﻿56 
  THEOBALD 
  : 
  GEOLOGY 
  OE 
  PEGU. 
  

  

  great 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  South, 
  where 
  the 
  Pegu 
  Yomah 
  sinks 
  down, 
  and 
  

   the 
  Miocene 
  strata 
  composing 
  it 
  become 
  shrouded 
  from 
  view 
  beneath 
  this 
  

   detrital 
  talus. 
  For 
  some 
  35 
  miles 
  North 
  of 
  Rangoon, 
  these 
  detrital 
  

   beds 
  almost 
  conceal 
  the 
  older 
  deposits, 
  which 
  only 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  betray 
  

   their 
  existence 
  beneath 
  them, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  cantonment 
  gardens 
  in 
  Rangoon, 
  

   and, 
  as 
  previously 
  stated, 
  where 
  the 
  Syriam 
  Range 
  finally 
  disappears, 
  on 
  

   the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Hmanwon 
  channel. 
  East 
  of 
  Gnah-putau 
  on 
  the 
  

   Bassein 
  river, 
  a 
  considerable 
  area 
  is 
  covered 
  with 
  these 
  arenaceous 
  bottom 
  

   beds, 
  as 
  I 
  regard 
  them, 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  alluvium, 
  and 
  also 
  along 
  a 
  tract 
  of 
  

   country 
  stretching 
  Northward 
  from 
  Bassein 
  which 
  Mr. 
  Blanford 
  describes 
  

   in 
  these 
  words, 
  in 
  a 
  MSS. 
  memoir 
  on 
  the 
  district 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  In 
  the 
  northern 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  district, 
  and 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  Bassein, 
  

   a 
  considerable 
  tract 
  of 
  low 
  hills 
  skirting 
  the 
  higher 
  range 
  is 
  composed 
  of 
  

   gravel 
  and 
  sand 
  of 
  considerable 
  thickness. 
  This 
  formation 
  includes 
  a 
  

   bed 
  of 
  laterite 
  usually 
  covered 
  to 
  some 
  depth 
  by 
  a 
  sandy 
  deposit, 
  and 
  

   cropping 
  out 
  at 
  the 
  small 
  escarpment 
  whic"h 
  in 
  most 
  places 
  rises 
  from 
  the 
  

   flat 
  alluvium 
  of 
  the 
  delta. 
  A 
  similar 
  laterite 
  and 
  gravelly 
  deposit 
  covers 
  

   a 
  considerable 
  area 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Bassein 
  river 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  the 
  

   town 
  of 
  Bassein." 
  In 
  this 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Bassein 
  district, 
  these 
  

   sandy 
  beds 
  attain 
  a 
  greater 
  importance 
  than 
  elsewhere, 
  and 
  I 
  think 
  it 
  

   not 
  unlikely 
  that 
  these 
  vast 
  accumulations 
  not 
  only 
  here, 
  but 
  along 
  the 
  

   flanks 
  of 
  the 
  Pegu 
  Yomah 
  likewise, 
  are 
  mainly 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  denuda- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  incoherent 
  beds 
  of 
  the 
  fossil- 
  wood 
  group 
  soon 
  to 
  be 
  described. 
  

  

  (<?.) 
  Laterite. 
  — 
  In 
  Pegu 
  laterite 
  occurs 
  somewhat 
  sparingly, 
  and 
  as 
  

   a 
  strictly 
  subordinate 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  alluvium. 
  It 
  is 
  most 
  common 
  

   within 
  the 
  elevated 
  talus 
  of 
  sandy 
  detritus 
  which 
  fringes 
  the 
  Pegu 
  

   Yomah, 
  and 
  it 
  likewise 
  occurs 
  in 
  similar 
  situations 
  along 
  the 
  Arakan 
  

   Yomah, 
  but 
  less 
  frequently. 
  It 
  occurs 
  in 
  the 
  elevated 
  ridge 
  of 
  ground 
  

   whereon 
  the 
  ancient 
  city 
  of 
  Syriam 
  stood, 
  below 
  Rangoon; 
  and 
  an 
  

   incoherent 
  form 
  of 
  laterite 
  is 
  now 
  in 
  process 
  of 
  formation, 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  

   older 
  or 
  red 
  alluvial 
  clay, 
  where 
  in 
  sections, 
  such 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  wells, 
  

  

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