76 WYNNE : GEOLOGY OF THE SALT RANGE IN THE PUNJAB. 



observation difficult to make on account of the general decomposition in 

 its vicinity where I have seen it. In the Upper Khewra gorge the 

 following section occurs : — 



8. Purple sandstone ... ... ... to feet. 



7. Red gj'pseous clay ... ... ... 10 to 15 „ 



6. Lenticular mass of trap, maximum,.. ... 5 to 6 „ 



5. Greenish clay ... ... ... 2 „ 



4. Powdery dolomitic layer, white ... ... 4 „ 



3. Bituminous shale ... ... ... 6 inches. 



2. Dolomitic laminated bands ... ... 15 feet. 



1. Red marl, gypsum, and salt ... ... 1,000 „ 



The rock-salt is found near the upper part of the red marl as a rule, 

 and generally just below the greatest development 

 of the gypsum, with which its stratification is 

 parallel. It alternates with thick, dark-brownish red beds of impure 

 saline marl, called by the natives hallar, and is pink, reddish, or white, 

 rarely having gray blotches, but frequently showing numerous alterna- 

 tions of laminae of small thickness, reddish and white colour and different 

 degrees of opacity. 



The marl, gypsum, and salt, all yielding rapidly to the wasting action 

 of the atmosphere, which reduces the whole to a state of obscurity, it is 

 difficult to find any natural sections from which to gather the detailed 

 structure of the saline zone. In Khewra mining region, where a 

 portion of the saline deposits has been most fully explored and a survey 

 of the mines made, the lowest bed of the series as known there is a bed 

 of salt, but this is insufficient to show that salt-rock is always the lowest 

 member of the series. 



The various modes of concealment, natural or artificial (to prevent 



theft), combine to prevent an idea being formed of 



on mm y. ^^ lateral extension of the salt beyond wha't may 



be gathered from its very frequent occurrence along the southern foot of 



the range. As to its thickness, whether local or otherwise, the great • 



caverns excavated in it at Khewra, Varcha, and other localities (some of 



which are large enough to contain good-sized parish churches or large 



houses) give a general notion of the massive character of the deposit. 



( 76 ) 



