TERTIARY AND RECENT DEPOSITS. 237 



" At Rutnag-herry, &e., in well and other sections, the trap is found 

 " to be overlaid by a thickness of a few feet of white clay imbedding 

 *' fruits and containing- thin carbonaceous seams composed for the most 

 '' part of leaves. This is separated from the soft laterite above by a 

 " ferruginous band about an inch thick having much the appearance of 

 *' Haematite. It is vesicular, the cavities being filled by quartz, &c. The 

 '' soft laterite soil above hardens on exposure, and this rapidly. It is 

 " very thick here and along the sea coast, trap only becoming disclosed in 

 *' the deep sections, and at the base of the cliffs. In proceeding inland, 

 " however, it is found higher up in the hills, which seems to show that 

 '^^it has a westerly dip, though it is very difficult to determine the 

 " amount, as all the sections are so covered by the detritus from the 

 " laterite. East of Rutnagherry the latter rock extends for about fifteen 

 *' or twenty miles ; beyond this the trap hills are more irregular in out- 

 "line and increase gradually in height towards the Ghats. The eastern 

 " boundary of the laterite runs west of Lanji in a south-east direction, 

 " passing east of Rajapur . to Khareputtun. South of the latter place 

 " its direction has been more correctly determined. 



" About Phonda it is found nearer to the Ghats than in other places, 

 " it then bears to the south-west, meeting low trap hills which run out 

 '' from the Ghats at the north of the Sawant Waree State. The 

 " lower beds of this (the trap) pass under it about half-way between 

 "the Ghats and the sea. South of this the width of the formation 

 '' becomes much less, and it extends as a band ten or fifteen miles wide 

 **■ along the western boundary of the State and in the narrow strip of 

 " British territory by Vingorla. 



" It occurs in great quantity in the Goa territory. In speaking of 

 " the laterite boundary I refer to that of the laterite plateau which has a 

 "very constant elevation, and consists, as I have mentioned, of a series of 

 " flat-topped or slightly undulating hills separated from one another by 

 ^' deep ravines which have been excavated by the rivers which drain the 



" country. 



( 227 ) 



