NILGHIEI HILLS. 241 



The other principal escarpment on the plateau of the hills is that 

 „ , J, r- of the Kundahs, a prominent feature as viewed 



Escarpment of Kun- ' ■■■ 



'J^''^- from the neighbourhood of Ootakamund. Its 



position has already been described when speaking of the lines of 

 dislocation in a previous part of this report, and there can be but little 

 doubt that like most large escarpments, it was originally produced by a 

 great fault, but it is equally certain that its form has been subsequently 

 modified by marine action, and that being of nearly the same elevation 

 as the great mass of Dodabetta, it must have been finally upraised 

 from the sea at about the same epoch. Its face has been much furrowed 

 by streams, but less than would have been the case, had the drainage 

 of the Kundah plateau poured down towards the Neelgherries, instead 

 of being collected in one large central stream as already described. 

 The Eastern escarpment of the Himagala range appears to have been 

 originally continuous with that of the Kundahs, but there is now a deep 

 gap between them formed by the Pykara river, which originally com- 

 menced at a point much to the South-West of its present head waters, 

 and the ridge, which, at a former period, probably united Makurty hill 

 and TukulhuUybetta at the Northern extremity of the Kundahs, 

 has been washed away by the united action of the Pykara on the one 

 side, and the stream which flows down to the South of Makurty on the 

 other. The annexed sketch is a view of Makurty with the Pykara at 

 its foot, the gap between Makurty and TukulhuUybetta being concealed 



-F'i/- r/.— View of Makurty Peak ^viUl pnrt of the Himagala range aud the valley of the Pykara. 



