86 rooTE : geology of madtjra and tinnevelly districts. 



5 to 8 feet, and occasionally even more, and are two or three shades 



brighter in colour than the general surface they stand on. Especially 



conspicuous are they on the tract running south along the foot of the 



ghats nearly to Cape Comorin. Termites flourish here as nowhere else 



in South India to my knowledge. 



The surface of all the soils is considerably affected by the violent 



winds blowing over Tinnevelly during the south- 

 Denudation by wind, ifii ijnii -n 

 west monsoon, and iresh ploughed nelcls especially 



are strongly denuded by the almost incessant south-westerly gales. 



Great clouds of red sand and dust are carried eastward towards the coast, 



and there meeting with the fresh sea breeze are dropped and give rise to 



the red sand hillss or teris which will be described further on. 



These teris form a line along the coast from near Cape Comorin to a 



point several miles south-east of Eamnad. The red 



Origin of the teris. • i i j_i . i ^ • i 



dust carried by the south-west monsoon is known 



to have reddened the sails of coasting craft passing through the Pamban 



channel; it has also visibly reddened the pale calcareous grit stone (from 



the Panamparai quarry), of which the great Tiruchendur temple is built. 



During a visit to Kuttalam (Courtallum) in 1869, I noticed on 



several occasions that the eastern horizon seemed 



Great red dust clouds. • -n tj -.i • v i 4. 



to be on fire, so vividly did the evening sun light 



up the great clouds of red dust driving before the south-west mon- 

 soon gale. Enormous tongues of flame leapt up in the air while the 

 non-illuminated parts of the dust clouds simulated smoke, and the whole 

 scene bore a marvellous resemblance to a terrible forest fire for which, 

 indeed, I mistook it at first, but was informed of its real nature 

 by a friend intimately acquainted with the whole Tinnevelly country. 

 These clouds of red sand and dust are clearly the source of the line of teris 

 which stretches along the Ramnad coast from Melmandai to Muttupetta. 

 The saliferous white soils which are so common m other districts, 



though not unknown in Madura and Tinnevelly, 

 White and saline soils. , <. ro • , • 



are not or sunicient importance to require any 



special notice here^ 

 ( 86 ) 



