"28 . RANIGANJ COAL FIELD. [CHAP. II. 



Excepting these, the only rises within the field are some low- 

 hillocks not exceeding 60 feet in height, formed by hard conglomerate 



B ,. ... bands in the neighborhood of Nirsha, in the 



Smaller elevations. ° ' 



extreme West of the area ; the rounded ridge of 



ironstone shales about 4 miles South of the Adjai already mentioned ; 



the low laterite hills of Baktarnagar, Mangalpur, Harispur, and other 



places near the Singaran Valley, or East of it; and the little mass 



of trap near Samdi, which is known as Muktichandi Hill. 



The rocks beyond the boundaries of the field belong to the meta- 



morphic series, and consist of different kinds of gneiss, hornblende 



rock, quartzite, &c, similar to the formations covering the greater 



portion of Bengal, (excepting the alluvial plains bordering the Ganges 



and its tributaries,) Orissa and most other tracts in the East and South 



of the Peninsula of India. They have been 

 Kocks. 



referred to frequently in preceding Memoirs, and 



until the time shall come for a full general description to be published 



of them, but little additional information can be conveyed by isolated 



remarks upon small and detached areas. 



The following pages will contain a detailed description of those rocks 

 alone, which are comprised within the boundaries of the Raniganj field. 

 How those boundaries run, what their direction is, where they are 

 faulted, and where natural, can be learned more quickly and more ac- 

 curately from a glance at the map than from a prolix verbal description. 



The remaining sections of this portion of our Report will be devoted 

 to the rocks of the Raniganj field, embracing mainly the Damuda 

 group and its associates. Before proceeding to describe these in detail, 

 it will be well to state succinctly into what divisions the beds may 

 be grouped. These are the following, commencing from the bottom : — 



1. At the base of the field, in places, and 



Talchir rocks. 



resting upon the metamorphic rocks, there occur 

 greenish-grey muds and fine sandstones, occasionally containing 



