This quartz rock is permanent for a long distance, but assumes various changes of colour. It occasionally appears to pass into a tender green slate, occasionally to oscillate towards the greenstone, and even to hornblende rock. It is sometimes so hard, as to defy the hammer completely. One type appeared to contain felspar, another, a schistose fissured grey rock, containing a few amygdaloidal cavities. It passes into a greenish grey rock, with rombohedral cleavage, and fine granular composition. These several changes extend as far as Hurkonda glen, in the neighbourhood of which argillaceous schist is again met with, and occasional masses of calcareous tufa and local conglomerate, shewing the proximity of limestone. The schist continues nearly to Soocet, near which a mass of quartz rock occurs. It is seen to descend to the river bed and across it, rising on the other side in strata nearly vertical, the direction E. and W. and the dip if any thing South. The slate again appears, and in the immediate neighbourhood of Soocet, where the valley narrows, it is exchanged for limestone of a very cherty type. It contains crystals of dolomite, (macrotypous lime haloide.) At Soot, the schist is once more established, but appears to have changed its character.

236. It may be seen in the bed of the small Nullah which runs below Soocet, of a perfect talcose aspect, the colors bluish grey, the structure straight laminar, the lustre metallic pearly, and so soft, as to be scratched by the nail. It dips S. 5° E., at an angle of 48°. It is succeeded, in proceeding towards Sreenuggur, by a greenish grey talco-argillaceous schist, approaching to the character of chloritic schist. The laminæ are sometimes very much contorted, being in one particular instance bent up into a saddle-shape, even within the compass of a specimen. This rock is always recognisable by the minute wave-like undulations with which the laminæ are marked, and which are peculiar to it. The dip is South along the whole line to Sreenuggur, but the rock so seldom visible that much stress cannot be laid on this determination.

237. Enormous beds of diluvium, or rounded stones and gravel, may be observed here, forming the floor of a valley remarkable in this rugged country for its extent and beauty, though it be but five or six miles long, and no where a mile wide. These accumulations rest on different sides of the river in different parts of this line, so that small as it is, it is not even continuous. Their height above the river bed is ge

nerally 60 to 100 feet; but with regard to this point it may be observed, that in the widest vallies these beds have least height, and vice versa. Their face generally forms a precipice, in which all the several sizes of stones may be seen sticking in a loose basis of gravel and sand. Sometimes two or three terraces are formed, the last being of inconsiderable height above the bed of the river. In the latter, may be observed the same kind of stones that compose the terraces, leading to the inference that the present opening was once filled up, and that the river must have flowed so much higher than its present level. It is a very remarkable circumstance too in these beds, and shews that there is some connection between their accumulation and the system of rivers, that they increase in extent as the river advances towards the plains; very limited deposits occurring in the upper part of the course.

238. The magnesian clay slate is found at the suspension bridge over the Aluknunda, south of Sreenuggur, while close to the town, in the bed of the river, a rock approaching to the character of micaceous schist prevails. Perhaps it may more properly be called micaceous quartz rock: it also dips to the southward. On ascending from Sreenuggur are seen the accumulations of rounded stones above the present bed of the river, as determined by Barometrical observation. The rock is the magnesian clay slate, which continues the whole way to Pooree, a village on the high range which shuts in the Chipul river. It oscillates both towards micaceous schist and towards talcose, its affinity to the latter being greatest, but no genuine argillaceous schist is produced in any of its changing types. The dip is in general conformable, i. e. between N. and E., excepting immediately on the ascent from Sreenuggur, where it was observed to be S. 10° E., the inclination being 60°.

239. From Pooree to Olee, the road passses along the range abovementioned, crossing over it near the latter village which is situated a little below in the bifurcations of a glen. Half way the slate is exchanged for quartz rock which appears stratified, dipping 65° N. E., at an angle of 50°. Here also this rock possesses the veinous character, appearing to traverse the other strata in masses much more remarkable for their length than their breadth. It is seen to cross the valley here, and continue its course on the opposite side; occasionally it appears to contain felspar. It passes into a green type, which gradually changes

to the greenstone so often noticed; but which occupies a very limited space. The quartz rock again becomes established, and continues from Olee to Bidholee, and thence to Milcee, which is situated in the valley of the Nyar river. Near the latter village, a subschistose argillaceous rock occurs, and in the ascent up the valley of the Pilgad, which joins the Nyar below Milcee, the tendency to an argillaceous character increases. In this part of the route, two types seem to divide between them the rocks observed; one may be characterised as argillaceous quartz rock, the other as quartzy argillaceous schist. The first cleaves into rhombohedral fragments, has a conchoidal fracture, the composition impalpable; the second has a schistose structure and small granular composition. They run naturally into each other, and may be considered, geologically speaking, as the same rock. The first is seldom stratified, always seamed; the second is generally stratified, although the strata are irregular and appear under that relation termed wedge-shaped. One observation gave the dip N. 45° E. with an inclination of 36°. Not far from this the dip was observed N. 80° to 90° E., inclination 40°. The quartzose type prevails to some distance above Bidholee, and is gradually changes in the ascent from the bed of the stream to an argillaceous schist of more decided character. The latter passes into chloritic schist, which conducts us to strata of gneiss connected with the series of granite beds, to which we shall presently come.

240. In the meantime, it will be necessary once more to look back and take up the thread of our description broken off in Art. 159, and to trace the argillaceous strata in another direction at the village of Girgaon where the last traces of gneiss were lost, although in the river-bed beneath occur numerous blocks of that rock. The character of the formation which succeeds is argillaceous, including, however, extensive beds of limestone; sometimes there is a kind of transition observable between them. This continues without much variation as far as the hot spring below Rumaree on the Ramgunga, into which the Jankoola river (below Girgaon,) falls. At the bridge over the Ramgunga the rock is clay slate, and dips N. 15° W., at an angle of 35°. The ridges appear to consist of limestone stratified distinctly, and dipping also N. W. Above Rumaree, argillaceous schist occurs of a lead blue colour, containing quartz; fragments of a conglomerate are then met with, and latterly in the ascent to the Pass above Sama, a brownish granular

On the summit of the

schist, which might be called a greywacke. Pass, there is no rock in situ, and fragments of micaceous schist are to be seen. Thence to the village of Sama, we are accompanied by ordinary blue limestone distinctly stratified, and of a sublaminar or slaty structure, which is not, however, developed without weathering.

241. From Sama to Buret, the same rock prevails, frequently remarkable for the white vein by which it is traversed. Sometimes the two colours, form alternate layers, the rock having thus a striped appearance. It is occasionally very argillaceous, and passes into a shattery thin laminar rock, very like that described in Art. 226, the only dif ference being a black or blue colour, instead of red, green, or purple. In this state, it no longer effervesces with acids. In the bed of the stream leading down from Sama, the fragments are either blue limestone or crystalline dolomite, or of clay slate a very few; but at the bifurcation below Mawgaon, immense blocks of gneiss, similar to those observed below Girgaon, are to be seen. Their source is evidently in the glen, which here joins the Suma glen, and they shew the proximity of the boundary of the gneiss district.

242. From Buret to Kubkot on the Surjoo, limestone still accompanies, as passing down the Ramgunga to its confluence with the Surjoo, and then down the latter river. It appears to be stratified distinctly on the large scale, the strata being always best marked where the rock is most impure. They appear sometimes to be vertical, and the direction, as far as it could be ascertained, is S. 20° E. Sometimes it contains talc in notable quantity, and then the rock is highly fissile. The rounded fragments in the bed of the river are numerous, and many of these are white crystalline dolomite, (macrotypous lime haloide.) Near Kubkot, the dip was observed to be Southerly, so that there must be evidently some great irregularity here. The sameness of the limestone features continues to Gryket, also in the bed of the river, the surrounding ridges bearing testimony by their appearance to their identity with the lower strata, occasional patches of argillaceous schist then diversify it, although it is still the prevailing rock. The fragments in the river bed consist of limestone and quartz rock. A small patch of black argillaceous schist is found a few miles above Bagesur, the place being further remarkable for the deep bed the river has worn in the limestone, hollowing it out into caverns and deep holes, in some of

which it has a depth of perhaps 30 feet or more; although at Bagesur, some miles below this point, it is fordable, being scarcely three feet in depth. The tendency of this rock to be worn into caverns and hollows is a very curious feature, nor am I aware that any satisfactory explanation has been given of it. The dip at this place was observed to be S. 30° W., and the inclination 52°.

243. Hence to Bagesur, one of those extensive flats so often formed in the river beds prevails, nor is any rock in situ discoverable; at that place the strata are quartz rock, and they dip N. E. The river bed is full of rounded limestone fragments, but below the confluence of the Goamuttee, which originates in the valley described in Art. 65, the fragments are as often gneiss and quartz rock. Another extensive flat reaches from this point for nearly two miles, and debars access to the rock. At its termination, calcareous tufa and conglomerate are seen, but not apparently of great extent. A third flat then occurs, and after passing it, argillaceous schist is established, and it continues in the ascent to the Cheer Nullah, a small stream which comes down from the range separating the vallies of the Surjoo and Cosillah. We have then a limestone of a yellow color and fine granular, containing a large proportion of talc, and a little higher up, nests of indurated talc are found of a light buff colour. Thence, argillaceous schist and limestone are irregularly mixed, the latter forming the summit of the range. It is of a magnesian character when pure, being in fact a compact dolomite; but is generally so much charged with siliceous matter, as to become a kind of chert. In its pure magnesian state too, it has no inconsiderable resemblance to the latter rock. The colour is a bluish grey, which occasionally changes to flesh colour. It contains veins of galena, (hexahedral lead glance.) The strata when observable, appear to dip N. 60° E., at an angle of 60°.

244. In descending from this range, argillaceous schist is again met with of a very soft type, and of various bright colours, similar in fact, to the rock observed in the Cosillah, (Art. 152.) The strata are so irregular in dip that no mean result can be attained. It sometimes contains quartz. In ascending to the Kurnyud Pass, micaceous schist occurs, and occasionally with felspar; fragments of gneiss are abundant. Descending from this Pass into the Suttralie glen, we find an earthy gneiss, very similar to that described in Art. 134, which prevails in the