NILGHIEI HILLS. 231 



gherries. It comprises the "Western Ghats and the smaller Neelgherry 

 Western Ghats and escarpment of the Kundah range, or that which, 

 scarpraeu . facing to the North-East, commences at the 



Pykara river, and passing thence behind Avalanche, terminates near 

 the village of Keel Kundah, overlooking the vaUey of the Bhovani 

 river. These two escarpments, although in precisely the same line, 



face in different directions, and it is therefore 

 Of different age. 



probabie that the disturbance which gave rise 



to the latter was of subsequent date to that which produced the 



former, but took place along the old line of dislocation, the upheaval 



being on the opposite side. Another line of fracture belonging 



„ ,, „ ^ to this system is that which crosses the hills 



Faults near Koter- ■' 



s'^^"?- from St. Katharine's Falls to the Elk Fall in the 



neighbourhood of Kotergherry, on the North-Eastem portion of the 

 hills, and it is to this that the gorges below these two falls are originally 

 due.* There does not appear to have been any great amount of distur- 

 bance along this line, so far as can be judged from the present aspect 

 of the country, but the evidences are sufficiently clear to warrant the 

 belief that such a fracture exists. 



The third great system of faults is that to which the Northern 



boundary of the Neelgherries, the short Southern 

 Third system. 



escarpment of the Kundah range, the extreme 



terminal escarpment of the hill country of Palghat and probably some 

 smaller dislocations in the hilly country intervening between the 

 Why regai-ded as a Neelgherries and Palghat, belong. The first of 

 jstmct systein. these might at first sight seem to ramify from the 



line of disturbance of the Eastern Ghats, which at their junction has very 

 nearly the same direction, but the existence of parallel lines of faulting 

 elsewhere, all of which are connected with the upheaval of the Neel- 



* The description of this line of fault is furnished by Messi-s. C. Oldham and H. 

 Geoghegan, who alone visited this part of the hills. 



