226 POOTE : SOUTH mahratta country. 



and resin^ and some plant remains^ which are all but proven to be of 

 Eocene age. Whether these clays and the laterite are conformable 

 ( which is improbable ) or not, the total change in the character of the 

 two deposits indicates a considerable interval of time and most 

 likely a positive break between the two. The intercalation^ how- 

 ever, of the Eocene (?) lignitiferous clays between the Deccan trap, 

 generally regarded as of upper cretaceous age, and the laterite, is a 

 clear proof of a great break between them. This, added to the evidence 

 deduced from the geographical position of the Konkan, demonstrates that 

 the Konkan laterite cannot be included in the Deccan trap series, but 

 that it must be much younger. 



Mr. C. J. Wilkinson, by whom the Konkan was geologically 

 surveyed, offers no opinion in his notes on the subject of the origin of 

 the laterite ; he contents himself with describing the rock and the 

 peculiar features of the country attributable to its presence. He 

 says : " When the laterite is present, it gives a monotonous aspect to 

 the country, forming an undulating, and in many places quite flat, 

 plateau, the surface of which is a sheet of rock, black and slag-like 

 externally. This laterite plateau, which has a general elevation of 

 between two and three hundred feet, has a bare, black appearance, support- 

 ing no vegetation except scanty grass, and stunted trees here and there. 

 There are places where the rock has been denuded, and here, owing to 

 the presence of thicker soil, the ground can be cultivated, 



" It is cut through by numerous rivers, the largest of which rise in 

 " the Ghats, and after flowing through comparatively open trap country, 

 " enter the laterite through deep ravines which widen toward the sea, the 

 " rivers becoming broad tidal creeks. In the ravines along the banks of 

 " the rivers, villages are generally situated, and every available spot of the 

 " rich alluvial soil is cultivated for the production of rice and other grain. 

 " At the sea coast the laterite forms bluff" cliff's, in the lovverpart of which 

 " trap is disclosed. 



( 226 ) 



