Chapter III. — The Talchir Group. 



Except in the East of the area, or where cut out by faults, the 

 lowest beds resting upon the metamorphic rocks along the Northern 

 boundary of the Ramganj field, are the green, grey, and purplish-red 

 muddy and silty beds, which, recognized as identical by their singu- 

 lar mineral character, form the base, in places, of several of the 

 Indian coal fields. Their peculiarities attracted the attention of Mr. 

 Williams, and they have, since 1856, been considered as a group distinct 

 from the over-lying Damiida rocks. 



The best sections of the Talchir beds in the Raniganj field are: 1st, 

 North of Panra and Nirsha ; 2nd, North of Talclanga, near the right 

 bank of the Barakar ; 3rd, North of Samdi, and in the stream which 

 flows to the East of Jamiari and Baghram. The lower beds alone are 

 seen in the latter case. 



The greatest thickness perhaps occurs North of Taldanga. The 

 section there is well seen over a considerable area of ground, broken 

 and cut up by ravines, in the neighborhood of the village of Railyadi. 

 At the top the beds appear to pass into those belonging to the Lower 

 Damtida. This is the only locality in which such a passage occurs, and 

 there can be no doubt that, at this spot, the interval between the 

 periods of formation of the Talchirs and Damudas was not one of 

 erosion, and that when the latter group began to be deposited, the 

 sources whence its constituents were derived were identical with 

 those which had previously contributed to the formation of the Talchir 

 beds. The rocks seen near Railyadi form the lowest portion of the 

 measured section given by Mr. Williams at page 73 of his Report, and 

 they were referred to in the Report on the Talchir coal field* as being, 

 probably, from the description of their mineral character and from 



*Memoirs of Geological Survey of India, Vol. I., page 78. 



