14 



PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY, 



[Part I. 



system of Ceylon, it exhibits no traces of submersion. 

 It seems erroneous to regard it as a prolongation of the 

 Indian chains ; it lies far to the east of the hne formed 

 by the Ghauts on either side of the peninsula, and any 

 affinity Avhich it exhibits is rather with the equatorial 

 direction of the intersecting ranges of the Nilgherries 

 and the Vindhya. In their geological elements there 

 is, doubtless, a similarity between the southern ex- 

 tremity of India and the elevated portions of Ceylon ; 

 but there are also many important particulars in which 

 their specific differences are irreconcilable with the con- 

 jecture of previous continuity. In the north of Ceylon 

 there is a marked preponderance of aqueous strata, 

 which are comparatively rare in the vicinity of Cape 

 Comorin ; and whilst the rocks of the former are entkely 

 destitute of organic remains ^ ; fossils, both terrestrial and 

 pelagic, have been found in the Eastern Ghauts, and 

 sandstone, in some instances, overlays the primary rocks 

 which compose them. The rich and black soil to the 

 south of the Nilgherries presents a strong contrast to the 

 red and sandy earth of the opposite coast ; and both in 

 the flora and fauna of the island there are exceptional 

 pecuharities which suggest a distinction betAveen it and 

 the Indian continent. 



Mountain System. — At whatever period the moun- 

 tains of Ceylon may have been raised, the centre 

 of maximum energy must have been in the vicinity 

 of Adam's Peak, the group immediately surrounding 



^ At Cutcliavelly, north of Triu- 

 comalie, there exists a bed of cal- 

 careous clay, in which shells and 

 crustaceans are foimd in a semi- 

 fossilised state ; but they are all of 

 recent species, principally Macropli- 

 thalmus and ScyUa. The breccia at 

 Jaflha contains recent shells, as does 

 also the arenaceous strata on the 

 western coast of Mauaar and in the 

 neighbourhood of Galle. The ex- 

 istence of the fossilised crustaceans in 



the north of Ceylon was known to the 

 early Arabian na\dgators. Abou-zeyd 

 describes them as, "Un animal demer 

 qui ressemble a I'ecrevisse ; quand cet 

 animal sort de la mer, il se convert it en 

 pierre^'' See Reinatjd, Voyages faits 

 par les Arabcs, vol. i. p. 21. The 

 Arabs then, and the Chinese at the 

 present day, use these petrifactions 

 when powdered as a specific for 

 diseases of the eye. 



