INTRODUCTION. 



19 



the strata is to tlie E. of !N". and their abutment to the W. 

 of S. On the flank of the great range there is a line of low 

 hills, the Sewalik, which commences at Eoopui* on the Sutlej, 

 and run down a long way to the south, skirting the great 

 chain. In some places they rrni up to and rise upon the Him- 

 alayahs; in others, as in this neighbourhood (Suharunpoor), 

 they are separated by an intermediate valley. Between the 

 Jiunna and Ganges they attain their greatest height, which 

 Captain Herbert estimates at 2,000 feet above the plains 

 at their foot ; or 3,000 above the sea. Suharunpoor is about 



i'lG. 1. 



a, Level of the sea at Ciilcntta ; b, Level of Snliarunpoor, 1,000 feet above the 

 sea; cc, The Sewalik hills ; c'c\ The strata of sanflstoue and conglomerate; c"c". 

 Strata of gravel ; del, The valley of Deyra ; er, Strata of the Sewalik hills, in 

 some places rising on the Himalaj^ahs ; ^ff, Outer ridges of the Himalayahs; ffff, 

 Primary strata ; h, The valleys or hollows between the ridges. 



1,000 feet above the sea. About twenty-five miles north are 

 the Sewalik hills. They are here about six or seven miles 

 wide. To the east of the Ganges and west of the Jumna 

 they gradually fall off. They have the same direction with 

 the great chain, and agree generally in dip ; their slope being 

 towards the north, and abutment to the south. They rise at 

 once against the plains, with an abrupt mural front. They 

 are serrated across their direction, forming a succession of 

 scarcely parallel ridges, with a steep face on one side, and 

 slope on the other. The strata are inclined at an angle of 

 25° to 30°. They are of recent tertiary or alluvial formation, 

 and consist of friable sandstone or gravelly conglomerate, 

 agglutinated by a calcareous cement, containing subordinate 

 beds of clay ; the uj)per strata are entirely gravel. Beyond 

 these hills lies the valley of Deyra, 1,200 or 1,400 feet above 

 the sea, and then the great chain of the Himalayahs. The 

 foregoing rude sketch will perhaps give an idea of the 

 whole better than description ; the distances are not in pro- 

 portion in the section.' 



C. 



THE SEWALIK FAUNA — ITS EXTENT AND PECULUEITIES.' 



The fossils were either collected at the foot of the cliffs, or 

 blasted oiit of rock, or excavated. They were of two sorts, 

 those formed in the sandstone being hard, while those in the 



' This section is mainly constructed from letters written by Dr. Falconer. — [Ed.] 



c 2 



