88 FOOTE : SOUTH MAHRATTA COUNTRY. 



fall from a place almost exactly opposite the centre of the horse-shoe^ 

 which it rather overlooks^ and whence decidedly the best general view is 

 obtained. The beauty of the scene is much marred by the presence 

 of an immense quantity of the common prickly pear^ which has been 

 allowed to run wild to a lamentable extent over the Gokak hill^ as well 

 as in other parts of the Belgaum district. It perfectly chokes all other 

 jungle growth and is itself the most pestilent of weeds. 



The curved lines showing the outcrops of the quartzite beds are 

 very conspicuous on the face of the cliff. The curves must not, however, 

 be taken to indicate correctly the form of the synclinal, for they are 

 considerably exaggerated by the effects of perspective and of the peculiar 

 amphitheatrical form of the face of the cliff. The narrow dark band 

 near the foot of the cliff is really a recess in the rock due to the more 

 rapid weathering away of a bed of shaley sandstone. It is of sufficient 

 size to make a passage by which it is possible for people with steady 

 heads to get behind the falling mass of water. Except in the rains but 

 little water is seen in the rocky bed of the river above the fall, for it runs 

 in narrow channels cut deep into the rock till just as it reaches the brink of 

 the chff, where it spreads. For some distance above the fall the water runs 

 at a very great pace, and has in consequence worn many fine specimens of 

 pot-holes in the very hard quartzite, some beds of which, both here and in 

 many neighbouring sections, are typical " waxy " quartzites, showing 

 beautifully preserved rippling. These pot-holes are very favorite bathmg 

 places for numerous Brahmins and others, who perform semi-religious 

 picnics at this lovely spot in honor of Mahalingeshwar. The grandeur 

 of the fall depends greatly on the volume of the river, which varies 

 much according to the season. A graphic description of it when the river 

 is full in the rainy season was given by the late Captain Newbold, F.R.S. 

 (in his geological notes on the South Mahratta country) . After adverting 

 to " the magnificent spectacle of a mass of water containing upward 

 of 16,000 cubic feet precipitated fi-om the tabular surface of the sand- 

 stone into a gorge forming the head of the defile," he continues : " the 



( 88 ) 



