NERBUDDA DISTRICT. 119 



the south side, and accordingly the map shows that, within our area, all 

 its chief tributaries flow in from this direction. These streams after 

 escaping from the gorges of the Gondwarra Hills, have hollowed 

 out channels for themselves across the flat ground of the valley be- 

 yond, exposing throughout most of their course, many rocks distinct 

 from each other in age, and differing among themselves in litho- 

 logical character. And whether among the hills, or in the plain be- 

 } 7 ond, the various texture and structure of these rocks, as well as their 

 diverse modes of occurrence and of disintegration, have impressed on 

 the landscape that endless variety of outline, from which its principal 

 charm is derived. 



The great escarpments north and south of the valley, above mention- 



„ „ , . , , ed, are no doubt sufficiently remarkable when con- 



Some Geological boun- 



danes - sidered simply as physical phenomena ; but they 



become still more interesting when, as is found to be the case, they are 



known to coincide with geological boundaries. 



Thus the Table land of Malwa and Bundelkund is formed of the 



sandstones seen in the Vindhyan escarpment, and 

 The north escarpment. 



described in the following pages under the name 



of " Vindhyan Sandstones/' a group of rocks not known to occur any 



where south of this line of the north escarpment of the Nerbudda valley, 



at least not within the area mapped. 



In a similar manner the line of escarpment bounding the valley on the 



_ , south, marks the northern limit of a series of rocks, 



The south escarpment. 



which will be found described below, as including 



those formations called in our lists " Talcheer," " Damuda," " Mahadeva," 



&c., and no rocks belonging to any of these groups are known, within our 



area, to occur north of this line of escarpment. 



On both sides of the valley the high ground is often occupied by 



Basaltic Trappean rocks. On the north such 

 The Trap. J 



rocks spread into wide patches over the country 



