10 WYNNE: TRANS-INDUS EXTENSION OF THE PUNJAB SALT RANGE. 



part strongly scarped towards the plains of the Indus, rising into broad 



lofty mountain summits northward of Kalabagh, 

 Form of mountains. _ .. . i-ijii 



and to the westward presenting a triple, double, or 

 single range. Starting from Kalabagh the highest crests run north-by- 

 west for 12 miles on each side of the Lun nala, a small tributary of the 

 Indus ; these crests, at first with considerable undulation, turn to the 

 west-by-south for 22 miles, forming the Surgarh 1 

 or Chichali range, and the Shingarh 2 and Lakar- 

 oarh mountains to the north. Again, bending sharply south, the double 

 chain of the Shmgarh and Chichali ranges unites, continuing for more 

 than 20 miles as the Maidan range to where the Kuram river issues 

 from the Bannu basin at Tangdarra (literally, confined valley) . Four 

 miles south of the Kuram this chain bends again to the south-west, 

 forming for about 26 miles the Nila Roh 3 part of the Marwat 4 range, 

 as far as Shekh Budin, flanked by a confluent range 6 to 8 miles 

 distant to the south-east, called the Ratta Roh 5 or Kiri-Khasor 6 ridge, 

 which rises in part directly from the right bank of the river Indus. 

 At Shekh Budin hill station the Nila Roh turns to the north-west at a 

 rio-ht angle, and passing off through the low Bhattani ridge unites with the 

 trans-frontier border hills of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts. 

 The northern ranges in the Kalabagh region j!have elevations up to 

 3,900 and 4,700 feet above the sea, according to 

 Government maps; the cliffs of Dangot rise 

 sheer 2,070 feet from the Indus, and there are many other lofty preci- 

 pices among the Lakargarh and Shingarh mountains, as well as along the 

 southern escarpment of the Chichali range. The highest summit of 

 the Maidan scarp is over 4,200 feet, while the Indus, east of the inter- 



i Surgarh, from sur, red, and garh, mountain. 



2 The Shingarh is also called the Lowagarh range ; " shin" in Pashtu means green. 



3 Nila, blue ; roh, mountain. 



4 Mowrut of the inhabitants ; name of a tribe. 



5 Ratta, red, roh, mountain ; a misnomer for these hills. 



6 Kiri, a tent or hut encampment of the wandering tribes, who live chiefly on milk, 

 which is called Jcir. 



( 220 ) 



