GEOLOGY. 15 



clayslate crops out several hundred yards in thickness, and 

 dipping at an angle of about 45°. The limestone appears in two 

 or three isolated masses more than a thousand feet high with 

 perpendicular sides, and apparently quite inaccessible. They 

 resemble the limestone cliffs of Maulmain, but differ from them 

 in being distinctly stratified in beds of a few feet in thickness. 

 Though in sight of the river they are several miles from its 

 banks, and only a very short distance above the highest point 

 where Dr Heifer found coal. The coal lies above the lime- 

 stone, and that is the place to look for true bituminous coal, 

 but this is unquestionably wood coal or lignite, which shows 

 that the coal measures are wanting in this place. 



The geology of the valley of the Tenasserim below this point 

 to Mergui, is only a repetition of what has been seen above. 



FROM AMHERST TO THE THOUNGYEEN. 



A trip across the Province of Amherst is of far less interest 

 to the geologist, the rocks being seen in much less variety. 

 At Amherst, granite and greenstone are succeeded by clay 

 slate, mica slate, and laterite. At Moopoon, the laterite is seen 

 again, and at Maulmain, sandstone, laterite, shales, and slate 

 clay constitute the rocks, so far as they appear. At the mouth 

 of the river Gyaing, where the white Pagoda stands, is sand- 

 stone ; and from that point to the old city of Gyaing, the only 

 rock seen is limestone. 



The hills back of Gyaing are composed of sandstone and 

 shale; the strike of the strata being north north-west and south 

 south-east, with a dip of about 45° to the east, leaning like the 

 strata at Maulmain towards the granite at Amherst as an anti- 

 clinal axis, which shows that the limestone on the plain lies 

 above the strata at Maulmain, and below that at Gyaing. On 

 proceeding up the Dahgyaing, tertiary beds of a soft con- 

 glomerate resembling indurated gravel, are seen; and the 

 lignite, which Mr. O'Riley says has been found on this river, 

 probably exists in this formation. 



In one or two places the river runs over banks of shale, dip- 

 ping like the preceeding strata to the east ; the highest being 

 within eight miles of the head of boat navigation, and this is 

 the last rock seen dipping to the east. 



When within eiffht miles of the eastern mountains, strata 



