir beds .
109,'
205
„ of Upper Assam . . .
„ Kurharbfoi group
113
,, nummulitic, Khasi hills . 693,
„ Bar^kar group .
125
„ Tenasserim, cretaceous
„ Bfinigpnj .
126
„ near Thayet Myo, Burma
„ Jabalpur group .
156
„ in JPenasserim
„ EAjmahffl hills .
167
„ Upper. Burma . . . .
„ Tangsuli basin .
171
Coal-fields of Damuda valley
„ Kandit Kar^yah field
172
„ of Assam ....
„ Jainti or Karaun fields-
173
Coal-measures, Eaniganj, possible
„ Karharbdri conl-fleld .
*
.175
extension to eastward
„ Raniganj field .
181,
182
Coal-measures, upper Assam
„ Jharia field
186
Coast line Of Peninsula in Upper Gond-
„ Bokai'o field • ...
188
wdna times
778
INDEX.
Coast in cretaceous period xxxviii
1
„ in Deocan trap peilod
xliv
„ of Peninsula in tertiary per
od,x
vi, Ixi
„ in Jurassic period
XXX
i xTix
Cochin . . ■.
. 368
Coconada . . . ■
!l47
, 244
Coeos islands
. 732
■ Coimbatur iron implements
. 444
„ limestone
. 25
Coleroon river . .
. 268
Colossoehelys atlas
. 580
Colgong . . . .165
,167
, 170
Columnar basalt, Depcan trap
. 303
Conglomerates, Siwalik
. 525
Conjeveram
. 249
Coorg, see Kurg.
Copper glance, Punjab Salt Rang
e
. ■ 489
„ implements
. 443
Coral islands in Indian seas
. 876
■ „ reef limestone, Utatur grou
P
. 270
„ reefs, raised, Nicobar island
s"
. 735
Coralline limestone,. Bagb .
294
Corals, TTtattir group .
273
275
„ Trichinopoly group .
278
280
„ Arialur group .
283
286
Corhula harpa. ... . 450
453
462
trigonalis ,
463
468
Cores, flint, ....
441
Coromandel coast
268
Corteliar river ....
248
Corundum in gneiss .
19
Cossya or Cossyah, see Kh&i.
Cotton soil . . - .
429
„ ,„ distribution of
431
„ „ origin of .
432
Orentmconchits
378
Cretaceous coal, Assam range
689
„ Mikir hills .
692
„ „ Tenasserim
712
Cretaceous fatina, relations of
xl,
289
„ „ South Arabia, .
297
„ forms in Banikot beds
453
„ fossils, Z&nsk£r area .
635
„ „ Milam pass
649
„ Kh&i hills
688
„ land, distribution of .
xxxix
marine beds of Peni
nsula
Xi.
xviii.
266
„ rocks of Trichinopoly
and
Pondicherry . Xi
xviii,
267
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly and
Pondicherry, age of . . xxxviii,.
Cretaceous rocks of Narbada valley
xxxix,
„ „ of Assam range
. sxxix,
„ „ extra-peninsular
„ „ of Trichinopoly, rela-
tions to other formations
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, sub-
division of ' .
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, table
of groups
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, coral
reef limestone in ... .
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, table
showing distribution of invertebrate
fossils in ....
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, con
.nection with other Indian beds
Cretaceous rocks of Trichinopoly, re
lations to South Africa , ,
Cretaceous rocks of Sind
„ „ of Baluchistan
„ „ Punjab salt range
„ „ of Hazara
„ „ near Kohdt
„ „ Zanskar . . 635,
„ „ Lokshung range,Tibet
„ Sanju
„ „' Khasl area
„ „ of G^ro area
„ „ Mikir area ,
„ „ Burma . . ' .
Crocodilus palustris ....
Groinlechs 440,
Crystalline rocks, Hazira .
Cuddalore . . . .335,
Cuddalore sandstones ....
Cuddapah, see Kadapah.
Cullygoody
Cumbum slates . . . .61,
Cundacoor, see Kandakur.
Curruokpore, see Karakpur.
Cutch Gondwdnas -.97,99,100,
„ flora, relations to Bajmahals, 147,
„ jurassic'rocks of . . . xxxvii
jurassicB, relations to higher
. formations, .
. i> physical geology of .
268
293
687
xlix
268
269
270
270
290
291
292
448
453
496
503
504
643
654
656
687
690
692
711
580
443
498
424
335'
271
64
158
156
251
252
252
INDEX.
779
Cutch j uraBsics, sub-divisions
,j „ correlation with EurO'
pean groups
„ „ thickness . .
„ neocomisn beds of . •
„. traps of . . 300, 308. 328
„ tertiary rocks of
„ „ relations to traps
„ „ classificatijon
„ Bubnummulitic group
» gyP^^Q?^ shales of
i, nummulitics
„ arenaceous group
„ argillaceous group
„ upper tertiary .
„ alluvium of
„ blown sands
„ Kan of, see Kan of Cutch.
Cuttack . 140, 199, 242, 243, 355,
Cffcadiies gramineus
Cyclopteris jenhinsiana
„ oldJiami ■
„ pac,
CzelcanoiBsiia
Dacca
Dagshai beds
,. ridge .
Dalchipur sandstone
Dalhousie .
Uffling
„ Fort ■ .
„ series
Dallipur, quartz reefs
Dalma hill
Daltonganj coal- field
Damdn -
D&man-i-boh .
Dambal hills
„ gold in
Damdaina beds .
Damuda outliers .
„ river
at
524,
81;
425,
Series
„ sub-divisions
183, 190;
191;
107, 108
palseontology
PAGB
252
253
254
266
331
348
343
344
344
345
345
346
346
347
426
436
858
157
147
147
133
157
407
530
532
83
633
613
545
614
14
44
197
427
165
355
23
50
164
192
115
115
116
Uamuda series, relations to Australian
carboniferous
„ „ relations to Karoo series
of South Africa .
„ valley . . 103, 163, 171,
„ „ coal-fields , • .
Damudas, Upper . . , 156;
„ Kajmah^l hills ' . .
„ Kandit Kavayah field- .
„ Kaniganj coal-field
„ South Eewah field
„ Sikkim
„ underlying gneiss in Sikkim
„ Bhdtan
„ Dikrang section, Assam
DantEopsii rajmahalensis .
Danian beds, possible representatives
in South India
Daphla hills . . .97, 546,
Dandiapura
Dapedius .
Hiring coal basin
Darjiling .
„ gneiss .
Dayvallah .
Darrang district .
De Beaumont's theory
formation
Debigarh ridge . . ' .
Deccan trap not connected with Hij
mabal . . . '
„ „ period, coast lines of
„ „ relations of, to Gondw&nas
„ ■„ preservation of Gondwanas
by
■ „ „ series . . . xli,
„ „ » area of .
„ „ „ classification of "
„ „ original limits of . xliV;
„ ,, origin of name
„ „ scenery a"nd vegetation
„ „ petrology
„ „ columnar: basalt in .
' „ „ volcanic ash in
„ „ minerals in
„ „ horizontality , , 306,
„ „ thickness of lava fiows
,) „ associated sedimentary
rocks . .
„ „ series, thickness of
lis
691,
of mountain
. 634, 667,
?80
INDEX.
D'eccan trap of snbaerial origin xliii, 322,
„ relations to underlying
rociss . . . xlii
„ „ not poured out in a great
lake ...
„ „ hoiizontality difficult to.
explain .
„ volcanic foci of ' . 326
„ „ djkes of .
„ „ geological age of
„ „ probable conditions of
formation
„ „ of Sind .
Dehing group .... TOO,
„ river ....
Debra Dun . x, 535, 540, 542
Debri, quartz reef at ,
Delhi
„ height above sea ' .
Delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra-,
„ „ Mr. Fergusson's theory
„ „ depression in, 400, 409
„ of Indus ....
„ „ depression in . 419,
„ of Irawadi ,,
Deltas of Indus and Ganges, depression
in . . ■ •
Denwa group, Satpura basin . . 137;
.„ river . . . 127, 136
Deobun mountain . -. .
Deogarh . . . ...
. „ Gondwana region .
Deokalli, quartz reef at . _ .
Deoli
Deopur
Deorat ghat ....
Deosai plain ....
Deothan '
Deposition of azoic rocks
Dera Ghazi Khan, carboniferous lime
stone near . . . 486, 491,
Dera Ghazi Khan, nummulitics near
„ „ Siwaliks near , .
Dera Ismail Khan
„ „ height above sea
Derajat .....
Desert, Indian ....
„ „ Jurassic beds in .
Dev.a river .... 222;
Devonian rocks of Eastern Tibet
PAGS
324
323
324
325
328
326
329
332
450
702
701
595
14
52
392
405
406
411
419
421
727
378
219
215
608
173
171
14
183
174
11
670
17'6
495
505
513
479
392
513
436
263
295
xxvii
Dhaba
232
Dhamini ' .
.603
Dhariiui . .• ■ •
311
Dhantua hill, Kyanite of
16
Dhansiri river
27,
683,
699
Dbfiow^ra .
13
• „ iron ore at .
16
Dhar forest, Bijawars of
31
„ „ Vindhy^insof
8.6,
91
Dharamjur
596
Dbarmsila . . .
557
Dhfirwar
355
Dharydro .
456
Dhasan river, Bundelkhand
13,
81
Dbauladhar ix, 530, 547, 556,
557,
559, 602, 658,
665,
669
„ gneissic range
.
632
„ Sub-Himalayas at base of
557
Dhaulagiri . ...
.
s
Dhosa oolite . . ...
256,
257
Dhyanda
.
388
Diamond gravels . . ■
.
390
„ washings, Sainbalpur
.
77
Diamonds in Banaganpili sandstone .
70
„ in yindhyans
84,
92
Diaspore in gneiss
19
Dibrugarh . . •
546
„ height above sea
392
Dicerocardivm .
502,
654
Dictt/ozamites . ' .
150,
246,
247
JDicynodon orieifdalis .
132
Dihar
534,
552
Dikhu river
701
Dikrang section .
620
Diorite dykes in gneiss
'
15
Dipsang plain
655
Disai river
701
Disang group
700
„ river
\
.701
Distribution of extra-peninsular
for-
■ mations'
xvii
„ of Gondw£na basins
161
„ of recent fauna
Ijiv
Disturbance of peninsular rocks
vi,
xviii
„ , of ?xtra-peninsnlar
area
vii.
xviii,
Ivi
„ of transition series .
• XX
„ ' •' of Himalayas . ■ Ivi,
569,
667,
671
„■ of Upper ViHd
lyans
.
9
INDEX.
781
P4GB
Disturbance post pliocene, Sind ,
474
„ of Assam range
.•
685
Division of Qoudwdua system
107
Dohad . . . • .
,
313
Dolerites of EajmaliAl group
.
170
Dolomite in gneiss ' .
,
19-
„ in South Mahratta country .
23
„ of Bnxa
618
Dolphins, river, of Indus and Ganges .
392
Domalgiri
695
Dome gneiss . '.
.
20
Dongaho ....
11
Dongargaon ■ .
,
311
Dooniagoodiam, see DumS.gudem
Doon, see Dun. ,
Drainage lines, Himalayas- .
675
Dring «...
556,
558
Dr&s ...
623,
625
Dubrijpur group
138,
168
Dubrog ....
558.
556
Dudhi river
215,
219.
Dudukur . . . .
316
DiimagliSem
233,
239
Dungagalli
,484,
511
Duns of- Snb- Himalayas
521
Dykes, Rajmahal hills .
170
„ Karharhari field
176
„ Eaniganj field .
. 181
184
„ Jharia field
187
Bokaro field .
• 189
„ Rimghar field .
191
„ South Rewah .
204
„ Deccan trap
. 326
E
Earthquakes in Himalayas, &c.
. Ivi
„ Indus valley .
.418
, .419
East coast region of Gondwfinas
. 242
„ tertiary beds of .
. 335
„ rise of land on .
. 376
„ alluvium
. 422
Eastern area gneissic ro.cks .
4
iv
Ebe river. . .
. 213
Ecca beds, S.: Africa .
. 123
Echinodermata, TJtatur group .
. 273
, 275
- „ Arialur group
. 284
, 286
Echinostrolus expansus ■
. 159
Eedatum . .
. 244
Ehalapur . .
. ' 174
Til ex
Eishniakam G62
Elao . . . . • . . .341
Blephas namadicus . . 386, 389, .402
„ insignis .... 386 578
Elevation of Tibetan plateau post-Siwa-
lik . ■ . . . . Ivi, 585 586
Elevation of Himalayas, Ivi, Ixii, 569,
. 677, 680
Ellifthpur 223, 311
„ Gondwfina inliers near . . 224
Ellore . 99, 140, 147, 223, 238, 245, 267
Emdtaganj 198
Emys tectum , . '. . 386, 580
Endain 726
Enkatpur 232
Eocene basin of Laddk . . 634, 643
„ land, distribution of . , Hii
„ „ in Himalayas . . 569
„ rocks, extra-peninsular . . 1
of Surat . . . 340
Sind . . 447, 451, 456
Balachistan . . , 453
Punjab ... 505
Kh£si Hills . . . 693
Burmah . . . 715
Epidote in Bundelkhand.gneiss . 12, 16
,, „ gneiss of Singrauli . . 19
Erratics of Punjab . ■ . . 373, 515 •.
„ Dipsang plain, Karakoram 655
Eruptions of Ramri mud volcanoes . 731
.EryoB in Ongole plant beds, .149, note
Eshwaraeupum ..... 64
Estheria Jcbtahensis . . . 152, 154
„ manffaliensis . 129, 132, 232
Estuarine fossils, Gaj group . . . 453
„ „ RAjamahendri inter-
trappeans . . 318
„ „ Tibetan uummulitics . 643.
,, shells in alluvium . . 423
„ „ STadras . . , 423
„ „ in North-Eastern Kat-
tywar. , . ' . 426
Ethiopian mammalian families in Or-
iental region . ^ . . . Ixvii
Ethiopian region ]xiv
Ethiopian afiinities of Oriental mam-
mals Ixvi
Ethiopian afiinities of Indian mammals Ixix
Ethiopian fauna '582
Etounda 544
782
INDEX,
Europe and India, land connexion be-
tween . • • • xxxiv,
European formations, list of
Euphyllite in gneiss .
Everest, Mount .
Extinct genera in Siwalik fauna
Extra-peninsular area
„ mountain ranges
of . , viii
Extra-peninsular area, disturbance of
,, sub-divisions
jj „ formations, list of
distribution
of .
„ „ palaeozoic rocks,
. „ „ mesozolc
„ „ tertiary •„
PASB
xlvii
Ixxv
19
X
579
■ ii
Ivti
vili
U5
xiv
xvii
xxiv
xlvl
1
Fadial
506
False Island near Ramri
731
Families of mammalia. Oriental .
Ixvi
Fatehganj
516
Fatehpur .....
217
Fauna and flora, Gondwina; relations o
xxxii
Fauna mammalian, recent, poverty of
586
„ miocene, migration of
584
,' of cretaceous groups, relations
of . . . . xl,
289
„ of India, Ethiopian and. Malay
forms in . . .
590
of Indian mountains
374
recent distribution of
. Ixiv
„ recent, of Northern India, com
pared vpith Siwalik
589
„ Siwalik . . . . liv
572
„ terrestrial, diversity of .
101
Fault boundary, Talchir field
211
„ „ supposed, Satpura basin
216
„ „ of South Rewah field
201
„ . Jhilmilli field .
204
„ in Assam coal-fields .
700
Faulting, west of S^tpura field .
220
Faults in Gondwanas .
104
„ Raniganj coal-field . . 179,
. .184
„ Bokaro coal-field
187
„ Karanpura coal-fields
196
„ Bisrampur field
205
„ in Gondwana beds near EUichpur
224
,, discussion of
526
delta
malayas .
iional
Faults in Sub-Hima]ayan rocks
Felsite in Malani beds ' .
Felspar in Bundelkhand gneiss
in Deccan traps
Fergusson, Mr., theory of Ganges
Ferpzepore, height above ' sea
Ferozabad iron implements
Flakes
Flexible sandstone
Flexnres, classification of
„ normal, in Sub-Hi
„ east of Jhelum transi:
with those to west
Flood deposits, Gaoges delta
Floods, Indus .,
Flora, Gondwana •
„ of Indian mountains
„ diversity of
Foliation of gneiss
Foraminifera, asserted discovery otj
near Naini Tal ....
Formations, Indian geological, in general
„ peninsular, list of . ' .
„ extra-peninsular, list of .
„ „ „ distribu-
tion of .
„ European, list of
„ contiguous to Bundgl-
khand gneiss
„ in Burma . . .
Fort William bore-hole
Fossil mammals, Tibet
Fossil-wood group, Burma .
„ „ Trichinopoly group .
„ „ Manchhar group .
Fossilifei-ous series of Zdnskar area
Fossils, marine, rarity of, in Peninsula
„ wanting in older rocks
„ supposed, in Gwalior beds .
„ „ „ Vindhyans .
„ Gondwana .
Talchir group _ .
„ Karharbari group
„ Damnda series .
Australian eoal-measnres ,
„ Karoo series. South Africa
,, M^ngli beds
„ Panchet group .
„ Mahadeva series
„ Bajmahdl group
XXXIl,
PASS
526
53
10
305
406
392
444
441
52
527
527
568
406
516
xxxii
374
101
20
' 609
xi
xii
xiv
xvii
IXXV',
16
706
397
651
721
276
471
635
xl.
1
58
89
100
111
114
116
120
123
129
132
136
142
INDEX.
783
Fossils, Rngavapuram sbales
„ Kota Maleri beds
Jabalpur group
„ TJmia group of Cutch
„ Kajmahffl group, localities of
. „ niear Golapilli .
„ near Inkola
' „ Jurassic marine . . 250,
„ Pachham group . . 253,
„ Chdri group
„ Katrol group
„ Jesalmir limestones .
„ cretaceous marine, xl, 266 note,
neocomian, Cutcli
„ TJtatdr group . , 270, 271,
,, ^, list of .
„ Trichinopoly gi'oup .
„ - „ • list of
„ Arialtir group . •. . .280,
„ ■ „ list of .
„ Ninnyur beds . .
„ invertebrate, table of distribution
in cretaceous rocks of Soqth
• ern India
„ B^gh beds
„ Lam eta group .
„ lower intertrappeans
„ infratrappoan, Rajamabendri
„ intertrappean, Eajamahendri .
„ upper intertrappeans, Bombay
„ in Travancore limestones
„ in Surat eocene beds
„ mammalian, Perim Island
„ Cutch tertiary beds . . 345,
„ Narbada alluvium
„ Godavari alluvium .
„ from Calcutta boring
„ Indo-Gangetic alluvium
„ Sind cretaceous beds
„ Banikot group .
,', Khirthar group
„ Nari group . .
„ Gaj group
,, Manehhar group . . 468.
Carboniferous, salt range
,, Siwalik of Kusbalghar
post-pliocene near Patehganj
„ Sabathn group
„ Kasanii beds
„ Siwalik . ^ . . . liv.
riLGB
148
162
157
159
170
246
.246
note
254
257
258
264
289
267
272
274
.278
278
283
284
287
290
296
310
313
316
318
321
338
340
343
346
385
389
398
402
449.
452
458
461
465
471
491
514
516
531
582
572
PASS
Fossi
Is, Pikermi. ....
583
>y
doubtful, from Krol group
596
»
in Central or Tibetan Himalayas
624
at
Cbikkim limestone .
635
t»
Qieumal, sandstone .
635
»
Spiti shales
636
9>
Upper Tagling .
636
St
Tagling limestone .
636
n
P&ra limestone
637
»»
■Lilang series
'637
»
Kuling series .
•
638
)»
Muth series . ...
638
«
Bhabeh series • , . .
638
>'
from Niti, Hundes , ' .
647
»
from Milam Pass
649
n
carboniferous, Kashmir
661
it
cretaceous, Khasi Hills
688
j>
nummulitic, Khisi Hills . 693,
694
>»
upper tertiary, Khasi hills .
698
„
carboniferous, Burma
708
i>
pliocene vertebrate, Irawadi val-
ley
722
G
Gabbro, Burma , . , , .
714
»
Andaman islands .
733
J3
NiCobar islands . ...
735
Gadani 456,
470
Gadi
rwara railway station, borings
near. .,.,,.
384
Gflhrwal-Kumaun area, Sub-Himalayas
543
Gaira hills , . . , . 345,
346
Gaj
?roup . ... . .1,
463
Gaj
river .448,454,456,457,463,
' 464,
46'8
„
section on upper .
454
Galena'from Jhansi
IB
„
in Singrauli gneiss
19
Galla ....
341
Gamrola river
. 553,
555
Gandak river
X
Gandgarh bills .
. 498,
499
Ganeshpur . -.■'
195
Gangamopteris .
118, 119,
130
. angustifoUa,
. Ill,
114
„ cyclopteroides.lW, 112,
114
Gangeria copper implements
443
Ganges, boundary of Vindhyans on
87
1,
Delta . . •
,
405
378, 400,
409,
411
784
INDEX.
Ganges Delta, Mr. Vergusson's theory
of formation
„ „ discussion of changes in
„ 1, peat of .
„ oscillations of .
,, pMn of, see Ipdo-Gangetic plain
„ river ■ . . . . 165
„ „ effect on Siwalik heds
„ valley, former condition of,
Gangetic alluvium, possible extension '
of coal-m«asures beneath
Gangpur coal-field
Ganjal river
Ganjam
Gangta
Ganurgarh sh^iles
Garangi hill
Garhjat States .
Garhwal, Lower Himalayas of
(Jarnets in gneiss of Singrauli
„ in Darjiling gneiss
Garo area, cretaceous series
„ nummilitic rocks
Garo hills,' • .
„ character of
„ upper tertiaries
Garudamangalam . . . 270
Gas issuing from mud volcanoes
Oasteroyoda of TJtatur group . 273
„ Trichinopoly group . 278i,
„ Arialur group •. 283,
Gatparba, see Ghatprabha.
Gauhati, height above sea .
Gauli plateau
Gawelgarh, see Gawilgurh.
Gawilgurh hills
Geelhoutboom, S. Africa
Genera of Siwalik mammalia
„ extinct, Siwalik
„ recent, Siwalik
Geography, Physical, of India
Geological age of IJeccan traps
Geology of India, summary of
Gerfo ....
Gerwa hill
Ghagar river . . , .85;
Ghambar-Basanli fault, Sub-Himalayas
548
Ghambar river .... 549
Ghansura
406
408
435
406
412
541
393
185
208.
220
244
256
84
184
43
609
19
614
690
695
682
691
698
276
730
274
279
285
392
362
224
146
577
579
579
328
xvili
13
195
90
560
600
• 37
Oharialis gangeticns .
Ghatprabha river . . 66, 68,
Ghidaur bills
Ghiigus
Giants' cauldrons
Gidalur . ,
Gieumal salidstone
„ „ of Hazara
Gilgit ...
„' landslip in
Gir ...
Girai ...
Giri river , • , . 604y 607,
Glacial action in olive group, Punjab
„ epoch, evidence of, in India, Ixx,
372, 586,
,, „ effect of, on Siwalik
fauna ,
„ evidence in Tibet
„ oljgjn of Talchir . boulder bedj
xxxvi, 110, 112,
Glaciers, former extepsion of, in Hima-
layas
Glauconite, Deccan traps . 302, 305,
Gleichenia hindrahundensis . 145, 151,
Qlohosi ammonites in cretaceous beds,
Ixx,
Glossopteris 111,'114, 118, 119, 121,
„ browniana 115, 120| 121
Glossozamites stolicz&arms
Gnari-khorsum
„ „ area, Central Himalayas,
Gneiss, Assam . . . ' 4
„ Bundelkhand .
„ „ composition of
„ . , accessory minerals in
„ main area, relations to newer
rocks ,
„ sub-divisipna of
„ Bengal area
„ of Bundelkhand and main areas
contrasted .
„ Singbhoom area
„ Orissa area
„ Central Provinces .
„ South, Mahratta area
„ Southern Konkan .
„ Nilgiris ...
„ Trichinopoly and Arcot
„ Peninsular, Assaip valley
VA.GK
580
390
36
230
439
65
635
503
625
516
342
11
608
496
668
586
669
229
373
•306
243
273
130
123
114
622
646
684
10
10
16
17
18
18
19
21-
22
22
22
23
25
25
522
INDEX.
785
PASB
OneiaB, of Himalayai . xix, xxvi, 596, 626
„ of CHor mountHin . . . 608
„ apparently overlying Damudas
in Sikkim . . . .615
„ Himalayan of two ages . . 626
„ Central of Himalayas . xxvi, 627
„ „ terminal extensions of . 630
„ newer, of Central Himalayas . 633
„ ofBupshu .... 640
„ Central, Hundes . . . 650
„ ofLadak . . . .652
„ ofKuenlun .... 656
„ ofPdmir .... 657
„ ZSnskar . ... .664
„ ofPingi .... 664
„ ofPirPanjil .... 665
„ of Burma . . . .707
Gneissic axis of Himalaya . . . 624
„ range, Z&nskilr . . . 630
„ „ Pir Panjfl . . ,631
„ „ Dhauladhar . . 632
Oneissic regions, three ... 3
„ rocks, main area . . . 4, 17
„ „ Bundelkhand area . 6
„ „ Arvali area . . 5, 27, 44
„ „ section of . . . 6
„ „ classification of . . 9
„ series of Feninsnla . . xviii, 1, 3
„ „ lower Himalayas . 696
GneisBoid beds in Bijiiwars . 30,
Goa
Goalpara, height ahove sea .
Goats, wild, of Indian mountains
Godivari valley . 104, 124, 151, 200,
,, lower, Vindhyans of .
region of Gondwanas .
barrier, third . . .
district ....
alluvial flats of . . 383,
older alluvial deposits of
alluvium, mammalian fossils .
„ agate flake
Godda
Gogi
Gogra river
Gok^k
Golagh£t
Golapilli
GolapilU beds
God^vari district
38
358
392.
374
223
74
223
233
245
432
388
389
389
166
74
X
390
.692
245
147
245
Gold, absent in Bundelkhand quartz-reefs
„ in South Mahratta gneiss .
„ in Burma ....
Golden oolite of Chfiri group, Cutch
„ „ Salt range, Punjab
Gond countries ....
Gondwaua, derivation of name .
„ area on upper Tapti .
„ areas on lower Narbada
„ areas, surface of.
Gondwana basins, origin of, and relations
to existing valleys,
xxix, XXX, 103,
„ „ distribution
„ „ groups of.
„ „ origin of different
groups .
„ basins of North-Eastern Ha-
zarib&gh, including Ear-
harbiri .
Gondwana beds, relations to gneiss
„ „ former existence of, on
Chutia Ndgpur plateau
„ „ changes in, to west-
ward, in Damnda val-
ley . . . 193,
„ „ trap dykes in
Gondwana coast liiie . . xxix,
„ epoch, climate of
„ fauna and flora, relation^ of,
Gondwina groups, lower
„ „ upper
„ „ „ table of .
„ inliers near Ellichpur .
„ „ west and north-west
of Nagpur
Gondwana period, physical geography
of . . •.
„ region, Bajmah&l
„ „ Birbhum, Deogarh
and Karharb^ri
„ „ Damuda valley
Son, Mah^nadi
Brahmani
S£tpura .
Godavari .
East Coast
and
213,
Gondwana system
xxvui,
geological position
and characters .
PlOB
16
23
708
255
49S
97
97
220
220
106
161
161
162
163
174
17
164
199
328
xxxii
XXXV
xxxii
109
135
141
'224
225
xxxii
165
171
177
199
217
223
242
96
96
Zl
GDnawSna »ysfieni, area occupied by,
tx\m,
„ fluviatile origia of,
xxviii,
„ „ •geological relations
of, xxviii, 99,
„ „ fossils, xxviii, xxxii,
„ „ probable range of .
„ „ supposed age of,
JEXviii,
„ „ disturbance of, xxix,
„ „ division into groups
„ „ table of representa-
tive groups .
Qondw^nas preserved by covering of
Deccan trap . . xxx,
„ possible outliers in Narbada
valley ....
„ upper, iu Easteirn Sirgnja .
„ „ Goddvari valley .
„ of Sikkim ....
nas . ■• t
35,80,
Goona ■ . .
Gooty, see Gtiti.
Gopillprasad
Gopat river .
Gopikandar
Gowan
Graphic granite
Grauite> Shillong series, Xh&i bills,
40,
„ in Arvali series , >
„ of Himalaya's . . . 627,
ft Hundes
Granite veins, Bundelkhand gneiss
„ „ Bengal gneiss
„ „ Triohinopbly and Arcot .
„ „ near 'Jabalpur j
„ „ Behar transition rocks,
37,
Granitic axis of Bimalayas .
Gravels, high level, of Sub-Himalayas .
„ older, Pegii ....
Gogo '
Great limestone of Jamu
Green-eartb, Deccan traps . . 302,
Greenough's geological map of India
Greenstone, Sbillong series .
„ Hundes . .
FASB
riOB
Greenstone, YaUgi pass
« ^ •
657
87
Sarikol .
.
658
„ Kashmir .
-
663
Q9
„ Burma
. •
714
Groups, Gondwfina
.
107
100
„ allied to Edjma
bSl, oorreiatioli
100
of . .
• • •
141
102
Gujtat, see GuiiBrat
Gulchern quartziteS .
. . 61,
62
102
Guma
.
559
104
„ peak .
.
601
107
Gumani river
Gnmra stream
. 165, 167,
169
167
108
Gunchari . ■
Gundicotta hills
.
11
64
164
Gurda
'i
208
Gnria mountain
.
646
216
Gruntoor
.
246
207
Gtiti .
. 60, 63
286
Guzerat '
. 222,339,
433
615
„ tertiary beds o)
'
839
492
„ alluvium of .
.
4^5
132
Gwddar .
. 458, 470,
471
300
Gwalior
. 86,
88
„ rooks ,
. 8,51,65,
56
212
„ transition area
.
56
203
„ laterite .
.
'356
167
Gya . . . .,
.
86
176
„ (Laddk) . .
.
640
21
Gypseous shales of Cut<
•b . . .
345
Gypsum salt range
.
486
42
'„ Eohat .
• .
508
50
629
I
[
650
Habb river ' .
.
458
13
„ valley
. 461,
464
21
flM4ng .
..
690
25
Hsematite in Bijdwars
. 80,
34,35
84
„ in gneiss
. . 13,
16,19
„ in Gwaliors
59
38
H^ii Pir .
.
566
629
Hakra river
•
416
668
HfflaPass .
•
448
726
„ range.
. vii, 446,
448
342
Halamdn hill
. 254,
256
666
HanW
. 626,
644
305
Hard river .'
. 215,
217
Ixxiv
„ . ■ *
. 384,
385
41
Haida railvpay station,
elevation .
385
660
Hardwar
.
■ ^ • .
641
INDEX.
787
Haripur, Haz£ra .
„ near Simla . . , S34,
Hasdo river .
Hassan Abdal
Hatteria ,
Hatu 598,
Haurb^gh .
Hawkesbury beds, Australia
Hazara . 478, 479, 498, 505, 512,
518,
„ rock-groups of, xxv . . 483,
Hazaribdgh. 127, 142, 174, 177, 187,
192,
„ gneiss and minerals .
„ pegmatite veins
„ copper implements •
„ stone implements
„ plateau , . iv, 18,
), „ Qondw£nas of 106,
Heights above sea, Narbada valley
„ ludo-Gangetic plain
Heinlap ....
Hengir group . . .
Henjdag hill
Henzada 717,
Herbert's Survey of Himalaya
Heulandite in Deceau traps .
High-level laterite, 351, 354, 857, 359,
Hill nummulitic limestone of Northern
Punjab ......
Himalaya .... viii, 372,
Himalayan range, . . . viii,
„ and peninsular rocks con-
trasted . . zii, xzvii,
„ and peninsular gneiss con-
trasted ....
„ tiiassic fauna, resemblance
to Alpine
„ geological subregion .
„ and extra Hisialayan beds,
contrast of, in Punjab .
„ geology, scanty materials -
for
„ region . . . 518,
„ land in eocene times .
„ » „ exten-
sion of <
„ lake basins ....
„ river gorges in Siwalik times
the same as now .
lASE
rASa
499
Himalayan drainage lines . i
575
603
»
elevation, crest of . 630,
677
208
,f
rivers, rise Of, beyond snowy
501
range ....
677
154
Himalayas, physical geography of
viii
604
„
oldest riocks of .
xxvi
556
,»
gneiss of ....
xxvi
121
,,
©rigin of . Ivi, 667, 677,
680
»
structure of, Iviii 526, 667,
679
566
r>
connexion of, with Indo-
498
3t
gangetic plain
former extensions of glaciers
Ixii
196
in
373
19
»,
provisional limit of region .
518
21
„
geologicEil map .
519
443
„
general features .
519
442
„
thriee main divisions .
519
177
,f
lower, definition of
619
196
„
Central or Tibetan, defini-
385
tion of . . . 519,
592
391
,f
middle anc( terminal .
529
718
It'
disturbance of late date, 533,
569
128
1,
easternmost outlier of num-
192
mulitic group in .
534
727
„
elevation to eastward older
609
than to westward . 564,
570
306
»
defined in middle tertiary
365
times ....
570
J,
extreme slowness of disturb-
511
ing action
570
373
»
elevation preceded compres-
518
sion ....
571
„
origin of river systems
676
513
„
connexion of Assam range
with ....
685
six
Himalayas, central, data available
622
,1
„ V classification of
xlvii
rocks .
623
Ixv
,»
„ difference from low-
er Himalayas .
624
485
»
„ uniformity of
structure .
624
517
»
•„ gneissic axes, syn-
519
clinals, &c. ,
624
569
»
„ position of tertiary
formations .
62fll
569
j»
„ gneiss of two ages .
626
570
„
„ older gneiss .
627
,t
„ granitic axis . ,
629
570
„
„ gneissic range .
630
788
INDEX.
lASB
USI
Himalayas^
centra), newer gneiss
683
Hinnalgar river .
. 609
,t
»
chief sedimentary
Hippopotamus namadicus .
. 386
basins
. 633
,, palaindicua .
386
, 402
it
»
ZSnskar area .
633
Hippurites, Lokzhung range
. 654
9*
jj
Hundes or NgSri-
Hippuritic limestone, Sind .
. 44S
Khorsnm area .
646
Hiran river ....
. 312
i>
j>
Karakoram area .
652
Hirapur ....
11
tl
j^
Kuenlun range
655
Hislopite ....
. 305
>l
»
Kashmir-Ptogi
Hissar
52
area .
658
Hoharu river
. 192
IJ
„
Pir Panjal chain .
665
Hornblende in gneiss .
10
19
i»
it
post-tertiary and re-
Hoshangabad 69, 86,. 91. 136
138
cent formations •
667
199. 215. 220
303
, 323
t>
),
Summary
679
Hoshiarpur ....
. 547
Himalayas,
lower
, limits of , , 519,
592
Hot-springs, Jamu
. 564
9>
*>
general features
£93
Hothian Pass
. 452
>r
»*
boundaries of -
593
Hoti-Mnrdda
. 500
n
»>
distribution and
Hottapati sandstone
73
74
structure of rocks . •
593
Hundes . . . 622, 627,
630
646
9>
>»
terminal or Simla
„ or Ngari-Khorsum area .
646
area .
594
„ fossiKferous series of
647
»
J, '
classification of rocks
595
,. tertiary eruptive rocks of
. 650
tt
>s
correlation of groups
595
„ lake-basin
670
ft
1,
absence of fossils
595
Hundes-Zinskar synclinal .
. 625
9>
s»
gneiesie series ,
596
Hura coal-field . . . .
167
163
t1
>»
the slate series
598
Hyderabad (Deccan) gneiss ;
18
)»
J>
relations of slate and
Hyperodapedon , . xxxiv, Ixx
,100
135
gneissic series . .
601
Hypersthene, Hundes .
650
>i
«
special metamorphism
and disturbance .
605
I
3t
>J
trappean rocks, 606,
610
Igneous rocks in transition series
XX
it
»
Chor mountain
607
Ikoua • . • .
H
>»
J,
South-east of Simla
608
Umenite in Bundelkhand gneiss .
16
>t
3»
Kumauu and Garh-
„ in Singrauli gneiss
19
wal .
609
Implements, stone
440
n
»
Nepal .
611
„ prehistoric, stone
441
)>
S>
Sikhim .
612
, ■ copper, silver and b
ronzE
443
>»
„
Damudas in .
615
. iron . .
443
j>
)»
Bhutan border
618
, human, Narbada alluvium.
386
441
3»
„
Dikrang section
620
, „ God^vari alluvium.
389
441
»»
»
Summary
620
, „ Krishna alluvium .
390
Bindia
.
. 31, 221,
385
, ■ „ in laterite of Hi
idras
Hiadon
.
. .51,
59
358, 369
,370
441
Hindu Kusb,
ix
657
Inchapilly, see Yenchapali.
Hindustan,
geological sub-region .
Ixv
Indargarh
84
Hingangbat;
223
Indhyddri hills . . . .
iv
Hingir
.
209
India and Africa, land connexior
1 be
„ coal-field
208
tween, xxxv, xxxix, lii, 1
xviii.
Ixix
Hinglaj
.
470
„ and Malay countries, land
con-
Hingoli, fossil bones found near .
389
nexion between .
Ixviii
INDEX.
789
Indo.gangetic plain
India, north-weatern, palsearctic forms
in . ....
Indian area, survival of older types in .
Indian desert
„ „ sand hills of . . .
„ „ derivation of sand ,
Indian geology, previous summaries of.
„ land shells, recent
„ mammals, Ethiopian affinities
of .....
„ peninsula, connexion of, with
Oriental region .
Indo-gangetic alluvium, area and eleva-
tion >
„ „ not marine, Ix,
„ „ character of .
„ „ subdivisions .
„ „ denudation of
„ „ bore-holes in
„ „ fossils in
.ii, 372,
origin of
„ „ „ connexion of with
Himalayan ele-
vation
„ „ „ a land area in ter-
tiary times
„ „ „ surface features of'
Indo-Malayan subregion
„ fauna allied to miocene
of Europe ,
Indrawati (IndrSvati) river . K, 233,
Indus river .....
„ course of, through limestone
hills between Hohri and
Sukker ....
„ former changes in
„ floods
in Tibet . . 625,640,
Indus valley, subrecent marine condi-
tions in . . ■
„ „ lower ....
,, „ sand hills
„ •, npper, tertiary rocks of .
Indus delta
„ depression in . . •
Infra-Blaini group . . .xxvi,
Infra-Krol group . • • x^vi,
Infra-trappean, or Lameta beds, .
of Kajimahendri
Ixiv
Ixx
436
437
438
Ixxii
Ixix
Ixix
Ixiv
891
393
396
396
397
397
402
391
Iv
Ixii
393
403
Ixv
582
237
viii
417
418
i 516
667
394
417
439
626
419
379
599
600
308
316
372, 707, 724,
. xi.
Infra-triassic rocks, Haz£ra
Inkolu
Inliers, paleeozoic, in sub-Himalayas
Innaparaz-Kotapilly . . . .
InnaparazpolUam . .- . 141,
Intertrappean beds . . . xlii,
'„ „ of N^gpur, the Nar-
bada valley, &c. .
„ „ lower, fossils of, 313,
„ „ of B^jdmahendri .
„ „ „ fossils
of .
,, „ upper, of Bombay .
„ „ „ fossils of
Irai
Irawadi valley . .
„ river
„ delta
Irawadi and Siwalik faunas compared .
Irlaconda quartzites . . . 61,
Iron implements, prehistoric
Iron in laterite .... 349,
Iron-clay .,..•.
Iron-ore, DhSowara, Bundelkhand
„ Salem .....
„ Bijdwar . . .30,
„ Gwalior beds . . .57,
„ Baniganj . , . .
„ K£ranpura field .
„ Sub-Himalayas, Kuma^n, &c .
„ Sub-Himalayas, Sangar Marg.
„ Burma ....
Ironstone in Baniganj group
Ironstone shales, Damuda
„ „ Raniganj field .
„ „ Jharia field
„ „ Bok^ro field
„ Bamgarh field
„ „ South Karanpura field
„ „ Karanpura field
Ironstone, clay, Assam coal-fields
Isakhel .... 487,491,
Islamabad
Islands in Bay of Bengal
Itial ....
Itkuri coal-field
,115,
Jabalpur . 156, 199, 200, 214, 307,
„ district, Bijfiwars of ,
501
24S
562
244
244
307
311
314
317
318
319
321
229
726
705
727
588
65
443
350
351
16
26
34
59
181
194
543
563
722
182
125
181
186
188
191
192
194
703
506
662
732
237
197
384
33
790
INDEX.
fJLGS
PIQB
Jabalpur flora, relations to Mjmah&l
Jashpur t
356
and Cutch floras . 147
157,
158
Jasol
54
Jabalpur group . . . ■
156
J»sper in transition rpeks, 28i, 33, 35.
45
„ „ South Rewah
203
„ in Gwalior.beds
57
„ „ near Jabalpur
214
„ in Deccan traps
305
„ „ Stipura basin
219
Jaunsar
608
„ Godavari valley .
238
Jatinga river .....
699
Jabalpur, Lameta fossils near
310 :
Jerruck, see Jhirak;
„ railway station, elevation
385
Jesalmir . . .54, 263, 347, 437,
439
,j agate flakes found near .
442
„ limestones ....
264
„ bronze implement .
443
Jesalmir, nummulitic limestone of
347
Jacdbabad , . . .41'?
505,
513
Jet-coal, Jabalpur group, 156,204, 215,
238
Jade in gneiss ....
19
Jewargi
73
„ near Shahidula, Kuenluu .
656
Jhaban 47,
48
Jddukata river .
687,
690
JbMra Patau .....
91
Jaggampet
245
Jhand
515
Jainti Nadi . . . . •
174
Jhdnsi, gulena from ....
16
Jainti or Karaun field
173
Jbaria coal-field .....
185
Jaintia Hills . . . x, 682
692,
696
Jhelum river, viii, 478, 485, 554, 560,
566
„ upper tertiarieg
698
„ - „ tertiary boundaries near
Jaintiapur
698
566,
567
Jaiput near Vizagapatapa .
355
„ valley
509
„ higlilands, gneiss of
16
„ upper valley of . . .
658
Jaipur, Assam ....
701
Jherria, see Jharia.
„ , coal-field
701
JhilmilU
203
Jaldoka .....
545
„ coal-field
. . 109,
204
„ river
613,
619
Jhils of Ganges delta .
406
Jailor
54
Jhirak
451, 457, 461,
469
Jalori ridge ....
598,
602
Jhiri shales
84
Jakbmari ....
,449
450
Jilladypad
244
Jako .....
598
605
Jobat, Bij^wars of
45
Jambugbora , ,
. 47
48
Jodhpur . . ■
53, 54, 93,
437
Jamkbandi . ,
66
Johila river
203
Jamtarra , , . .
173
Jorh4t
700
Janini river
11
Jualamnkij inflammable gas at .
549
Jamu ....
560 :
Jubbulpore, see Jabalpur.
„ hills, Sirmur boundary in
554
Juggiapet 60,
72
„ area of Sub-Himalayas
. 560
Julo2ai ......
600
„ inliers of pals^ozoiQ rocks
. 562 i
Jumera Pat .... 300,
355
„ characters of Subiithu grog
P
562
Jummoo, see Jamu.
„ Sub-Himalayas compared
witl
I
Jumna river, mammalian bones found in
402
Simla section ,
. 564
„ course of .
412
Jamulmadgu group
70
. 71
„ ^fiect on Siwaliks
641
Jamuni . ,
12
Jumna-Ganges area, Sub.Hiinalayan
Jamuni river .
.
. 187
beds ....
541
Jangion
155, m
,236
, 237
Jura hill .^ ... . 254,
256
Jangti river
,
. 618
Jurassic coast lines, xxix, xxxii, xxsvii.
xlix
Janji river . '
.
. 701
„ marine beds. East Coast, xxxvii,
Jarra . , ,
>
. 254
148, 149, 244,
250
J&hk . . .
. 470.
„ age of Upper
Qondvrauas
103
INDEX.
791
Jarassic rocks, extra-peninsular .
„ „ of Catch . xszvii,
M „ „ sub-divisions .
„ „ „ correlation with
European
Jurassics
„ TTpper, of Catch .
,, in Indian desert xxzvii,
,, in Northern Katty war
» Salt Range, Punjab
„ west of Indus
„ of -Hazard, &c.
fossils, Zdnskar area
rocks north of ISTepil
rocks and fossils, Niti
fossils, Milam pass
Jntog ....
Jyntia or Jyntea, see Jaintia.
e:
Kabul Tirer . . ,
Kach and Kachb, see Catch.
Kadapah ....
Kadapah formation
Kudwal . . ...
Eafirkot, triassic bed near .
Edfirkot hUls, 478, 486, 487, 491,
Kairda dun .
Eaijn£g range
Eaimnr range
„ scarp . .• 78,80,86,
„ sandstone
„ beds
Etunjna hills
Kairgura- .
Eajrah .
Eakarhatti .
Eakindya .
K&Wa&gh
490. 495, 496,
salt marl near
coal near .
Ealadghi
area, transition rocks
beds, thickness and sub<
sions . •
Ealahandi .
E^apahdr .
KUapiai livar
Kalar .
72,
8.
495,
536,
■divi'
i^as
FASB
xlviii
K£1aw£la pass . . . • •
S42
261
Ealiani
■ ■ . ■
355
252
Ealingar .
•
14
Ediipur
.
184
K£ka
. 536, 538,
547
2S3
E^lkadun .
* . . .
548
259
Eallar kah£r
^ .
490
263
E£ltangh£t hill
....
205
265
Ediu river
. 691, 692,
695
495
Eilyan
.
319
495
Edma .
. *
720
502
Eamaljor hill
■ • . . .
175
635
Eamamet .
75
646
„ • see Ehamamet.
647
Kam&am coal-field ....
240
649
Eamdrsen bridge ....
598
601
Eamatkigh^t .... 304,
note
Eimthi 225,
226
E£mthi group . . . 104,116,
128
„ „ Bisrampur field .
206
„ „ Eorba field .
208
viii
„ ,, Raigarh-Bingir field
210
„ „ Mchir field . . ' .
212
355
„ „ near EUichpur'
224
60
„ „ west and north-west of
47
Nagpur
225
493
„ „ of Edmthi area
226
514
„ „ Bandar field .
226
539
„ „ near Ehair and Arjuna .
227
485
„ „ Wardba or Ch^nda field :
231
iv
„ „ Godfivari valley . 235,
240
205
„ „ Eamdram field
241
82
Eandah gh&t .....
608
84
Eandakur
247
78
Eaudikonda talak > . . .
241
234
Eandit
172
38
Eandit Eurayah coal-field .
172
608
Eanigiri hill . . . i 239,
240
256
E&igra valley .....
632
515
Etingra area of Sub-Himalayas <
547
487
„ „ difficulty ef classing Sub-
495
Himalayas in
554
311
„ „ want of fossils in Sub-
65
Himalayas .
557
„ „ north-western termination
659
67
„ high level gravels of
669
355
Eanhiin river .... 128,
215
20
Eanher river
201
41
K&nheri caves . . . : 304,
note
413
Eankar
381
793
INDEX.
PASS
FASH
Kankar, analyses of . . . 382, note
Kashmir, trappean rocka of
662
Kanoj
. 599
„ Silurian rocks of .
662
Kantkot sandstone
258
„ glacial evidence in
668
Kappatgudd hills, gold in .
23
„ lake-basin ....
672
Karachi. . . . 464,470,471
, 473
Kashmir- Pangi area. Central Himalayas
658
Kfoak&h river . . . 654,656
, 671
Kashmor, height above sea .
392
E&r^koram ....
. 623
Karambar rings . . . * . 370,
444
„ synclinal .
. 626
K^teru 316,
317
„ area ....
. 652
Kathm^ndu . . . 543.611,
675
„ basin, eastern section
653
„ section, lower Himalayas .
611
„ section
654
Katikela
22
„ stones
655
Katkona
207
Karakpur (Khargpur) hills . 36, 38
356
Katrol.group . . . 141, 159,
253
££ranptira ....
192
„ ,, fossils of
258
„ coal-fields .
191
Kattywar, Jurassic beds in .
265
„ South, coal-field
191
„ traps of . . 300, 304,
328
Karauli 51
52
„ tertiary beds of
341
Karaun coal-field
173
„ raised bed of oysters in
377
Karchat 458,
464
„ alluvium of . . .
426
Karharbari, Gondwilna region .
171
coast deposits of
426
Karharbari group, 112, 175. 180, 217
, note
„ littoral concrete
427
„ „ relation toTalchirs
113
, „ blown sand of . .
435
„ „ palsBontoIogy
114
Kaveri, alluvial flats . . . 383,
433
„ coal-lield ....
174
Kaveri, see Cauvery.
Karen-ni 708,
709
Kaumapying
719
Karewa deposits, Kashmir .
673
Kaurangyi
721
Kargil . . 626,635,639,641,
643
Kauray
270
Kari£n»
44
Kautairoo, see K&teru
„ flexible sandstone of
52
Kawarsa ......
232
Karib&i
697
Keantali 712,
717
Karjan
341
Kelat . . , 447.448,456,
453
Earnatic
60
„ section of rocks*near
455
Karnul . . . 60,62,69,
381
Kelloway beds of Cutch
255
„ area of Lower Vindhyans
69
Kelod
225
Earnul formation ... 8,
69
Ken river . . . .81, S3, 86,
87
„ „ subdivisions and thickness
70
„ Bijiwars of . . . ■ .
30
Karo river
312
Kerauli
88
Karoo series of South Africa
122,
123
KeryU
203
Kiirtse ....
,
639
Khddar
404
Kasara ....
.
227
Khadi
543
Kdsta ....
.
179
Khair, Gondwana. outliers near .
227
Kasauii ridge . . ' .
.
532
KhairiMiirat . . , 484,505,
610
„ beds . .
524,
530
Khamamet
241
„ „ plant fossils in
.
5'32
Khamapur
220
Kashmir ....
623,
658
Khdndesh . . 327,378.383,385,
388
„ oldest rocks of
XXV
Kharagdiha .... 174,
176
„ synclinal
•
626
Kharbu 641,
645
„ triassic rocks of .
659
Kharian ridge
668
„ rock gronps of
.
659
Kharir . . 251, 254, 256, 343.
34S
u carboniferous rocks of .
•
660
Khasi bills . . . z, 40, 682,
687
INDEX.
793
Eh£si hills, cretaceous heds, relations to
Southern Indian rooks
291
„ cretaceous series
687
„ „ fossils from
688
„ nummulitic series
693
„ upper tertiaries
698
Khfogpur hills
173
Ehettapini
220
Ehewra salt mines ....
486
Khirthar rauge . vii, 446, 457, 460,
464, 466,
469
Ehirthar group .... 1,
456
Eholas of Nepal
674
Ehozdar
455
Ehulna
400
Ehundair valley , . 60, 70, 71,
72
„ group . . . .70,
71
Ehunmu .......
661
Ehurreer, see Eharir
Ehyrasol
184
Khyrpur
417
Eiagar lake . ' .
640
Eilar
664
Eilian ridge
655
Eim river 340,
341
Eim^mli
341
Eimmeridge beds of Cutch
258
Einchiojnnga . . . . z.
614
Einersw&mi stream . . . 23S,
239
Eira hUl . . . . 254, 255,
256
Eirlnmpudi
244
Eirwi . . . 11,81,83,
442
Eishenganga river . . . 478,
566
Eisiljilga
654
664
EitcheD-middens, Andaman Islands .
733
653
Eiw^z
656
Eoari ^et
254
Eoda DoDgri
226
Eoel river
36
KoUt . . 478,503,504,513,
514
507
„ „ section of beds .
508
Eoil river
197
Eoilkuntla limestones . . . 70,
72
705
Eolamal^ hills . . . ' .
iv
65
Konkan
327
FAOa
Eonkan, gneiss of Southern ... 23
„ laterite of . . 357, 368, 377
„ denudation of ... 378
Eon khas 80
Eonjirihill 213
Eoonap beds of South Africa . . 123
Eopili river 692
Eopilashill 355
Eorana hills ■ . . .62, 481
Eorba 125
„ coal-field 207
Eorea . . ' , . . .202
Eorb£di . 226
Eori creek 418, 419
Eosari fault, Sub-Himalayas . . 549
Eosi river x
Eota (Singrauli) 203
„ (Sironcha) '. . . 151, 236
„ limestones 152
Eota-Maleri beds . . 100, 102, 151
„ „ Wardha field . . . 232
„ „ Godavari valley . . 236
Eota-Maleri fossils .... 152
„ „ „ contradictory evi-
dence of, 100 . 155
Kotgarh 602
Eotkhai 604
Eotleh 549
Eotli 562, 568
Eotri. .. .300,451,452,457, 469
„ height above sea . . . 392
Erishna river .... 238, 246
„ alluvium of . . 383, 389, 433
„ u mammalian fossils in 390
„ „ stone implements in 390
Erishna group . . .61, 65, 72
Krol hill .... 533, 599, 600
group . . .. .xxvi, 601
„ „ assigned to trias . . 595
>, „ „ to .carboniferous 596
„ „ fossils doubtful . . ' 596
Erol limestone near Simla . . . 603
„ „ u Mussooree . . 609
„ „ Eumaun . . . 609
„ representative of, in Nepal . 611
Erur 664
Euchri 264
Eudia stream ■ igi
Eudunwira, steatite quarried at . , 15
Knenlnn ii, 623
794
630,
Euenlun axis
„ range, sections of
„ lake basin .
Kukurkhadi stream
Kulam, see Quilon,
Koling series
Kulu
Eumaan, lower Himalayas of
„ Sub-Himalayas of
„ iron ores of
Kummnmmeet, see Khamamet.
Kund-Kaplas mountain
Kungirpnra
Kunkur, see Kankar.
Eunzum pass
■Kupputgode hills
Kuralihill .
Enrat
Kurg stone implements
„ iron im
Knrt .
Kurkut river
Kurram river
Kurreer, see Kharir.
Kurrukpoor, see Earakpur and Eh&rg-
pur.
Eurseong
Eushdlgarh, mammalian fossils from
514,
Ensukunubal . .
Eutkheri
Eutto-jo-Eabar . . .
Entunji ....
Eyanite in Bundelkhand gneiss
„ in Daijiling gneiss .
„ in Hundes gn^ss .
Eymore, see Eaimur.
Eyouk-phyu
PAOB
626
655
671
217
638
631
609
543
543
565, 632
11
631
355
327
83
442
639
478, 491
614
576
74
2S5
456
81
16
614
650
730
L
Labyrintbodont from M£agU . . 129
Laecadive islands, depression of . . S76
Ladak range ..... ix
„ gneisgiftaxis, 625,^626,627, 633
eocene basin of . . 634,^ 643
„ G;neiss ..... 652
Xiildera 56, 94
Lahore, height above sea . . . 392
IJ,hul 633
Lairangau
Laisophlaug
Lake basin, Euenlan and Liugzithang
„ Hundes
„ ' Tso moriri
„ of Eashmir
„ of Nepal .
Lake deposits . .
Lakes, Himalayan and Alpine com
pared . . ...
Lakes of Naini Tal and Sikkim
Lakhanpur coal-field .
Lakhimpur
Lakhpat . . . 260, 267, 345,
Laki hills, 451, 452, 457 461, 464,
467 . ...
„ cretaceous beds of
Lakiserai
Lalatpur . * . . . . 11,
Lalsot
Limay^iru
LamelUiranchiata TJtatfir group . 273,
„ Trichinopoly group
278,
„ Arialur group 283,
Lameta Ghat .... 215,
„ „ coal at ...
Lameta group
„ „ resemblance to Bilgh
beds
„ „ relations to older form-
ations
„ „ distribution
„ fossils of . . .
Land, eocene, distribution of . .
„ shells, recent affinitaes of .
Landour
Lingpar
Lipri ridge
Laterite ...... slv,
„ composition . . . .
„ analysis of . . , 349,
„ tubes in . . . . 350,
„ varieties, high level and low.
level ....
„ passage into lithomarge .
;, re-consolidation of .
„ infertiKty of ,
„ high level, distribution, &e;
„ Bajmahal hills
694
688
671
670
671
672
674
427
675
675
206
546
346
469
448
33
12
50
641
275
279
285
307
'215
308
309
309
310
310
lii
Ixix
609
688
562
348
349
note
367
361
358
354
354
354
356
INDEX.
795
Laterite, Surat tertiary beds . 340,
„ bigh level, once perhaps a con-
tinuons bed ....
„ low-level, distribution, &c.
„ west coast . . ,
„ east coast ....
„ quartzite, implements in ,
„ bigb level, theories of origin
359,
„ geological age
„ „ possible derivation
from scoria, &c.
„ connexion of high level vrith
lower tertiary laterite of Gu-
zerat • , . • •
„ low-level, origin of
„ „ age of .
„ „ older than Earam-
bar rings •
„ in Ehirthar group, gind
,, in Sabathn gi'oup, glub-Bima-
layas •
„ Burma .
Ijead mines, i^undialumpet
„ Biama .
Lehti river .
Lenya river , , .
Lepidolite in gneiss ,
Iiepidofus , ,
Jjencopyrite in gneiss ,
Jievel, subrecent changes of
Lian glen .
Lias fossils, Ziinskar area
Liaasic affinities, Bajmah^l group
Lidar valley, Kashmir
Lignite sandstone of Nahan
Lhowa'stream
Lilang series
Limestone in gneiss
„ in BijawarS;
34, 35,
„ in Arvali beds
in Gwajior beds
„ in Eadapah beds
in Ealadgi beds
„ in Earnul bed^
in Bhiipa beds
„ in lower Vindhyaris, 75, 76,
78, go, 81, 82,
.„ in upper Vittdbyajas, §4, 85,
29,
660,
group ,
. 711.
. 637,
19, as,
31, 33. 33,
. 57.
62, 63,
70, 71,
. 73.
r^aa
PAGB
366
Limestone iq Biniganj coal-field •
.
183
„ in cretaceous beds
270.
276
357
ofBagh .
293
357
„ in Lameta group
309
357
,. in Blaini group .
600
358
„ in Krol group .
601
358
„ Great, of Jamu .
666
Limits of area, described .
ii
365
Lingala
23S
364
Lingzithang . . . .
654.
671
„ lake basin
671
365
List of European formations
Ixxv
Lithomarge . . , .
354
Littoral concrete . . ,
426
366
„ Arakan Coast .
729
368
Lodai
254
260
369
Lobdrdagga . . , .
197.
198
Lokapur
68
370
Lokartalai . 136, 137. 214, 215
219.
220
457
LokzhuDg range . . , .
654.
671
Lonar lake
379
563
„ origin of .
380
726
Lprot . . . . ' ,
597
64
Low level laterite . 352, 357
,368.
369
708
Lower Himalayas, definition of
519
617
„ linjits of .
592
712
.. Simla region
xxvi
19
., see Himalayag.
154
LAdiana, height above sea .
392
19
LAgtihill .' . . .
188.
189
kxi
Lnmki hill ....
175
686
Luni river . . ,54, 395
,437.
438
636
Lunkar-la ....
653.
145
Lunsu ....
549
662
Lushai hills
698
536
Lynyan ....
453
716
642
24
M
Macbu river
,
619
45
MoBrocephali ammonites in
Cutch
50
jurasi
ics ,
263
59
» in cret
iceous
64
beds
. 278,
284
67
J^roianiopferis
, 118,
14S
72
Madagbirbill ,
. 164,
196
74
Madanpur gorge, trap in .
, ,
16
Madapur , . , ' .
, ,
236
83
Madavdram . . .
,
238
89
., coal-field .
• •
239
796
INDEX.
Maderapauciim
Madras . . . 149,247,336,
„ stone implements in laterite
near . . 358, 369, 370,
„ raised shell bed near . 377,
„ boring at
Madnpar jnngle .... 407,
Magar Pir ....
Magnesian sandstone group, Salt Rang(
Magnesite, Salem
Magnetite in gneiss
„ Salem
„ in Deccan trap .
Mahabar hills . . . 86, 37,
Mahdbleshwar . . . v, 827.
Mahada;i ravine .
Mabideo, Assam hills .
Mahddeva beds, thickness .
„ „ fossils
„ hills . . . vi, 136;
„ series . . . 107, 108,
Mah^devas, Bfiniganj field .
„ Bokaro field
„ South Karanpura field
„ Karanpura field .
„ near Latiahar .
„ • South Eewah
„ Jhilmilli field
„ Bisrampur field .
„ Chutia Ndgpur .
„ Korha field
„ Talchir field
„ S&tpura basin .
„ near Barwai .
„ Deva river, Bajpipla
„ near EUiehpur .
Mahammad bazar
Mahanadi Gondwdna region
„ river, Orissa . 199,
„ Ti)lley, Orissa
„ „ gneiss of .
„ „ lower Vindbyans
„ „ Talchir ontliers
Hab^nadi river, Sikkim
„ „ Siwaliks in .
Mahar£jpur
Maher hills
Mahim ....
Mahindraganj
213,
163,
211,
of
370
423
441
424
423
408
464
489
26
19
26
305
38
354
362
688
136
136
216
135
184
189
192
195
198
203
205
206
207
. 208
213
219
221
222
224
171
199
243
213
22
74
211
614
545
95
36
427
697
Mahratta Country, Soathern, traps of
312, 313,
„ „ „ laterite of
354, 355,
„ „ „ lake de.
posits
Mahratta, South, gneiss area ' ,
„ „ transition area .
Mahsud Waziri country, metamorphics
in
Mahtin ....
Mahton stream .
Mahuagiri hill . . . 167, 169,
Mai-i 711,712,
Mai-i group . . •
Mailan Pat ....
Mailag 548,
Main area, gneissic rocks . xviii, 4,
Main boundary between Siwalik and
Sirmur series, 539,547,
„ „ representation of, in
Hazara . . .
Main gneissic area, sub-divisions .
Main Pat . . 207,308,313,355,
Mainpuri, copper implements found
near
Maisur, iron implements
„ gneiss . . . .23,
„ plateau . . • • .
„ „ gneiss of . . .
Makran
„ coast, submarine cliff along ..
Makr£n gronp .... liv,
Hakr£ch
Makum coal-field ....
Malabar coast, gneiss of . . ,
„ „ sand dunes of
„ „ iron implements .
„ sub-region, zoological . .
Malabar hill, Bombay .
Malagarb hill
Malani \ .
„ beds
Malay Archipelago, volcanic band of
725,
Malay countries, connexion of, with
India
Malayan fauna allied to European
miocene
Maldlve islands, depression of
53,
324
364
427
22
65
486
164
716
356
718
711
163
553
17
552
567
18
363
443
444
24
V
18
456
Ixxi
470
494
701
17
435
444
Ixv
320
232
264
53
732
Izviii
682
876
INDEX.
797
. 151.236,
69,
17, 427,
Maledi, gee Maleri.
Maleri
„ beda. .
MalkapuT, elevation of
M^wa
„ escarpment
,, traps of'.
Taiwan
Mamlu
HammaUa, Siwalik, homotaxis of liy,
„ • „ genera of
Mammals, fossil, Tibet.
„ Indian, ElhiOpian affinities of
„ Oriental, Ethiopian affinities
of . . .
„ . u Palcearctic affinities
of . . .
Mammalian faunas, recent^ poverty of .
„ fossils, Narbada
„ „ Indo-6angetic
allavium
„ „ Perim Island .
„ tertiary fauna .
ManGb£t
Man^r river
Manasaraur (Manasarowar) Lake, 622,
646,
M^asbal lake .... 660,
Manbhum
„ transition rocks . .
Manebbar beds, connexion vrith
Siwaliks Iv,
Mancbar group .... J,
„ „ sub-divisions
,. „ estuarine beds in
,, „ relations to Makran
group
„ „ Palseontology, Iv, 471,
„ age of . lv,473,
Mancbhar lake . . 417, 457, 466,
M£nd river .... 208,
Mandan group
Mandar hill, Bhagalpur
Mandera . .
Mandi
„ rock salt . . . . •
Mandla plateau . . . 18, 202,
Mandlaisur, see Mandlesir.
Mandlesir
Mandogarfa and Mandoo, see Mdndu.
237
100
388
363
377
303
358
686
576
577
651
Ixix
Ixvi
Ixvi
686
885
402
343
572
601
236
650
663
174
43
581
466
466
470
581
581
469
209
49
21
608
557
558
363
267
Mindu
M£ndvi
Mangali, see M^ngli.
Manganese in laterite .
M£ngli beds
Mangrad river
Manbiari
Mankipur .
Mans(iri
Maraura
Maratrattur
Marbal pass
Marble rocks near Jabalpur
Mareba valley
Margalla hills
542,
Mari and Bbdgti hills .
117,
595,
478,
293,
129,
167,
600,
11, 12,
485,
294
346
350
231
548
168
' 48
609
16
273
662
34
641
498
503
664
vii, 479, 480,
505, 513
Marine beds, absence of, in Indo-Gan-
getic plain . , . ■ Ixi, 393
Marine beds of peninsula . . . xii
„ „ „ equivalents of xiv
„ fossils, rarity of, in peninsula xi
„ Jurassic rocks, distribution
of 250
,. origin of Sahyadri scarps . . 377
Markanda river .... 1 537
Marl, salt, of Salt Eange, Punjab . . 486
Marpamaudi range .... 24
Martaban . . . 704, 707, 709, 726
Marun .562
Mascareue islands, birds of . . . Ixviii
Masimik pass 653 .
Mastodon pandionis . . . . , 390
Matabangab, oscillations of . . , 406
Matepenai bill 327
Matheranhill . . . 320,355, 365
Matiani 604
Mau, quartz reef at .... 14
Maubilarkar .... 689, 690
MaudibhiU ..... 195
Maulmain 705
„ group 709
Mauphlong . . .41, 42, 689
Mansmai 688
Mayo salt mines 486
MazBgaon 321
Mechi river . . . . . 613
Mednlea stream 212
■ftXl &yjUA.a
Meerut, height ahovi sea . •
Megalosaurus in cretaceous beds, Ixx, 2S0, 284,
Mekalgandi gbftt, section of tfUps and
sedimentary bed^ t < ■ •
Membn> mud Tolcanoes of . • <
Mergui 705,
„ archipelago . . . 709,
„ group .*....
Mesozoic rocks, extra-peninsular .
„ „ of Punjab Salt-Range .
„ „ Northern Punjab
„ series of Zeinskar
Hetamorphic series . > xviii, 1,
„ areas . . . ■ 4^
„ rocks, classification of .
„ „ of Bundel k h a n d
xviii,
„ „ main area
„ „ Arvali area . 27,
„ „ Mabsud Wariti
country
„ „ Hazara '
„ „ of Bnpsba
„ „ Niti .
Metamorphism special, in Lowef H!ma-
Mbar
Mianj^ni ....
Mica in gneiss . . .
Micaceous iron in gneiss
Micropholis stotvU
Middle Himalayas . «
Middle Sub-Himalayan region
Midnapur . . , 184,
Migration of tertiary mammalia
Mikir area, cretaceous series
Mikir hills
Miliolite of Kattywar .
Millstones of gneiss .
Minerals in Bundelkhand gneiss
11.
„ in Haz£rib^h' gneiss
„ in Singrauli gneiss
„ in Deccan trap .
Minet-toung
Miocene beds of Sind . . 44>7,
„ „ Central Europe
,1 „ Pegu .
„ flora of Greenland, &c.
10,
123.
520,
335,
10,
12, 13.
TAQB
•
7X0E
392
Miocene forms, survival of, in Se walik beds
582
284,
„ » in ■ Indo-Malayan
and
407
Ethiopean faunae
, 582,
684
„ fossils, Arakan
720
313
MirampUib . .
69^
729
Mir kfilan hills .
499
709
pass . . .
434
732
MIrwania ....
4S
708
Mirzapar district, Bijawars of
36
xl*i
„ gneiss .
19
493
Mochpura mountains .
. ,
502
498
Mocbu river
619
641
Mohangarh
11
3
Mohaui ....
196
S
Mobankot ....
451
9
Mohdr ....
95
Mofrahill
356
10
Mdasse. resemblance to Siwalik
sand.
17
stone ....
524
48
Molim granite ....
42
Mollusoa, fossil, Narbada alluvium
384
486
,, Siwalik
.
576
498
Momein .....
708,
725
640
Mongbyr .....
142,
174
649
Monze, Cape, rise of land at
,
877
Mooltan, height above sea .
•
392
605
Mopslni .... 217, 218
384
345
„ ■ coal at ... .
218
499
Moraines, ancient, Hundes .
652,
670
19
in Sikkim and Nepal
373
19
„ in Naga hills
373
131
Mor river .....
172
529
Moran rfver
. . •
137,
219
528
Morang river .
, ,
165
435
Morar
. .
58
584
„ group
57
692
Morel river
165,
170
682
Morbar river .
198
342
Moriri lake
640,
671
16
Mortaka
Morung
32,
84
404
16
Motiir
217
19
„ beds, S£tpura basin .
218
19
„ group ....
115,
127
340
Moulmein, see Manlmain.
720
Mountain formation, De Beaumont's
466
theory .
634,
667
682
Mountain ranges of Peninsula
.
ui
719
.1 • „ of extra peninsular
685
area
* . .
Tii,
Ivii
INDEX.
7-99
Mountain ranges of Sind and Western
Punjab
vii
„ of Himalaya .
viii
u „ of Burma
X
» „ of Peninsula, Origin
of . .' .
XX
„ „ extra-peninsnlat, di-
rection of . . .
ivii
Mountain structure, one-sidedness of .
667
Mountains of India, fauna and flora Of
374
Kud Tcdcanoes of Bamri, &c.
729
,1 „ difference of, from true
volcanoes .
730
Muduwal
73
Mubair, see Maher.
Mulakhel 490;
495
Mnlgoab, quartz reef at . . .
13
Mlingi
389
Mnnny Mai6
24
Murdan i
500
Murree, Punjab, 478, 483, 485, 502, 503,
511
„ beds 511,
513
„ Mils, Punjab . . 498,505,
512
„ rocks of
510
MuTsbidabad
406
Murtazapur, elevation
388
Muscat, depression near
Ixxii
Muscbelkalk
122
Muscovite in gneiss ....
19
Mussooree, see Mansdri,
Mnstagb range . .i ■ • . rx.
657
Muth ...*... 639,
643
„ series .
638
Muzafirabad . . . 478, 485,
566
727
Myit-ma-kha kbyoung
727
Mvriolepis
120
Mysore, see Maisur.
N
Nadann dun .
Niga bills .
„ „ coal-fields of
Nagar Parkar
Nagari Kose
„ quartzites
Naggery river
Nigpur, 128,223,225
K^gpur, agate flakes found near
X, 683, 696,
699
699
64
60
. 61,
62
248
9, 311, 855,
432
near .
442
Nagpur iron implements . . , 444
„ intertrappean beds of . . 311
„ gneiss 22
u Gondw£na inliers west and
nortb-west of— . . . 225
Xagode 89
Ndhun 536, 547
„ area, Siwaliks . . . 536,- 539
„ iron ore near .... 543
N£bun group . . 524, 536, 540, 652
„ „ relations to Mancbbar beds
Of Sind .... 58^
Ndbun-Sirmnr boundary . . 552, 539
H£bun-Siwalik boundary . . . 637
„ „ y) extinction of . 550
Naina Devi ridge . . . 550, 651
Naini Ml / . . , 543, 596, 609
„ asserted occurrence Of Num-
mulites near . . . 609
„ metamorpbic rocks near . 610
„ eruptive rocks of . . 610
„ lakes > . . . . 675
Nal 420, 426
Nalagarb .... 548, 649,
660, 653
Nalamal^ range . . ■ , . iv, 60
„ group .... 61, 64
NaJdera . . . . . 599, 603
Nalwar ...... 73
Namding river ..... 702
Nfimbar river 692
Nancowry 73S
Nanda Devi ..... x
Nandial Sbales' . . . .70, 72
Nanowal ...... 550
Naogaon 234
Nfoshera, Salt Range . . . 493, 495
Nfeir ...... 264
Nara, eastern, of Sind . . 416, 419
Naraj 243, 244
Narbada Bijiwar area ... 32
„ Gondw^na areas on lower . 220
Narbada valley . 5, 31, 45, 86, 91,202,
214^ 216, 220, 267, 293, 383
„ „ cretaceous beds, rela-
tions to Tricbinopoly
beds . . .291
„ „ cretaceous beds of . 293
„ „ traps of 4 . 308, 328
„ „ ' intertrappean beds of . 311
800
INDEX.
Narbada, alluvial plain of —
„ old aUuvium of
„ „ fossils of — . ,
„ „ stone implement iu
„ „ of fluviatile origin
„ „ fauna compared to Sewalik
Karcondam ....
Narganjo
Uarh mountain ....
Narha 224,
„ beds . . . ■
Nari group, represented in Punjab
. . . . 1.
Narji limestones . . • . VO,
Nfokanda . . . . . 604,
Narnaveram river ....
Narsingpur . . . > 136,
„ district
„ railway station, elevation
Narukot
Narwar .....
Naspur
Natrolite, Bajmah£l traps .
Kaushera fault ....
Nomtihts danicus
„ neoeomiemit .
N&ziia coal-field
Nearctic region .
Neemucb, see Nimacb.
Negrais, Cape
„ rocks ....
„ „ in Andaman islands
Neocomian beds of Cutch .
„ „ „ relations to
jurasaics
„ „ Cbicbali pass, Punjab
Neocomians, supposed, of Poudicheri-y
Neolitbic stone implements
Neotropical region
Nepal area of Sub-Himalayas
„ region, lower Himalayas
„ lower Himalayas of .
„ valley, lake basin
Nerbndda, see Narbada.
Neirta schmedeliana .
Neu/ropteris vaUda
Newbold's summary of the Geology of
Southern India
Newcastle beds, Australia
Nezataab pass
281, 283,
705. 713,
PAGB
383
884
38S
386
387
587
735
166
568
259
159
504
459
71
606
248
215
32
385
48
95
234
170
568
287
272
701
Ixiv
717
713
733
266
252
496
272
442
Ixiv
543
593
611
674
459
114
Ixxii
120
658
503,
490,
Ng£ri-Khorsum .
Nga-pu-tau
Nga-tha-mu
Nibhora
Nicobar Islands .
Nilabgash .
Nilaw&n ravine .
Nilgiri hiQs,. Southern India, 356, 374,
427,
gneiss of . . 18, 24,
,, iron implements
Nimach
Nimbua Tanr
NinnyAr .... 282, 283,
„ uppermost Arialdr (cretaceous)
beds of . . •
Nithahdr
„ beds . . • . •
Niti pass ...'..
„ in Hundes, stratigraphical series of
NoeggeratMa hislopi . Ill, 115,
Nokrek
Nougkulang
Normal flexures in Sub-Himalayas
Northern India, plain of . . .
North-West Provinces
Nowagarh-Karial plateau
,i . sandstone
Nbwanagar
Nowgong (Bundelkhand)
,, (Assam)
Nowroji hill, Bombay ' " .
Nowshera ....
Nubra river
NuUaymulIay, see Nalamal^.
Numnrnlitea garansensis ,
„ sviblcBfigata
NummuUtes in Surat tertiaries
„ in Sub£thu group
„ in Ladak tertiary beds
„ doubtful, of Singhl pass .
„ asserted occurrence of,
near Naini.T&l
Nummulitics
Nnmmulitic Sea, coasts of ;
Nummulitics of Cutch
„ Jesalmir
Nummulitic limestone, Sind . 457,
„ „ lUari and Bhugti
hills .
391.
75,
11, 13,
460,
460,
525,
646
727
721
217
734
512
497
434
25
444
69
611
287
287
51
50
628
647
118
691
698
527
410
410
77
76
203
14
692
321
500
653
462
462
340
531
643
644
609
1
Hi
346
347
460
505
INDEX.
801
Nummulitic limestone, Sulemaa range .
PABB
505
Orissa ....
PAQB
128
„ Salt Range
t-
506
gneiss area
22
„ „ KoMt
.
609
„ old shore lines .
377
„ „ Northern Pot w^r
„ raised shell beds in .
377
, and Murree hills.
509
„ sand hills
435
» u hills of Northern
„ stone implements
441
Punjab
511
Ormfoa ....
470
Nnmmulitics (Subathu group) eastern-
Orthoclase in gneiss
. 10,
19
most outlier in Hima-
Ossiferous beds of Perim island
342
layas
.
534
Ostrea nmlUcostata . . 464
466,
469
„ former extension of,
alqng
Otozamites gracilis
157
base of Himalayas
535
Oudh
391,
435
„ in Jama
561
Ouli Eiver
213
„ Q&ro area
695
Outliers of Upper Vindhyans
92
„ Kh£si hills .
693
Owk, see Auk.
„ Eastern extension
of, in
Oxford beds of Cutch .
255,
258
Assam range
696
Oxus river
657
u Burma .
715
P
Nun river, Sub-Himalayas .
542
Pabar valley \
597,
598
Nundialumpet
64
Pabbi ridge
568
Nundrukki
509
Pachamal^ hills .
iv.
Nfirpur ....
549
, 577
Pachham . . 251,254,256
,343,
345
o
group
254
Oboltis, Salt Bangs . .
488
„ „ fossils
253,
254
Odium ....
273
Fachmari ....
127
Ohun river ....
91
group .
136,
219
Olapandy ....
272
„ hills . . vi,135
,216,
218
Oligoclase in gneiss
. 10,
19
Pachumba copper implements
443
Olive group, Punjab Salt Eange
496
Pachwfoa coal-field
167
Olivine, Bijmahal traps
170
„ pass
167,
169
„ Decean traps .
. 802,
305
FacTiypTiylVum divaricatum
159
Oman, Gnlf of, depression in
Ixxii
FacTw/gonia incurvata
132
Omar river ....
215
Padam ....
639
Ong river ....
213
Padwani
327
Ongole ....
140,
148
Pagan
725
„ Gondwana beds near
246
Pagoda hill, Cheduba
730
Oodeypoor, see TJdepur.
Pahari
11
Oolitic rocks of Cutch .
251
Pain river, Jamu
562
ofNiti .
647
Paisuni river
91
Oomia, see TJmia
99
Pakha
75
Ootatoor, see Utatur.
„ tank,
234,
240
OpalpM plateau .
.
63
Pakli valley, Haz^ra
498
Orhitoides dispansa .
340,
459
Falaearctic mammalian families ii
lOri-
0. papyracea
461,
462
ental region
Ixvii
Orchha . .
13, IS, 16
„ region .
^ .
Ixiv
Oriental region .
.
Ixiv
Palseo-botanical evidence .
101
„ subregions .
.
Ixv
PalsBolithic implements 369, 370,
386,
„ mammals, families of
.
Ixvi
390,
441
„ „ Ethiopian affinit
ies of
Ixvi
PalcBonisctis . . . .
120
Origin of Gondwana basins
•
103
Palaeontology, Gondw£
aas .
100
802
INDEX.
Tt.BJI
PAOa
Palseontology,
TAlcMrs
111
Pd,nchbhadra, salt at . .
.
.
395
i>
Karharb&i group .
114
Panchet hill
183,
184
»
Camuda series
116
„ group .
.
107,
131
»
Panchet group
132
„ „ Kdniganj field
•'
183
»
Rajmahal group .
142
„ Bokaro field .
,
189
»
Kota-]rfaleri group
152
„ „ Kfoaupura
field
,
195
M
Jabalpur group
157
„ ,, thickness
,
132
>9
Umia group .
159
„ fossils
,
132
«
Utatfir group
272
Panchets, upper .
. 131
,184,
200
f»
Narbada alluvium
385
Panduah hill
, ,
30
W
Sind cretaceous beds
449
Paneum group .
70,
71
»
Eanikot group
452
Pangadi
316,
317
»
Khirthar group .
458
P^ngi
. 628
,632,
658
3>
Nari group .
461
Ptogi basin, boulders in slates of.
Kxxvi,
„
G&i group
. 465
....
632,
664
J>
Manchhar group .
. 471
PangkongLake .
625,
672
»i
Punjab Siwaliks .
. 514
PaniSr . . .
.
58
PalcBomttaria ....
118
„ stream ,
.
57
Palceogamia i
ifricana .
. 147
Panjab, see Punjab.
„ rubidgei .
147
Pankabari
614,
615
Palaeozoic inliers in Sub-Himalayas
. 562
Panna
83,
92
>3 >
relations of tertiary
„ shales
84
to palseozoic rocks in
. 563
Pantanau .
728
Palseozoic rocks, Salt Range . xxiv
, 485
Panw^ri hill
82,
91
)» >i
Northern Punjab
. 498
Panwat
232
» >i
converted into gneis
Par sandstone
56,
57
in Himalayas .
. 626
„ scarp .
57,
94
't »
Zansk£r series .
. 638
P&ra river . .
629,
640
» w
altered, of Eupshu
. 640
„ limestone .
637
S> »S
Kashmir ,
. 661
Parari
203
Palamaun (Palamow) . 196, 197
328
Farasn£th, Himalayan plants on
374
„ nnsurveyed coal fields in
. 198
Parasuchus . . xxxiv, 100
.137.
153
Palar river
. 247
433
Parh hills .
456
„ river near Simla
608
Parwain range
549,
559
Palghat gap
■
. 18
378
Pasai stream
181
Pfili .
.
11
Paskim
644
Palisst/a .
•
129
Pasni ....
470
P. conferta ,
•
155
PatalhiU .
192
P-jahal^iirmsis .
. 154
157
Patan
377
Paljor river
213
P^tau Sdongi
226
Palkoa
•
81
Patauri
14
PalnM
•
60, 65, 70
72
Patarnala ridge .
604
„ limestone
72
Pathankot .
5619
Palni hills
.
V
38
Patharghfita
167.
168
PalmMna deecanensis
310
Patkai range
xi, 683
.696,
699
Palumpet slates .
Paluncha
Pamir section
. 61
. 233
64
240
657
Patua (Sambalpur)
Fatrap&da . .
Patro Nadi, Mchir field
355
212
174
Pandr river
Pauchbhadra
.
268, 269, 28S
433
54
Paupugni group ,
Payen ghat
61,
62
60
INDEX.
803
rAQB
rAGB
Peat
434
PhcBnicopsis
.
157
Ganges delta . . 397, 398,
400
Phirsa stream
,
673
„ Nepal
674
Phizdura ....
.
310
Pebbles from Calcutta boring
400
Phlogopite in gneiss
.
19
Fecopteris eondnna ....
133
PTioladamya angulata
.
262
P. lohata
147
„ granosa .
, 262,
264
P. odontopteroides ,
120
Phonda ghat
. .
66
JPecten (Vola) qiiinquecostatiis, 266, 289
, 297
Phulchok ....
. 612,
675
21
Phyllotheoa
.
119
„ in Malani beds
53
Physa Prmsepii .
310, 318,
330
Pegu . . 704, 713, 716, 719, 723
726
Physical Geography of India
.
ii
„ group ....
719
„ of Gondwana period
xxxii
„ trachyte in South-Western'.
725
Physical Geology of Southern
India in
Pegu Toma . xi, 705, 707, 719, 720
726
cretaceous times
.
291
Pem beds
. 76
Pichor ....
• .
94
Pench river .... 127, 215
218
Pid
•
507
Penganga river, 75, 76, 110, 223, 229
>
Pihira ....
.
176
230
, 389
Pikermi in Attica, pliocene fauna of .
583
Pilka hills . . .
• •
206
„ „ „ rocks
Pinauni ....
.
611
contrasted . xxvii, 480
, 518
Find DMun Khfo .
. 486.
494
Peninsular formations, list of
xii
Piudura .
.
164
„ „ marine eqniva
Pinjor dun . . . 536, 539, 548,
550
lents of
xiv
Pinnacled quartzites .
. 70,
71
„ formations in extra.Penin
Pir Pahar ....
. ,
167
^ sular area .
XV
Pir Panjal . ix, 479, 602,
628, 658,
662
Peninsula, rivers of . . .
iii
„ gneissic chain
.
631
„ mountain ranges of
iii
„ trap of
. 663,
665
„ ranges, origin of .
XX
„ geology of .
.
665
PennSir river . . . .60
, 62
„ pass, section of .
.
665
Pennfo, see Panfo.
Pir Pynti ....
.
170
Perambalur ....
. 249
Pisolitic nodules in alluvium 384, 396,
423
Perched blocks in Western Himalayas
. 373
Plain of Upper Bengal and Northern
Perim Island ....
342
India ....
,
410
;, „ ossiferous beds of
ih.
Planes of marine denudation,
245, 376,
„ „ mammalian fossils
. 343
377.
378
Perim Island and Siwalik faunas com
Platanista, distribution of .
, ,
392
pared ....
588
Plateau quartzites
. 70,
71
Permia^ age, glacial conditions of
102
Plesiosaurus indicas .
. .
262
„ of lower Gondwdnas
. 103
Pliocene land communication
between
Permian fossils, Milam pass .
650
Himalayas and Perim island . .
393
Persia, mountain ranges of -
lix
Pliocene rocks, Sind .
.
44.7
„ hippuritic limestone of
449
„ facies of Siwalik fauna .
580
Peshawar
483
„ fauna of Pikermi in
Attica .
583
plain of . . . 478,
515
„ fossil wood group, Burma
721
Petroleum, Upper Burma .
724
Po
. .
639
„ in Pegu ....
717
Podozamites lanceolatus
, .
157
„ discharged from mud vol-
Poikilitio ....
.
133
canoes ....
730
Pokran ....
54, 93,
437
Pence sclmidiana ....
336
„ boulder beds near
,
xxxvi
804
INDEX.
423,
267
281;
304,
341,
PoUconda range .
PolycisUna from Nleobar islands
Pondicherry . . . 267, 387,
„ cretaceous rocks of
272,
Poona
Foonahlite ....
Pooree, see Pari.
Forbandar . . . ■
„ stone
Porcellanic beds in Gwaliors
„ „ Kadapahs
„ „ in Lower Vindhyans, 79,
Porpoises of Indus and Ganges
Porsa
Port Blair ....
Portland beds of Cutch
Porto-novo, shell beds near .
Post-pliocene deposits, Punjab
„ and Siwalik fauna c
pared .
Post-tertiary and recent formations
„ beds, distinction from
tertiary
„ „ „ relations to ter,
tiaries of
Himalaya,
Punjab, and
Sind .
„ „ „ classification of
„ „ Sind .
1, » „ Himalayas
Post-tertiary changes of level .
Pot-holes in river-beds
Potw£r . . 477, 509, 511, 515, 516,
Powagarh hill . . . .47,
Pranhita river . . .157, 223,
Prehistoric human implements
Preparis Island
Prome 720,
Prome beds
Protection of coast by alluvial deposits
Fseudomorphic salt-crystal zone. Salt
Bange
Fterophi/limn . . . 145, 158
ItUopliyllum, 136, 138, 139, 144, 147,
151, 155, 219,
P. amtifoUum, . . 144, 151, 246,
P. cutchense .... 151,
Pulavaindla
fAQB
64
735
433
282
327
305
377
342
58
63
80
392
232
732
259
424
515
587
371
371
372
380
473
667
375
439
518
304
233
440
732
724
719
422
494
246
247
249
260
62
. 561, 562,
Pulney, see Paine.
Funasa
Fdnch river
Funlar, see Pan&r.
Punjab 372,
„ erratics .... 373,
„ rivers, ancient changes in
„ alluvial plain of the
„ hill ranges of . . viii, 478,
„ Salt Range, rocks of . . 481,
„ Northern, rock groups of xxv,
.„ tertiary rocks of . . .
„ upper tertiaries of . . .
„ post-pliocene deposits
„ upper tertiaries, abnormal bound-
ary of .
Funon ......
Punii
Puppa, extinct volcano of . •
PurSn river
Purgial mountain . 625, 629, 639,
Puri
Pdrna river .... 224,
„ alluvial plain of . . , 383,
„ alluvium, salt in ...
Purian point
Purple sandstone group. Salt Range .
Putchum, see Pachham.
Fyanlir
Pyrite in gneiss ....
Pytnn ......
Pyzu range
Q
Quartz in Deccan traps
„ in gneiss . . . .10,
Quartz-reefs in Bundelkhand gneiss 10,
„ direction of . . .
„ in Bengal gneiss
„ South Mahratta
Quartz veins traversing quartz-reefs
and gneiss _
Quartzite implements
Quern- stones of taloose quartz schist .
„ of Bijiwar quartzite
Quilon
B
Bachna Doab sandhills . . . 439
Ragavapuram shales . . . 140, 147
n „ Goddvari district . 246
221
564
391
515
415
415
479
485
483
504
512
515
583
11
191
725
418
646
377
388
388
388
717
483
248
19
389
514
305
19
13
IS
20
23
15
441
16
30
337
INDEX.
805
Rngavapuram shales near Ongole
Raidlo beds 49,
Raichur ......
Eaichur Dofib
Eaidak (Eydak) river . 27, 522,
Raigarh and Hingir coal-fields .
Rainfall, Indian desert
Rairakol •
Rajah's choultry ....
Rajdmahendri, 238, 242, 244, 245, 315,
336,
„ Gondwana outcrops near
traps of . . xliv, 800,
„ intertrappean beds of.
„ marine beds associated
with trap near, 315,
„ Cuddalore beds near .
Raja,uri 561,
Rajdpur, serpentine at . . .
Rdjgir hills . . . 36,37,
Rajmahal . . . 139, 165, 167,
,, height above sea .
Rajmahlil flora, relations to Jabalpur
and Cutch floras, 147, 157,
„ flora : relations to Uitenhage
fossils compared with Euro-
pean ....
Rajmahdl group . . 107, 108,
„ „ traps of . . XXX,
„ „ in Southern India
„ „ in Khasi hills . xxxi,
„ „ relations to Lower Oond-
wauas
„ „ table of allied groups .
„ „ thickness
„ „ volcanic area . xxx,
„ „ palaeontology
„ „ section of . . .
„ „ Bast coast region
„ „ association of marine
fossils
„ „ Athgar basin
„ „ near EUore .
„ near Ongole .
„ „ near Sripermatur .
„ „ near Trichinopoly
B^jmahal Gondw&a region
„ „ section
Kajmahdl hills . . iv, xxx, 17,
„ „ 'description of
PAGE
PA9H
247
Rajmahdl hills, volcanic cores near.
170,
171
51
„ „ laterite of, 356,
359,
364
23
„ „ black soil in
432
71
RdjmahSl traps, eruption of
163
619
„ not connected with
Deo-
203
can traps
xU
438
Rdjnagar
14
212
Eajpipla
222
293
„ hills ....
326
Efijpur
209
389
Rajput£na< Tindhyansof
88
244
Rajdr
229,
231
308
R^kasTdl
650
317
Ramapatnam ....
247
Ramgarh (Singhblim) .
44
328
„ hill, Sirguja .
208
336
„ hills (Birbhum) .
165
566
„ coal-field
190
14
Ramnad : raised sandstones near .
377
38
R^mpur : Bis&hir
598
406
„ . (Chattisgarh)
207.
210
392
R&mpnra (Bundelkhand)
11
Eamri Island . . . 717,
718,
729
159
„ mud volcanoes
729
146
Ran of Cutch, 251, 343, 395, 420
436,
438
„ description of the .
420
144
„ formerly a gulf of the Sea
139
395,
420
139
Sanapusilla ....
321
140
Rangoon .... 705
720,
724
140
Rangchu river ....
613
Ranges, extra peninsular .
. vii.
Ivii
141
Rangichang ....
615
141
Rangit river ....
613
141
„ Little ....
615
142
Baniganj . . . 124, 126
178,
336
142
„ coal-field
178
169
„ coal : analysis of .
702
242
RSniganj group . . 115, 126
169,
180
„ „ RAniganj field .
182
242
„ „ Jharia field
187
243
„ „ Bokaro field
189
245
Rfimgarh field .
191
247
„ „ South KSranpura field
192
247
„ „ Karanpura field
195
249
„ „ South Rewah .
203
165
Ranikot
450
166
„ group ....
1,
451
139
Ranj river, Bundelkhand
83
165
Ranjoti ridge ....
662,
564
806
lis UJSX.
358;
561, 567,
632, 65^,
484, 511,
m, 509, 514,
E^pti river, Siwaliks on
„ valley .
Bas f artak . .
„ Malan .
„ Sharweu .
Eatanpur .
Eatilagiri . .
„ ' laterite
„ plant beds
Eavercherla
Eavi river . viii, 558, 560,
„ valley, upper
Eawalpiudi .
plateau
Eecent formations, Himalayas
Eecent genera in Siwaliks
Eecent and Siwalik faunas compared
586,
Eecent and post-tertiary formations .
Bed colour of Vindhyans and transi
tion rocks ....
Eed bills of Pondicherry
„ „ Madras
„ soil
Eegions, Zoological, of Wallace .
„ ancient zoological and botanl
cal ,
„ gneissic
Eeh : nature and origin of
Eeband valley
Eehr or Eeband River .
Eegnr ....
„ analyses of
absorbent power of
„ distribution of .
„ origin of .
„ derivation from basalt
Eelations between Bundelkband gneiss
and contiguous formations
Relations of different azoic series
„ of upper Vindbyans to lower
Reptilian remains in Crondwana rocks
132, 137, 153,
„ „ Panchet group, local-
ity of .
„ „ Narbada alluvium .
„ „ Sind cretaceous beds
„ „ Siwalik . . 575,
Resin, fossil, in cretaceous coal . 690,
Eeversed faults
35, 80,
PAGE
544
611
297
470
297
341
23
368
338
246
568
665
568
515
667
579
589
371
xxii
337
358
429
Ixiv
101
3
413
203
202
429
430
431
431
432
432
16
6,7,8
90
154
183
385
450
580
712
526
Bewa Kanta
Bewah gneiss
,, group
„ „ diamonds in . . .
Bewah, South . . . 104, 199,
„ „ and Sobagpur coal-field .
Rewab, laterite of . . . 355,
Rbsetic affinities of Eajmabal group .
„ beds, extra peninsular
„ „ of Hazara . . . .
„ fossils, Zanskar area
MMnoceros deccanensis .
It. sivalensis
SMnosaarus jasikomi ....
Shododendron arboreum
Mynchocephala
Eiassi .... 549, 562, 567,
„ conglomerates , . . .
Eilly-la-Montaigne, Eocene fossils of .
Ring money
„ stones b . . . . .
Rikikes ......
Else of land in post-tertiary times
„ „ probably greater in western
than in eastern India, 377,
Eiver, lost, of tbe Indian desert
„ gravels and clays, older
Elvers of Peninsula
„ Burma .
„ Punjab .
„ Northern India, action
on surface .
River-systems of Himalayas
Eivers of Himalayas flowing
beyond snowy range
Eivers of Punjab, ancient changes
Bock -salt of Punjab .
„ of Mandi
Kobilkand . ...
Eobri . . . 436, 442, 446,
Eongreng, coal basin of, Garo bills,
„ Kaga hills .
Botang pass
Botfc gorge near Jbelum ,
Eotas group
Botasgarh ....
Rottab Boh
Euby mines, Ava . ,
Buksbu, see Eupshu.
Eunn of Cutcb, see Ran.
of,
from
in .
486,
457,
i,691,
631,
515,
78,
478,
fAQB
313
19
84
92
200
201
363
144
xlvi
501
636
390
466
131
374
153
676
568
330
443
442
535
376
384
416
382
382
X
viii
410
676
677
415
508
558
543
474
695
702
664
669
80
80
487
708
INDEX.
807
Bup£r ....
. 550,
551
Kupi ....
. 631,
632
Kupin pass .
, .
597
Bupin valley
.
604
Rupshu
625, 635,
672
„ metamorpbics .
i • *
640
Kntile in gneiss .
■ •
19
Kutland island .
• ■ •
733
Eydak, see Baidak.
s
Subatba beds
. 534,
530
„ „ nummulites i
n
525
„ „ fossils of
• ■ .
531
„ „ easternmost o
ntliers of .
534
„ Jamu .
• « ■
562
„ „ laterite in
563
Subatbu, section at
.
533
coal
.
600
Sadiya, beigbt above sea
.
392
Saffrai river
.
701
Sagenopteris
.
118
Sabajori coal field
.
172
Sabaranpur, beigbt above sea
392
Sabyadri range
. iv
V
„ „ scarps of
. Ixxi
301
„ „ hypotbetics
il marine
origin of
scarps, Ixxi
, 377
„ traps of, 3C
)i, 306, 319
32
0, 327, 354
358
„ „ fresb-water
moUuaca of
378
Saimnlda
.
46
Sainthoray .
•
. 282
Sakar river .
J •
. 215
Sakbar, see Snkkur.
Sakmur . ~ .
.
. 232
Sakri river .
.
, 176
Salem district
.
26
„ iron implements
.
. 444
Salenia, tertiary -
.
. 453
Salgraun
.
. 632
Salkura
■
. 692
Sallawai
. 234
, 235
Salsette
. 304,819
, 424
Salt, Purna alluvium .
.
. 388
„ Wardba alluvium
-
. 389
„ Ganges alluvium .
. 393
, 415
„ Indus alluvium .
.
. 395
lakes near TJmarkot
.
. 394
„ PLncbbhadra
. 395
Salt, efflorescence on plains of Nortb-
ern India . . .
„ in Himalayan river-water
„ Punjab .... 486,
„ Kobat
„ Mandi
Salt range . . . viii, 53, 477,
„ „ rock groups of .
„ „ contrast between eastern
and western portions, 481,
„ „ azoic and palseozcic rocks
of . . . . xxiv,
„ „ salt marl of . . xxiv,
„ ,, „ „ dislocations
,. „ „ „ origin of . xxv,
„ „ purple sandstone of
„ „ Silurian beds of .
„ „ magnesian sandstone of .
speckled sandstone of
„ „ carboniferous rocks of xxiv,
„ „ triassic rocks of
„ „ pseudomorpbic salt-crystal
zone ....
« » Jurassic or variegated group
of .
„ „ coal of
„ „ olive group of
„ „ nummulitics , . li,
„ „ flexures .
Salwin river . xi, 705, 709, 727,
Sambalpur , 76, 128, 199, 200, 209,
„ diamonds at . . .
„ gneiss ....
Samundri
Sand, blown
„ of Indian deserts, derivation of .
Sand-hills of Indian deserts
„ formation of . . ,
Sand denudation and striae on rocks .
Sand-storms on Indian rivers
Sandarbaua
Sandoway ij\\
Sandrapali 235
Sandstone in ludo-gangetic alluvium .
flexible ....
Sangar Marg ridge . . 562, 567,
Sangla
Sangpo or Sanpoo river , , viii,
Sangra
Sanju pass ..... 655,
413
414
508
508
558
480
481
485
488
487
488
488
483
489
489
489
493
494
495
507
496
506
568
728
213
77
22
597
43S
438
436
437
439
404
i40S
712
237
397
5a
568
597
677
639
656
808
INDEX.
Sankos river
Sausaa, miocene fauna of
S&nktoria ,
Santhdl Farghnahs
Saoner
Sarasvati river
Sarikol . .
Saruth Deogarh .
Saser pass .
Sasti
S^tbpahiri hill
lUra range
657,
653,
69, 78,
IV,
140,
84,
trap
118,
hiUSi 32, ld4, 127, 135, 161,
163, 200, 220,
„ region of Gondwanas
„ basin of coal measures
Sattavedu ....
„ group .
„ „ near Sripermatur
Saugor . . . ,
S&wantwari . . ,
Scenery and vegetation of Deccan
area ....
Schists, Bundelkhand .
„ lower Himalayas
Schistose series, Hazara
SoMzoneura
S. gondwanensis . .
S. meriam ....
Schorl, Singrauli gneiss
„ Bundelkhand gneiss
„ Darjiling gneiss
„ Hundes gneiss
Soolecite in Deccan traps .
Scoriae, Deccan traps .
Scyphia ....
Sea-face of Indus delta.
„ of Ganges delta
Secondary series, Zanskar .
Section, azoic rocks
„ Gondwana, Bajmahal hills
„ „ Kaniganj coal-field
„ „ Jharia coal-field .
„ Kamgarh coal-:
„ „ K^ranpura field
„ „ Bisr^mpur field
» „ S&tpura basin
Wardha field
305.
304,
field
PAGB
613
586
182
172
226
416
658
172
654
84
230
198
195
224
213
214
248
150
248
363
23
801
12
596
499
119
133
114
19
16
614
650
306
812
254
419
407
641
6
166
179
186
190
193
204
217
229
448,
692,
7,81,
Section, Sub-Himalayas, Simla and
Eangra areas contrasted .
Sedimentary beds intercalated with
Deccan traps .
Sibsagar, height above sea
Sehwan , . . 417, 418,
„ height above sea
Seju, 691;
Semri beds ....
Series, Vindhyan
Serpentine, Bundelkhand gneiss
„ Singrauli gneiss
„ Arakan range, Burma
„ Andaman Islands
„ Kicobar Islands .
Seychelle Islands, birds of .
Sh£hab£d, Kashmir . , .
(South Mahratta)
Shagarh
Sbahidul^ ....
Shaikhawati
Shaikhpura hills .
Shaly slates of Spiti .
Sh^li mountain .
Shdlkar ....
Shankan ridge
Shargol ....
Shayok river
„ stones transported
on
ShekhBudin . 478,479,480,
491, 495,
Shekawuttee, see Shaikhawati,
Shells, land, afiiuities of recent
Sheopuri ridge .
Sher river ....
Sbergotty ....
Shevroy, see Shivarai.
Shib-wala hills .
Shik&rpur, height above sea
Shillong ....
„ plateau
„ „ gneiss of
„ transition series
„ coal near
Shimakeri .
Shingarh hills . 478, 480, 505,
Shinglung .
Shipki
Shivarai hills
26,
,12,
653,
36,
598,
641,
by ice
487,
506,
683,
507
378,
550
307
392
460
392
695
88
69
14
19
714
733
735
Ixviii
662
73
14
656
49
38
636
602
639
604
645
625
516
514
Ixix
612
215
198
541
892
42
684
4
40
689
67
514
654
622
443
INDEX.
809
Sicliel hills ....
Sidh Nadi Qondwina basin
Sih
Sikana, steatite near .
Sikkim, Gond miusk (Damuda) beds of xv,
97:
„ moraines in . . . 373,
„ iron ores ....
„ area. Lower Himalayas .
„ relations of rocks in
„ lakes of .
Sikkim-Bhutan area of Sub-Himalayas
Silew&ra (Silewada)
Silicified wood, Burma
Silt in Brahmaputra .
Silurian fossils, supposed, from Khyber
pass
„ „ Zanskar area
„ „ Milam pass
Silurian rocks of Kashmir, Spiti, &c,
„ „ of salt-range .
„ „ and fossils, Niti, Hundes
„ „ metamorphosed Ladak
„ „ Karakoram area
„ „ Kashmir
Silver implements
„ mines, Burma .
Simaldhap
Simla . . 529, 592, 594, 598,
599, 603,
„ region, of Sub-Himalayas . 529,
„ „ Lower Himalayas
,. series
„ slates
„ „ relations to gneiss
Simliu • • I . •
Simra ....
Sind . . . 372,391,417,436,
„ mountain ranges of
„ flints, flakes and cores in
„ copper implement in
„ tertiary rocks of . . 1,339,
„ physical geography of western
„ rock formations of J.
,, cretaceous beds of
,, Deccantrapof .xliv,300,308, 331
„ Banikot group of .
„ Khirthar group or nummulitic
limestones
„ Nari group
PAGE
312
172
556
15
615
668
543
612
615
675
545
226
721
405
500
638
650
XXV
488
648
653
654
662
443
708
168
605
592
594
596
599
603
558
170
445
vii
442
443
447
446
447
448
450
451
456
459
690,691
. 19
199, 201;
498, 500. 501;
Sind Gij group .
„ Manchhar group
„ post tertiary beds
„ tertiary series, additional notes on
„ absence of breaks below pliocene
„ great post pliocene disturbance
„ alternation of freshwater and
marine beds
Sind Sagar Do£b, sand hills
Sind valley, Kashmir .
Sindh river, Bundelkhand . . 57,
Sindri fort .
Sindwdna .
Singareni coal-field
Singhbhum gneissic area
„ transition rocl^s
Singhi pass
Singhpho country
Siugmdri
Singrauli gneiss, minerals in
„ pegmatite veins
„ Gondwanas .
Sinhgach .
Sipri
Sirbau, mount
Sirbu shales
Sirgnja,104, 109, 163, 199, 200, 202,
204, 205, 207, 300, 308, 328,
Siri pass
Sirkanda
Sirmur area, Simla region, . . 530,
„ series . . . li, 524, 529,
„ „ thickness of
„ „ relations to older rocks
„ „ easternmost outlier .
„ „ relation to Siwaliks i . 539,
„ „ western expansion
„ „ west of Sutlej . . 548,
„ „ doubtful beds of, in Kangr
„ „ at Ravi river
„ „ doubtful beds of, iu Jamu
Sironcha 223,
„ sandstones . . . 155,
Sirpur 234,
Sirsi .
Sirun river
Sitang, see Sittoung.
Sitarfimpur
Sitariva river ..." 215,
Sitsyahn shales .
463
466
473
473
474
474
475
439
660
94
421
11
241
21
43
644
701
692
19
21
203
304
88
503
84
363
513
609
534
530
532
532
534
552
561
552
• 556
560
564
236
237
236
231
515
182
217
719
810
INDKX.
FAQB
EAoa
Sittoung river . . xi, 705, 726,
727
Siwalik' mollusca . . . •
576
jy
valley .... 724,
728
„ reptilia .... 575,
580
ft
delta
.
727
Siwalik-Nahan boundary
537
Siwalik hills
. X, 536,
541
Siwalik-Sirmur boundary, Jamu
fi
series . . . . li,
524
area ......
567
„
Siud ....
466
Sdkakheri bore hole ....
384
39
»
Western Punjab
512
Skiu
641
>i
disturbance of
iii
Slate series of Lower Himalayas .
598
73
river deposits
525
„ Kashmir ....
663
t>
»
N&han area .
535
Slates of P^ngi
664
»
»
lower, middle and upper .
536
Slate series, Mti ....
649
»
»
relations to Nahans, cru-
Slates of Pamir
658
cial section .
537
Slope of depositing rivers .
407
f>
»
relations to Sirmtirs
539
Speckled sandstone group, Salt Bange .
489
99
5»
composition in relation
Spinel, Mandalay ....
708
to the great rivers 541,
552
Sphenopteris argitia . . . 144,
160
jj
))
correlation of ds-Jumna
S. Mslopi
146
and trans-Jumna beds
541
S. memhranosa
146
,,
51
section in Nun near MuB-
Spiti valley .... 635,
639
sooree
542
„ oldest rocks of .
XXV
99
])
section near Kathmandu
543
Spiti shales . . . xlviii.
686
»9
)>
general structure near
„ of Hazara
502
Kangra
548
„ of Niti, Hundes , .
647
))
»
Simla and K&ngra area
Scan river .... 477, 515,
516
contrasted .
550
Soda sesquicarbonate in Lon&r Lake .
380
»
Simla and Jamu area
Sohagpur (S. Eevyah) . 199, 201, 203,
313
compared
564
coal-field . . . 104,
201
Siwalik age,
stratigraphical evidence of
581
(Hoshangabad) .
33
beds
mioeene forms in
582
„ railway station, elevation .
385
99
»
representatives of in Tibet
651
Sohana
608
99
S)
„ „ Kashmir
673
Soils
427
>»
»
„ Upper
„ of Ganges valley
428
Assam ....
702
Sojafc
93
Siwalil
c fauna .... liv,
572
Sok&i
12
99
»
probably pliocene .
580
Solan 534,596,
599
»
»
migration of .
584
Soory .... 139, 165, 171,
336
99
j»
effects of change of cli-
Son river . . . 197, 199, 201,
203
mate on . . .
585
„ valley . . . 5,91,177,
203
S»
„
compared with recent 586,
589
„ series
7
}>
compared with post-
„ area, Bij^wars of .
34
pliocene Narbada fauna
587
„ lower Viudhyans of . . .
77
99
compared with Perim
„ Gondwfina region
199
Island fauna
588
,, valley, trap dykes in . . .
328
99
s>
compared with Irawadi
Son-Mahanadi river ....
201
fauna
588
Son.Narbada area of Bijawars .
33
Siwalik fossils, discovery of .
522
» „ boundary of Vindhyans .
85
»»
mammalia, homotaxis of .
576
Sonar hills
95
»
„ range of
578
Sonmiani
470
»
mammalian genera extinct and
Sorapnr iron implements
444
recent
579
Sotra river .....
416
INDEX.
811
South Mahratta gneiss area . . 22
„ transition area . . 65
South Rewah and Sohagpur coal-field . 201
Southern Indian hills, absence of glacial
traces on 373
Srinagar ..... 661, 663
Sripermatur gi-oup . . 102, 140, 149
„ „ fossils . . . 150
„ „ near Madras . . 248
Sripermatur, Gondwana beds near . 247
„ cretaceous fossils of . 293
Srishalum quartzites . . 61, 65
St. Cassiau beds 122
Steatite veins in Bundelkhand gneiss . 15
„ quarries .... 15, 16
Stilbite in gneiss .... 19
„ in R^jmahal traps . . . 170
„ in Deccan traps . . . 305
Stone implements, 358, 369, 386 389, »
390, 440
„ knives 441
„ circles . . . 440, 443, 444
Stormberg beds. South Africa . . 123
Strachey's map of Kumaun . . 609
Strike of quartz reefs .... 13
Subaerial origin of Deccan traps,
xliii, 3122
Subaqueous traps, characters of . . 322
„ volcanic rocks in transi-
tion series . . . xxi
Subdivisions of area . . . . ii
Subhdpur 11
Sub-Himalayas . . . x, 517
defined . . .519
provisional eonclusious
as to history . . 520
general features . . 521
early views of . . 521
formerly supposed to be
TSev/ Bed Sandstone . 521
J, general range . . 522
wanting locally in As-
sam. . . 522, 545
relations to Salt Bange 523
j^ classification of . . 523
„ petrology . . . 524
resemblance to molasse . 524
chiefly of freshwater
origin . . . 525
structural conditions . 526
Sub-Himalayas, discussion of stratigra-
phical characters .
„ abnormal dips in .
„ faults in , . .
flexures in .
„ middle and terminal
regions .
„ Simla region
„ Jumna-Ganges area .
„ Garhw^l- Kumaun area.
„ Nepdl area .
„ Sikkim and Bhutan area
„ Upper Assam area 545,
„ Kangra area
„ difficulties of classifica-
tion in . . .
„ Bnbhor and Bel&pur
sections compared .
„ Kangra area, absence of
fragments of igne-
ous rocks
„ Kangra area, want of
fossils
„ Jamu area .
„ inlier of Himalayan
rocks in Jamu area .
„ summary of observa-
tions
Sub-Himalayan high-level gravels
„ zones north and south
of Assam contrasted
Submarine cliff along Makr& coast
Submetamorphic rocks . xix, 3,
„ „ classification of
» „ lower series xx,
„ „ upper series xx,
u „ of Gntch .
Subrecent changes of level
Subregions, Oriental
Sudi Konda hiUs
Sufed-Koh .
Suget-la
Sujnam stream
Suket-pass section
Suketi river
Sukkur
„ flint cores found at
Snlem&i range, vii, 477, 479, 480, 486,
491, 495, 505, 513,
Sultan Khel
vui,
446,
526
526
526
527
528
529
541
543
543
545
685
547
554
555
557
557
560
562
569
668
686
Ixxii
28
9
28
55
344
Ixxi
Ixv
244
491
654
12
656
559
474
442
514
506
812
INDEX.
PAOB
PAQB
SultSnpur
. 602
Table of
upper Gondwfina groups
141
Sumatra, carboniferous limestono in
709
T£di river ......
612
„ tertiary rooks of .
734
Tcewiopt
ens
118
Sumesari river . . 691,692,695
697
T.mttata .
159
Summary of Geology . . . .
xviii
Tagling
beds, upper
636
Summaries of Indian Geology, .
Ixxii
Tagling
limestone
636,
642
Sundays river, South Africa .
146
Tdm .
,
656
Sundri tree, fossil
399
Takvor
.
615
Sunkerry Droog . . , .
25
Tal river
, Sironcha
234,
235
Sfipnr
43
JJ
Dehra Dun
595
Surajpur
47, 48
Tdlchir,
,
200,
210
Suran
608
Talchir coal-field
210
Surarim .... 41, 42,
694
„ gneiss
22
Surat .... 308, 339, 425,
435
Talchir-group . xxxv, 107, 108,
109
„ eocene beds of .
340
it
origin of . . .
98
„ higher tertiaries of . . •
340
33
boulder bed, xxxv, 109,
„ regurof
433
173, 180, 186, 188, 190,
Surface of Gondwdna areas
106
194, 205. 206, 211,
Surma river . . . . xi,
409
229, ....
234
SursuUa river
538
»
resemblance to volcanic
Suru
639
rock ....
110
Survival of older types in Indian
>»
resistance to weathering
110
area
Ixx
9*
extent and thickness
111
Sfisfilgali
499
3>
PalsBontology . xxxii.
111
Sutlej river ....
viii
„
conditions of deposition .
111
„ former course of
416
„
in Rajmahdl hills .
166
„ termination of Lower
„
SidhNadi .
172
Himalayan region at
520
»
Kandit Karayah field
172
„ Sub-Himalayas on, 548,
»
Sahajori field .
172
550, 551,
552
»
Outliers on Adjai river .
173
„ at Bubhor
551
»
Jainti or Karaun field .
173
»
Patro Nadi .
174
602, 604,
606
«
small basins, north-east
Tibet. 622, 625, 630, 635,
Hazaribdgh
174
647, 651,
677
»
Karharbdri coal-field
175
Sutlej valley, high-level gravels of
669
M
' small basins on Bardkar
Swat . . . ■ . .478,
498
river ....
176
Swatch of no ground ....
408
small basins near Eharag-
Syhedrite
305
diha ....
176
Sylhet
140
»9
small basins on Snkri
„ trap xxxi, xli, 41, 140,
686
river ....
176
« jMls
407
»
Baniganj coal-field
180
Sylvine
487
.,
Jharia coal-field
186
Synclinal fold in Bundelkhand gneiss .
13
33
Bokaro eoal-field .
188
Synclinal of Hundes and Zdnskdr
625
Eamgarh coal-field
191
Syrvngosphceridie . . . .
655
»
South Kdranpnra coal-
field ....
192
T
„
Karanpura field .
193
))
Chopd field .
196
108
»
Itkuri field .
.
.
197
INDEX.
813
PAOE
rASB
Talchir group, small areas, Hazaribfigh
. 197
Tatta .
. . . . 451. 458,
464
„
Daltonganj field .
197
Tawa river
. 127,137,138,215,
218
»
at S^thbarwa .
198
„ vaUej
r 217,
218
it
at Latiahar .
198
Kwi river
565
w
Morhar river .
198
Tehri .
. . . . 11, 12,
14
»
Sonth Bewah .
. 202
Teliagarhi fort
170
St
around Jhilmilli coal
Telorna
11
field .
204
Telwisa
230
ts
coal in .
205
Tenasserim
. 704, 707,
709
99
Bisrampur field
206
»»
river . , . xi, 705,
718
„
Lakhanpur field .
. 207
SJ
cretaceous coal of
712
s>
Eastern Sirguja, TJdepur
»
coal-bearing beds of
718
&c. .
207
ti
carboniferous limestone of .
xxvii
M
Korba field .
. 208
Terminal Himalayas ....
520
3*
Eaigarh-Hingir field
. 209
tt
area, lower Himalayas .
594
»
T41chir field .
. 211
tt
Sub-Himalayan region . 528,
547
tl
outliers, Mahdnadi vallej
r 211
TerebraMa hiplicaia . . 256,
264
„
Sdtpura basin
. 217
T. sella
256
S>
Kamthi area .
. 226
TeresSa
735
3>
Bander field .
226
Tertiary
coasts of peninsula .
slvi
»
near Arjuna .
227
3»
„ extra-peninsular .
lii
tt
Wardha field .
229
Tertiary
rocks, extra-peninaular .
1
„
Godavari valley . 234
238
»
„
later ....
liv
»
outliers near Dumagu
»
3>
of peninsula .
334
dem .
239
>t
jj
„ east coast .
335
^,
Kam£ram field
241
3>
>»
Guzerat ....
339
»
Singdreni field
241
»
J>
higher, of Surat and
Talchir pebbles in Barfikar beds .
203
Broach
340
Tdld^nga
. 180
l»
91
Cutoh ....
343
Talewari ghat
24
w
»
„ classification of
344
Talikot
73
»>
n
upper, of Cutch
347
Talukw&a
> • •
295
n
<i
of Jesalmir
347
Tandra Eahim Kbfo .
. 46S,
469
»
33
of Sind 1, 447, 451,
456
Tangsuli Gondwtoa basin
171
at
»
„ thickness of .
xvi
„ Barakarsof .
171
»
»
„ additional notes
Tanjore
■ ■ •
. 336, 337,
424
on . . .
473
Tanna
.
.
319
»
,,
lower, of Baluchistan
453
Tanol or Tanawal group, Haz&a
SOI
tt
39
upper, of Punjab, abnormal
Tapti river
. 220, 224, 340, 341,
388
boundary of
483
„ upper.
area of Gondwdna rocks .
220
j>
93
lower, of Punjab
504
„ alluvial plains of . . 383,
387
9f
93
„ thickness of
504
„ «
„ elevation
388
IS
33
upper, of Punjab
512
Tfinr land, Nepal
674
»
33
of HimaWyas, 5l7, 626, 650,
680
Tara Devi .
.
601
n
79
of upper Indus valley, 626,
Tar^garh
•
50
634,640,
643
Tarai .
.
404
1*
93
eruptive, of Hundes .
650
Tarcheria sandstones
236
j>
M
sedimentary, Hundes
651
Tarkesar .
.
340
3)
»
Assam range .
698
Tama
.
686
»
W
upper, Assam range .
696
Tasinghill .
.
4>9
99
33
Burma ....
715
814!
iJNWJBA.
PASS
PAOB
Tertiary rocks, newer, Arakan
720
Titi
river .
. 618
„ „ of upper Burma
724
Todapurti beds
62
Tertiary vertebrate fauna .
572
Todihal
. 811
„ /. ,, ,y mig
rations of
584
Tondakheri
. 226
Tetragonolepis .
154
Tong
. 464
Tezpur, granite of
.
699
Tonghoo
. 724
Thajwaz
.
660
Tongup
712
, 718
Thalapudi .
.
245
Tons
river .
541,
604
, 607
Thar .
.
. 436,
437
Tourmaline in gneiss .
.
19
„ sand ridges of
.
438
Trachyte intrusion, RSjmahil area
. 170
Tharia
. 686, (
387, 688,
702
„ south-western Pegu
. 725
„ river .
.
. 686,
694
Trans-Indus sal
region
. 507
„ cretaceous fossils
from
689
Transition series
.
xix
, 3,28
Thatay-Khyoung
.
718
»
relations to older anc
1
Thayet Myo
710,
716, 720
724
newer beds .
XX
„ coal near ,
.
717
i>
igneous rocks in
XX
Thingadau .
.
724
»
disturbance of .
XX
Thiog ridge
.
604
»
section of
6
Thondonng .
.
717
w
classification of
9
ThulGWt .
.
306
•>
lower
. XX, 28
Tibet, fossil mammals
.
651
»
of Bijawar basin
28
„ Siwalik fauna
.
. 585,
589
l>
of Behar .
36
„ alluvial deposits
672
w
of Shillong
40
„ glacial evidence
. 669,
672
„
of S. W. Bengal
43
Tibetan plateau .
. viii.
Ivi
J»
of Arvali region
44
„ Jurassic rocks
xlvjii
„
of Champanir .
46
„ Himalayas . '
. 519,
622
„
'of Mal4ni
53
„ fossiliferous rocks .
624
»>
upper
XX,
55
„ sedimentary basins
634
I*
of Gwalior
56
,, Hundes area .
646
ft
of Kadapah
60
Tilla, Mount
. 494,
506
.
y>
of Kaladgi
65
Tillancbarg
735
Trap,
Bajmahal and Deccan, not
con-
Tillar river. South Koukan •
24
nected
■ > . .
xli
Tin in Burma
708
»
Shillong series, Ehasi hills
41
Tin stone in gneiss
19
»
Bouth-west Bengali transition
Tingrat ....
664
series
....
44
Tinnevelly, iron implements
444
»
B^jmahal
• . . .
L39,
170
Tipam range
701
s»
Rajmahal,
minerals in
,
170
„ group
. 700,
702
>»
overflowing, Sirguja 204,
207,
208
Tipaptoi ....
212
»
on Main Pdt .
207
Tipperah hills .
698
„
on Kamgarh hill
,
208
Tirhosh ....
604
»
series of Deccan, see also Decoan
Tirhowan ....
91
trap
• . . .
xli.
299,
„ breccia . .
82
»
Deccan, reasons for employing
„ limestone .
. 81,'
83
name
.
301
Tiruvakari, see Trivicary.
„
area, scenery and vegetation
301
Tista river
. X,
613
i)
subaqueous, and subaSrial,
dis-
„ section, Damudas
.
615
tinctlons between .
322
Titamoscmr'as indicus
.
310
n
Sind.
.
i49.
450
Tithonian beds of Cutol
1
•
259
t>
lower Himalayas
.
Ivii,
606
INDEX.
815
fASE
PAGtB
Trap, near Naini Tal .
610
Triassic rocks, Sarikol .
658
„ Kashmir ....
662
„ „ Burma .
. 710
„ Pir Panja ....
665
Tributaries of Ganges deflected west
„ Sylhet ....
. 686
ward ....
412
„ miocene beds, Pegu .
. 720
Tricbinopoly . . . .99
267
Trap-d;kes, Bundelkhand gneiss
15
„ gneiss of
25
»
Bengal gneiss .
21
„ Gondw^na beds near
. 249
«
Singhbbtim gneiss .
22
„ plant beds . 140, 150
249
3,
South Mahratta gneiss
23
„ area cretaceous rocks 267
»
Wain^d gneiss .
24
269, 27?,
281
99
Nilgiri gneiss .
25
„ group .
. 275
„
Trichinopoli gneiss .
. 26
„ „ granitic detritus in
276
99
Goudwanas . .
105
„ „ relations to Utatfin
277
99
B^niganj coal-field .
. 142 .
„ „ distribution of
. 277
99
Edjmahdl bills
. 170
„ „ tbiofeness of .
277
99
Damuda valley .
. m
„ „ outliers of
277
99
Karbarbari field
. 176
„ „ Palaeontology
278
99
Edniganj field . 181
184
„ marble .
276
^,
Jharia field
. 187
„ laterite .
385
99
Bokaro field .
. 189
„ regur
. 433
99
Rtogarh field
. 190
Trigamma
. 662
99
Earanpura fields
. 195
Trigonia clavellata .
262
99
South Eewab .
. 204
T. oostata 262
264
99
Kaigarb Hingir field
. 210
T. smeei xxxvii, 148, 244, 259
261
99
Sfitpnra basin .
. 220
T. iuberculifera ....
. 261
99
absence of, in Godavar
T. vcm
261
valley .
. 232
T. ventrieosa xxxvii, 148, 244, 261,
503
99
Athgar basin .
244
Trilokniitb .....
664
Trappean detritus wanting in Sub
Tripeti bill near Madras
60
H
malayas of Kangra area
. 557
Tripetty sandstones . . . 140
148
Trappoid rock in lower Vindbjans
79
beds, Godavari district .
246
Travancore . . . ,18
337
„ „ near Ongole
247
99
bills ....
V
Trisulganga river . ,
612
99
limestones, sand, clays anc
Trivicary 272,
336
lignite
337
„ grits ....
336
99
limestones, fossils in .
338
Tbombo
717
99
Is^terite . . . ,
358
TsoMoriri
640
Tremolite in gneiss .
19
„ lake basin .
671
Triassic fossils, Balucbistan
455
Tungabudra river . , .60
62
99
„ ZanskSr area
637
Tura ..... .691,
69S
99
„ Niti, Hundes
648
„ ridge .... 682, 691,
695
99
„ Milam pass .
650
Turbela , . . . ,
499
Triassic Himalayan fauna similar tc
>
Tnrsa river ■ . , . . 545,
619
^
Alpine . . . .
xlvii
Tzarap valley ....
639
99
plants, Eurbarbari group
114
U
Triassic rocks, extra peninsular area
xlvi
Ubra
35
99
„ of Punjab .
493
TJchar
94
99
„ of Hazfoa .
601
Udampur
567
99
„ Changchenmo
654
Udepur (Rajputdna) . . . ,
> 48
99
„ Earakoram , •
655
„ (Chotia NSgpur) . 199,207,
209
816
INDEX.
Udepur coal-field . . . .207
„ Chota .... 221, 312
Uitenhage formation of SoutU Africa,
123, 146, 148
„ flora compared with Kaj-
mahal .... 146
Ukra hill 260, 267
Ulwur, see Alwar.
Umarkot . . . 394, 417, 419, 436
Umballa'height above sea . . . 392
„ borehole 401
tJmblai river 690
Umia 158, 259
XJmia-group, xxxvii, 99, 100, 141, 148,
158, 244, 259
„ flora 159
„ fossils of xxxviii, 259, 260, 261
„ comparison of Cephalopoda
Tfith European forms . 260
Umurkuntuk, see Amarkantak.
Una dun 536
Undutla 71
TJpalpad 71
Upper Damuda group .... 156
Upper Jurassics of Cutch . . . 259
Urain 38
Uri 566
Usar tracts of North-West Provinces . 413
Ussan river 601
Utatur . . . .99, 249, 270
„ plant beds .... 140, 150
„ Gondwana beds near . . . 249
Utatur-group 270
„ coral limestone at base of 270
„ distribution of . . . 272
„ palseontology of . . 272
list of most important
fossils .... 274
• V
Vaimpulli slates . . . .61, 62
Valadayur 269, 272
„ group 272
Valleys, river, existing, relations to
Gondwana basins . xxviii, 103, 161
Vamevaram 46
Varkalay 337
Vents volcanic, of B^jmahal age, 170,
171, 185
Vertebraria 119
V, indica 115
Vertebrata, later tertiary .
Vemts gramosa, . . 342, 346, 462,
Vellaur river , . . 268, 282
Verdachellam . . 268, 269, 281,
„ area, cretaceous rocks 269,
Vigor
Vihi valley
Vindhyan range . . . • ,
Vindhyan-series . iii, xxi, 2, 3, 6,
absence of fossils in xii,
„ origin of . . xxi,
'„ red colour of .
„ classification of
„ unconformable to Qwaliora
Vindhyans, lower
Vindhyans, upper
xxi, 7,
Kamiil area .
Palnad area
Bhima basin .
MahtLnadl and Goda-
vari areas .
Son area
Bundelkband area .
inliers, Wardha coal-
field
xxii,
boundaries of
„ „ thickness of
„ „ petrology
* „ „ relations to lower
xxii,
,1 „ disturbance of iii,
„ „ outliers of xxiii, 51,
„ „ Arvali region . 51,
Vindhyan boulders, transported, in
Talcbir boulder bed . . 205,
Vingorla
„ rocks ;
Vinjorai
Vizagapatam
Volcanic action at Lonar
„ area, BSjmahal
„ ash, Deccan traps
„ band in Malay Archipelago
725,
„ core, Eajmahdl area
„ eruptions in Bay of Bengal .
„ ., . off Pondicherry
„ foci, Deccan traps .
„ „ distribution of, in Deccan
trap period
FAsg
572
465
424
282
282
259
661
iv
769
■ xxii
xxiii
xxii
9
- 56
69
69
72
73
74
77
81
228
84
85
88
88
90
91
92
92
226
24
66
64
244
380
142
303
732
170
379
379
326
328
INDEX.
817
PAOE
Volcanic intrnsionajlt^niganj field
185
„ rock in miocene of Pegu
720
„ rocks associated with salt
marl of Punjab .
487
„• tuffs in transition rocks
xxi
Volcano, extinct, of Puppa ,
725
„ „ of Yunnan
725
„ reported, in Great Nicobar .
734
Volcanoes, mud, of B^mri, &c. .
729
„ of Barren Island and Nar-
condam ....
.735
VoUzialieterophylla . . . Ixx,
114
Vriddachellam, see Verdachellam.
Vulsella legumen . . . 340,
459
w
Wagad . . 251, 256, 258, 260,
WSgalkhor
Wagur'and Wagir, see Wagad.
Wahind river
WainSd (Wynaad) gneiss .
„ gold of .
Wainganga river . 151, 215, 223;
Wajhiri hill. South Konkan
Wakh£n
Walar lake, Kashmir .
Wamayavaram, see Vamevaram.
Waugtn
Warangal 234
"Wardha river . . . 223, 228,
„ coal-fields ...
„ valley, alluvium of .
„ district, iron implements
Wardha-Prdnhita-Qoddvari basin
Gondwanas ....
Wardwan valley .
Warora 226
,, coal near
Wasterwfin section, Kashmir
Watershed between Indus and Ganges
„ of Himalayas
Waziri country . . . 478, 495
„ Eupi ....
Weir beds
West coast alluvium ...
Western ghats, iv 304, 378, see also
Sghyadri.
of
cf
343
340
416
24
24
389
24
657
663
240
389
227
389
4Aii
227
664
230
230
661
392
677
514
630
50
White shales, Eajmahal group .
Wind, action of, in forming river banks
WoUastonite in gneiss
Wood, fossil silicified, Burma
Wun .... 228, 229, 230,
WuiToda, see Warora.
Wyanamatta beds, Australia
Wynaad, see Wainad.
Y^ngi pass section
Yarkand, mountains south of
„ river .
Yeddakul MaW .
Teddihalli ....
Yedurba river
Yelaur, see EUore.
Yellaconda ridge
Yc-nan-khyoung
Yenchapali
Yendloor .
Yenktapur ....
Yinkolu, see Inkolu.
Yoma ....
Yunnan, extinct volcano in
Yusafzai ....
60,
170
404
19
721
231
120
656
667
654
24
174
227
65
724
237
247
67
xi, 704
. 725
478, 498
Zalnng-Karpo pass
Zami river
Zdnskar . . • •
„ range
„ gneissic range
„ area, formations of
„ palaeozoic series
„ „ mesozoic rocks
Zehanwan section, Kashmir
Zeolites, Edjmah41 traps
„ Deccan traps .
Zewau . . . •
Zircon in gneiss .
Zoological distribution, recent
„ regions of Wallace
„ „ ancient .
Zoji-la ....
Zumani ....
625,
628,
630,
630,
640
709
630
ix
664
635
638
641
661
170
305
661
19
Ixiv
Ixiv
101
659
220
Ba
PLATE I.
CARBONIFEROUS FOSSILS (Marine).
Tig. 1. Spieiteb kbilhatii, Buch. (8. rajah, Salter.)
" „ 2. S. MOOSAEEAIXENSIS, DavidsOD. Half natural size.
„ 3. Spieibbeina octopeicata, Sowerby.
„ 4. Athxbis snBTmiA, Hall, var. grandis, Dav.
„ 5. Ebtzia badiams, Phillips, var. grandiooata, Dav.
„ 6. Camebophoeia puedoni, Dav.
„ 7. SlBEPTOBHTNCHTrS CEENISIEIA, Phil.
„ 8, PBODtJCIUS SEMIEBTICUL4TU3, SoW.
„ 9. P. COSTATUS, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 10. P. PUEDONI, Dav.
„ 11. StBOPEALOSIA MOBBISIANAj.Eillg.
„ 12. Chonbtes haedeensis, var. tMbeleniis, Dav.
„ 13. ATiCTTLO-PBCiBir HYEJiALis, Salter.
N. JB.. — All are of natural size, unless the prop ortions are mentioned.
G-eology of India.
Plate. I.
'^XfM
^•
TV
'X
''/«' lv\^
^V^X^
r"5*S
■>^
=A ,
:.>^
\
fl
/,!
ilP
Wi' ' ' '"4,'gr;
^1^ KSI|<
/ '/
J. ScliaU3iLbur^,f&ct'.
CARBONIFEROUS FOSSILS.
S.Sedgaeld.imp:
PLATE II.
TRIA8S1C FOSSILS {Marine).
Pig. 1. Ammonites floeidtts, 'Wulfen. Half natural size,
„ 2. A. (Cbeatitbs) THtriiiiBEl, Oppel. Half natural size.
„ 3. A. DIFEISDS, Hauer.
„ 4. CxYSomTES oi/SHAMiAuvs, Stoliczka.
„ 5. HaiiObia lOMMEH, Wissm.
„ 6. MoNOliS SAIINABIA, Bronn. Half natutalsize.
„ 7. DicEEOCAEDltTM HIMALAYBNSB, Stol, One-third natural size.
„ 8. Mbqalodon tbiquetee, Wulfen. Half natural size. ,
„ 9. Spibieee stkacheyi, Salter.
G-eology of India.
^ .-
Plate, n.
■f'^t'
v;^'^
*>5S,
-4
■^ \,f^*St&-^sar"
»
J. Sc^ia-umbu.rg", f ac*.
TR lASS I C FOSSILS.
S-Sedgfield, iTnp:
PLATE III.
TALCBIR AND DAMtJDA FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1. GANffAMOPTEEis CTCIOMEEOIDES, Feistmantel.
2 &3. Sphenophtilum speciosttm, Koyle, sp. {8, trizygia, linger).
4. Phyliotheoa indioa, Bunbury.
Geology of Indict.
Pla.te HI.
^^\
./
^-
ijM
m
4
'^^
-. A
'-4
'1A-
3.
J.SQba,uTninTgfact: -p ^ L C H I R G R U P AND D AM U D A S E R I ES .
nu\
S. Se^field imp;
PLATE IV.
DAUtJDA FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1 & 3. SqEIZONETTEA GONDWAlfENSIS, Fstm.
;, 2. Veetebeaeia indica, Royle.
J. Schauinl>iir^ feet:
S. S ed^field imp :
PLATE V.
DAMtJDA FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1, 2 & 3. Phyllothboa indica, Buiiburj. Leaves.
„ 4, GLOssoPTBEia INDICA, ScMmper,
„ 5. G. EETIFEEA, FstlD. Sp., nOV.
„ 6. G. AHGUSTII'OLIA, Broguiait;
Ge ol o g jr of Indi;
-^ ^~*->,
,^"
A
^^
mm
'kK
Ha.te V.
'4
''i
I
'1^
';^
V*J, ^/
!l3\
f
J ocha-uTutur^ feci;
DAMUOA SERIES.
5 . 3 e dgfield iiny :
PLATE VI.
KABUAEBARI AND DAMtJDA FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1. Veetebeabia indioa, Royle.
„ 2. Sphenoptbeis poltmobpha, Fstm.
3. TaiNioPTEEis {MacrotcBniopieris) dan^oibes, Eoyle, sp.
„ 4. AlETHOPTEEIS LINDLETANA, Rojle, sp.
„ 5. Nbueopteeis tahda, Fstm.
„ 6. NoE&aEEATHiA Hisiopi, Bunbury,
„ 7. VOLTZIA HBTEEOPHTIIA, Bgt.
N. Si. — Neuropteris valida and VoU/sia keteropTi^Ua' are Kaxhstrh&ri species, and should
have been figured with the Talchir Qangamopteris cyclopt=roides on Plate III. The relations
of the Karharb^ri group were not determined until after these plates were printed.
G-eoingy of Innl. la
Plate VI.
-<
"^ /
\)
■, fiS^
^?
«:^
^.t-"*^'
-i'd^
• aM
JJ
li^'
-^t''^ i \
if
','
1-
^,'
■-4S^
y-
CF^
■'^^^ts?
.~l
f' -
4
f '-f
£_
L _
—
tl
r?^
~c'/ ;:
J. Sch.a.umbure feet;
DAMUDA SERIES.
S . SedgflelcJ_ ir
PLATE VII.
FANCSET FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1, 2 & 3. SOHIZONEUEA GONDWANENSIS, Fstm.
„ 4. T^NIOPTEEIS (fileandridium), sp., allied to 0. stenoneuron, Schenk.
„ 5. CrcLOPTEEis PACHTEAOHis, Goppert.
„ 6. Pbcopteeis coscinna, Presl.
Geology of India.
Plate VII
J. Schau-mlurg feet.
S. Sedgfield. i:mp-
ET GROUP.
PLATE VIII.
SAJMASAL FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1. PiiiopHYELUM acttiifoliitm:, Morris.
2. Pteeophxilitm: eajmahaibnse, Morris
3. P. PEINCEPS, Oldham and Morris.
4. Ctcadites courEETUS, Morris.
5. Otozamitbs bbnqalensis, Oldham, sp.
6. Dictyozamites balcatus, Morris, sp.
7. Palisssa coNrBETA, Oldham, sp.
PLATE IX.
BAJMABAL FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig, 1. Glbiohbnia bikdbabunensis, Schimper; (Pecopteris IGleichenites] glei-
chenoides, 0. and M.)
„ 2. Aleihoptebis iNSiOi., 0. and M.
„ 3. Fecoftebis lobata, .0. and M.
„ 4 TiBNiOFTEBlS ^Angiopteridium) BFAiETTliAlA, McClelland, sp.
„ 5, T. {Maorotceniopteris) liATA, Oldham.
eology of India.
im
^
iiii
Plate. IX
»«i._«
i'5^%^^fe^fi#8»^-^
FT? jCrf^'°*ira"iA*>«-*
-vsr-'-*Si>&>-4/tJ®* --5J f, 1 -I ,,,,141
'T'T^-fT^'i-'^pr^'^
i^ '
-'7-T^i|-Tr>'T~i
5^
1^
" '^^.^
%&^
,.- ,.. _^^^<^SA;Sa*Jia'ili^i^S|
iT :>.l-a,unihur^, jiith-
S, Sea^fieia.,imp
RAJ MAHAL GROUP.
PLATE X.
JASALPUS FOSSIL TLANTS.
Pig. 1 . AlETHOPTEEIS MEDLICOTTIANA, Oldham.
„ 2. OtozaMitbs esACiLis, Kurr, sp.
„ .'- 3. O. Hisiopi, Oldham.
' „ 4 & 5. PorozAMiTES liANCBOLATUS, Lindley and Hutton, sp.
„ 6 & 7. Beaoh-sph-tlittm: mammiliaee, L. and H.
„ 8. Falissta jabaipitbensis, Fstm.
„ 9'. P. indioa, Oldham, sp.
„ 10 & 11. Aeattcaeites outohbnsib, Fstm.
x. '^"^^
v"^
~^S^
If .>
i
7
5^^^
I (''
%^^'
J. Sclaa-umbiirg feet:
SB*^S»'i
««5a
JABALPUR GROUP
S. Sed^field imp
PLATE XI.
VMM (CUTCH) FOSSIL PLANTS.
Fig. 1. T^NIOPTEEIS (Oleandr idium) tittata, Bgt.
2. AlBTHOPTEEIS WHIIBYElfaiS, Bgt., Sp.
„ 3 & 4. PlUiOPHTLliUM OtTTOHENSB, Morris.
5. ECHINOSTBOBUS BZPANSiTS, Sternberg, sp.
6. PAOHYPHYIiUM DITAEICATUM, Bunbury, Sp.
,, 7 & 8. AbAUCABITES CUIOHBIfSIS, Fstm.
eology of India.
Plale Xl,
^,^e^
r
-iU^.
Vj^^
r"^
A _^/j
V
7.
1/ '
) , *^^<v-
r- y
' ^
"H -^
CH GROUP
S. Sedgfield.itnp;
PLATE XII.
JUSASSIO FOSSIZS (Marine).
Fig. 1. Belemnites oebabdi, Oppel. Half natural size.
„ 2. B. GBANTIANug, D'Orbigny ; (B. ianthotensis, Waagen). Half natural size.
„ 3. Ammoitites (Phylloceras) diSpftabihs, Zittel. Half natural size.
., 4. A. {Aspidoceras) febabmattts, Sow. One-third natural size,
„ 5. A. {StepMnoeeras) maoeocephalus, Schlotheim. One-fourth natural size.
„ 6. A. (PerispMnctes) pOTTlNGEEr, Sow. One-third natural size.
„ 7. GONIOMTA T-SCEIPIA, Agassiz. Half natural size.
„ 8. Phoiadomta aEANOSA, Sow. Half natural size,
„ 9. P. AN&uiATA, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 10. Tei&oitia clatbllata, Lind. Half natural size.
„ 11. T. BMEBI, Sow. One-third natural size.
„ 12. T. COSIATA, Parkinson. Half natural size.
„ 13. AsTABTB MAJOB, Sow. One-third natural size,
„ 14. Abca {Maerodon) BSBEioiriAirA, Stol.
„ 15. AxrCELLA liEaUMINOSA, stol.
N. B.— Qoniowya v-scripta and Trisonia elavellata are not known to occur in India.
Geology of India,.
Plate. XII.
J A.
^,--_.-i]'^Jfe.
5.
' ^mm
. ,r
Sl^
;»•
^/|
'«1
1'
,.«iX^
'^
'^, V'
.rfj'^-^''*^ v*^ ■
'i!^-^.
^^ '^ ffc- ^^■■J'"^^'''
J. Sella. umbair-g, feci-.
JURASSIC FOSS ILS.
S. Sedgfield, imp;
PLATE XIII.
CRETACEOUS FOSSILS {Marline).
Fig. 1. Ammonites boiomaqensis, Defranee. Oae-third natural size.
„ 2. A. PLAmriiATtrs, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 3. TnsEniTES costattjs, Lamarck. Half natural size.
„ 4. BacuI/ITes VAaiNA, Forbes. Half natural size.
„ 5. Afobbhais secubiteba, Forbes, sp.
„ 6. AVELLAirA SCBOBICUIjATA, Stol.
„ 7. Cabbittm: {Frotocardmm) hillanum, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 8. Teigonia scabba, Lam.
„ 9. ' Inocbeamus siMPlEX, Stol. Half natural size.
„ 10. PeCTEN ( Vpla) QUIN(^TTECOSTATnS, Sow. '
„ 11. HiPPTJBiTES OBQANISANS, Mojit. Oue-fourth natural size.
„ 12. H. OOBNU VAOCINUM. Bronn. Transverse section ; one-third natural size.
N. B. — The two species of Eippuriiea are not known to occur in India.
Lreoiogy of India
Plate, ynr
A,
^,
^^
4^ ■. %
it
\\'-'
'iD^J-'f
7. Sdiaumtui'g', feci'.
CRETACEOUS FOSSILS.
S. S edgfield, imp:
PLATE XIII.
CRETACEOUS FOSSILS {Marine).
Fig. 1. Ammonites eotomaqbnsis, Defrance. Oae-third natural size.
„ 2. A. PLANUIATUS, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 3. TnaaiLiTES costatus, Lamarck. Half natural size.
„ 4. BACtJllTBS TAailTA, Porbes. Half natural size.
„ 5. Aeoeehais BECtJBirEBA, Porbes, sp.
„ 6. AVELLANA SCEOBIOrLATA, Stol.
„ 7. Caebittm: {Protocardium) hiilanttm, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 8. Teiqonia scabea. Lam.
„ 9. Inooeeamtis simpiex, Stol. Half natural size.
„ 10. PeCTEN ( Villa) (HJINC^UECOSTATUS, SoW. '
„ 11. HipptteitbS OBflANiSANS, Mout. Oue-fourth natural size.
„ 12. H. OOBUU TACCINUM. Bronn. Transverse section ; one-third natural size.
N. B, — The two species of Hipparites are not known to occur in India.
U-eoiogy of India
j'\ 1^ «
J. Solia-am!bu2"g', feet.
CRETACEOUS FOSSILS.
S. S ed^fiald, imp:
PLATE XIV.
INTBUTEAPPEAN FOSSILS (Upper cretaceous).
A. — 3'reshmater.
Pig. 1. Phtsa peinsepii. Sow. Normal form.
„ 2. P. pbinSepii, Sow., var. elongata, Hislop.
„ 3. PAItrriNA NOEMALIS, Hisl.
„ 4. P. ACICULAEIS, Hisl.
„ 5. p.. SANKETI, Hisl.'
„ 6. p. DBOOANEKSIS, SoW.
„ 7. VAIVATA MUtTIOABINATA, Hisl.
„ 8. VaIiTATA MiirnrA, Hisl.
„ 9. Ltmnba bubulata. Sow.
„ 10. L. TBIANKHEDIENSIS, Hisl., var. peraeuminata.
„ 11. L. SPINA, Hisl.
„ 12. MbIiANIA QtTADEILnrBATA, SoW.
„ 13. TJnio decoaubksiS, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 14 TJnio htjntbei, Hisl. Three-fourths natural size.
S. — Estuarine.
Fig. 15. PSBTTDOtrVA BI.E&ANS, HisL
„ 16. Natioa stoddaedi, Hisl.
„ 17. CBEiTHnm stoddaedi. Hisl.
„ 18. VlCAETA FTJBIEOEMIS, Hisl.
„ 19. TtTEEITBLLA PE^IONSA, Hisl.
„ 20. Caedita taeiabilis, Hisl.
Geology of India
"PJaLe. XiV.
J. 3i-hjLunlMirg,r(?c-!-
1 a
INTERTRAPPEAN FOSSILS.
Sed^field,rmp.
PLATE XV.
HOCENJE NUMMULITIC FOSSILS {Marine),
Pig. 1. VOIUTA JUOOSA, Sow.
„ 2. Nebiia sosuedeuaka, Chemnite. 2 a : cast of the same.
„ 3. Pectbn iabadtbi, D'Arcliiae and Haime.
„ 4. Vttlsema ibguMbit, D'Areh. and H.
,, 5. Eohinolampas BiscoiDiTJS, D'Arch. Half natural size.
„ 6. EulEHODiA MOEBisr, D'Arch. and H.
„ 7. Oebitoides papyeaoea, Bouh^e.
„ 8, 0. DISPANSA, Sow. ; section. 8a,h,e,d: varieties.
„ 9. A1TBOIIN4. SPHEEOIDEA, Lam. Enlarged three diameters. 9 a : the same 'j
natural size. 9 5 ; transverse section.
„ 10. NtrMMtriiTES aAEANSBNSlS, Joly and Leymerie. 10 a, 10 i : sections of the
same enlarged.
„ 11. N. suBi^viOATA, D'Arch. and H. 11 a ; section of same.
,, 12. N. BAMONDi, Defr. '
„ 13. N. OBTTTBA, Sow.
„ 14. N. GEANTJtOSA, D'Arch.
„ 15. N. LEYMBBIBI, D'Arch.
ficte. XV.
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EOCENE [older tex-Ucaty^ FOSSILS.
I'l h.
S, Sedgfield, imp:
PLATE XVI.
MIOCENE QAJ FOSSILS CcTtiefly Marine).
t
Fig. 1. ViCABTA VBBNEtriliLI, D'Arch.
,, 2. TUBBITBLLA ANGTTIATA, SoW.
„ 3.. Ostbba muiticostata, Deshayes.
4. Pboiek iavbbi, D'Arch.
„ 5. Abca {Parallelepipedum) eueeachbensiS, D'Arch.
„ 6. A. {Anomalocardia) labkhanensis, D'Arch. {estwarine).
„ 7. Venus oeanosa, Sow. Half natural size.
„ 8. COBBTTIA TEIQONAIIS, Sow. {estuarine.)
„ 9. Beeynia OABlifATA, D'Arch. and H. Half natural size.
„ 10. ECHINODISCTTS, Sp.
„ 11. Ckpbastee depebssus, Sow. Half natural size.
Greology of India..
Plate. 2VT.
J. Schaumtiiarg-, fec-V.
MIOCENE FOSSILS.
S. Sedgaeld.imp;
PLATE XVII.
LATER TSSTIARY FOSSIL MAMMALS (chiefly Siwalilc pliocene).
Fig. 1. ElEPHAS {Stegodon) iNSiairiS, Falconer, and Cautley. Restored cranium;
one-twentieth natural size.
„ 2. E. ((S'^ej'odoTC) GAUESA, F. andC. Restored cranium ; one-twentieth natural
size. '^
„ 3. HASTOSOltr PEEIMEKSIS, F. and C. Restored cranium ; one-twentieth na-
tural size.
„ 4. Mastodon i/ATiDENS, F. and C. Upper molar ; one-third natural size.
„ 5. ElbphaS (Euelephas) htsudeictjs, F. and C. Lower molar; one-thir3
natural size.
„ 6. Mastodon sitaiensis, F. and C. Last upper molar ; one-third natural size.
7. Elephas (fi'ie^'odoB) INSIGNIS, F. and C. Upper milk molar; one- third na-
tural size.
„ 8. HiPPOHTUS siVALBNSis, F. and C' Second upper molar,
„ 9. Sub GIGANTEUS, F. and C. Upper molars.
„ 10. Mebicopotamtts dissimihs, F. and C. Upper molar.
Geology °f Iii-S^^a
PlateXVII.
L
J. fltlva-uTrKbiiTg', focrb.
SIWALIK FOSSILS.
PLATE XVIII.
LATER TERTIARY FOSSIL MAMMALS {chiefly Siwalik pliocene).
Fig. 1. Hemibos TElQTJETEICBEnS. F. and C. Cranium ; one-sixth natural size.
„ 2. Amphibos ACUTIoornis, F. and C. Cranium ; one-sixth natural size.
3. DoEOATHEEiUM MAJua, Lydekker. Upper molar.
„ 4. CHAHaoTHEEltrM SITAIENSB, F. and C. Upper molar J half natural size.
„ 5. BEAHMATHBEltTM: PEEiMBifSB, Falc. Upper molai-a ; two-thirds natural size.
„ 6. Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon) siyalensis, P. and C. Last upper molar ;
half natural size.
„ 7. SlVATHEEiTjM GIGANTB0M, F. and C. Restored cranium; one-eighteenth
natural size. '
„ g. Hippopotamus (Sexaprotodon) sivalbnsis, F. and C. Cranium; one-
eighth natural size.
G-ooLogy- of laSia
pia,te,.xvra:.
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SIWALIK FO SSI LS.
PLATE XIX.
LATUM Ti!ETI4RT FOSSIL MAMMALS {oUefly Siwalik pKooene).
Fig. 1. RhinooeboS SrvALBNSiS, P. and C. Mandible ; one-fourth natural size.
„ 2. E. IBAVADIOUB, Lyd. Left upper molar ; half natural size.
„ 3. E. siva'iiBNSIS, F. and C. TTpper jaw, right side j one-fourth natural size.
4. Amphioton palbisdiouS, Lyd. Upper molar {mioeene),
„ 5. EkhtdbiodON srVAliENSiS, F. and C. Palate ; four-ninths natural size.
,, 6. HippAWON ANTBlOPnruM, F. and C. Upper molar.
„ 7. LiSTBlODON fBNTKPOTAMiiE, Falc, sp. Upper molar.
,, 8. Hymsa. BITALENBIS, F. and C. Upper carnassial tooth.
„ 9. Htanaboius sitaIiENSIs, F. and C. Bight upper carnassial and molars;
three-quarters natural size.
„ 10. HYiEHA SIVAliBNSls, F. and C. Upper premolar.
„ 11. Sbmnopithbccs ? suBHiMALATANTis, Meyer. Eight upper molars.
„ 12. Ehinoobbos, sp, astragalus. One-fourth natural size.
Plate XJX,
^<;i
'mm
M"'
5 *
J. ScianiTTLbiirg ,Lith.:
SIWALIK FOSSILS.
S. Sed^field, imp:
PLATE XX.
J'0<r-TX!RTIARr FOSSIL MAMMALS {Narlada).
Fig. 1. Bos {Bulalus) pai^imdictts, P. and C. Cranium ; one-fifth natural size.
■» ^ ■ .
„ 2. HippopOTAinis (Eexaprotodon) namadiotjs, P. and C. Symphysis of mandi-
hle ; one-eighth natural size.
„ 3. Bos NAMADicus, P. and C. Frontlet and part of right horn-core ; one-tenth
natural size.
„ 4. Equus namadicus, F. and C. Upper molars, right side; half natural size.
„ 5. Ei,eShas NAMADicus, F, and C. Lower milk-molar ; one-third natural size.
„ 6. Ubstts If AMADlcus, P.' and C. Part of upper jaw ; Mf natural size.
„ 7. Hippopotamus (reij-oproforfoK) PALffiiiKBicns, P. and C. Last upper molar,
left side; half natural size.
„ 8. Elephas namabicus, p. and C. Restored cranium ; half natural size.
„ 9. Rhinocebos nauasicus, p. and C, astragalus. One-fourth natural size.
Geology of India,.
PI ate, XX
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NERBUDDA FOSSILS.
S 5ed,^field;in"ip:
PLATE XXL
STONE IMPLEMENTS {Post-tertiary and suh-recenf).
Fig. 1. Chipped quabtzitb implement, 'spear-head' form, from the Narhada
valle; ; two-thirds natural size. This specimen was found in the gravels
which contain hones of extinct pogt-^ertiary mammalia. See p. 386.
„ 2. As ATE PLACE, or knife, from God^vari valley, natural size; also found in
gravels containing bones of extinct post-tertiary mammalia. See p. 389.
„ 3, Cebbt cobe, found in the bed of the Indus at Sukker, natural size. See p- 4AZ.
J 4. Smoothed celt of greenstone from Banda, N. W. P. j natural size. See
p.. 442.
„ 6. Smooth and polished celt of limestone, adopted for a handle, from Burma;
natural size. See p. 442.
Geolog'y of India.
Plate. XXI.
J. S cliaumb-ar^ . £e ct.
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