356 



THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



of about 2,000 feet ; next is that drained by the Halon and 

 the Phen at about 2,300 ; still further to the east the basin of 

 the Khormdr has risen to about 2,800 feet ; and furthest east 

 of all is the plateau of Amarkantak, the chief source of the 

 Narbada, which attains a general altitude of about 3,300 feet, 

 with smaller flat-topped elevations reaching to 4,000 feet 

 above the sea. The hilly range which runs along the southern 

 border of the district is called the Mykat, and overlooks, in a 

 steep descent to the southward, a flat low-lying country called 

 Chattisgarh, or " the land of thirty-six forts." 



Sal forests in the Halon valley. 



The elevated cradle of the infant Narbada, thus described, 

 contains within its outer circle of hills an area of not less than 

 7,000 square miles ; mcuh of it, of course, of a broken and un- 

 culturable character, but comprising also in the valleys much 



