264" Mr Hardie on the Geology of the 



by a single horseman. To the geologist this belt is interesting ; 

 the almost prependicular sides of the ravines furnish him with 

 sections of the strata, many of the confined upland valleys, with 

 their narrow and precipitous outlets, tell of a period when they 

 were the basins of lakes, the remains of which may still be 

 traced in the tanks and gils which they enclose ; while the hill 

 rivulets, escaping by numerous gorges and chasms from supe- 

 rior basins, would seem to indicate similar revolutions. In ex- 

 amining into the ancient history of these, however, we must be 

 careful not to confound the cause with the effect. That these 

 ancient lakes have been drained by the bursting of the barrier 

 which restrained them is sufficiently obvious, but this rupture 

 having once take place, be the cause what it may, the effect 

 would still be the same, and in many instances at least it would 

 seem that water was not the agent concerned. I have hazarded 

 this remark to avoid misapprehension ; but this is not the place 

 to enter into a critical examination of the question. 



The inhabitants of the valley have taken advantage of the 

 narrow outlets of their upland basins, to strengthen the defences 

 of the already almost impassable barrier which surrounds them. 

 Not only have they erected fortified gateways to guard the prin- 

 cipal gorges, but in some cases they have restored to their pris- 

 tine form of lake, the elevated valleys of the belt, by throwing 

 a strong and induring hund (dike) across the ravine which 

 serves as an outlet for the water, and through the defiles lead- 

 ing to which the only accessible path lies *. Such an opponent 

 in such a situation would indeed be irresistible ; the hund once 

 destroyed, the result may be imagined. 



In travelling towards Oodipoor from the eastward, the boun- 

 dary of the Aravulli mountain mass appears like a continuous 

 hill-range, rising abruptly from the level plains of Mewar. On 

 passing the barrier, and entering the valley of Oodipoor by the 

 Dubari gate f , the scene is completely altered. The country 



• The small lake or g\l^ situated in an elevated valley which commands the 

 deep ravine, in which the famous temple of Ekiingee stands, is an example of 

 this. To this remarkable spot I shall have occasion to allude hereafter. In 

 fact, all the lakes of this part of India, the Dhabur, the KunkurowUee, the 

 Oodisagor, the Puchola, &c., have been formed in a similar manner. 



f A fortified gateway, now in ruins, which guards the entrance to the val- 

 ley from the east. A short distance to the south of this position is the hwnd 

 of the Oodisagor (lake.)— See Malcolm's Cent. India. 



