﻿58 
  THEOBALD 
  i 
  GEOLOGY 
  OE 
  PEGU. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  MacClelland's 
  sketch-map, 
  and 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  roughly 
  estimated 
  

   to 
  rise 
  abruptly 
  from 
  50 
  to 
  60 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  alluvium 
  of 
  the 
  Sittoung 
  

   valley. 
  The 
  now 
  deserted 
  military 
  station 
  of 
  Sittoung, 
  was 
  situated 
  on 
  

   a 
  steep 
  bluff 
  of 
  this 
  rock 
  overlooking 
  the 
  river 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  little 
  below 
  this, 
  

   the 
  deposit 
  sweeps 
  away 
  back 
  from 
  the 
  river, 
  and 
  runs 
  with 
  a 
  slightly 
  

   sinuous 
  and 
  somewhat 
  indented 
  outline 
  to 
  Kyekto 
  and 
  thence 
  to 
  Marta- 
  

   ban. 
  From 
  Sittoung 
  the 
  deposit 
  runs 
  with 
  a 
  very 
  straight 
  boundary, 
  

   modified 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  denuding 
  action 
  of 
  streams 
  which 
  traverse 
  it, 
  as 
  

   high 
  as 
  Kyouk-kyee, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  sixty 
  miles; 
  beyond 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  

   continued 
  in 
  a 
  less 
  regular 
  manner 
  for 
  some 
  twenty-five 
  miles 
  more. 
  

   Still 
  further 
  North 
  and 
  for 
  a 
  considerable 
  distance 
  along 
  the 
  hills 
  op- 
  

   posite 
  Tonghoo, 
  a 
  very 
  similar 
  lateritic 
  barrier 
  extends 
  along 
  the 
  plains 
  • 
  

   but 
  this 
  I 
  shall 
  hereafter 
  allude 
  to 
  more 
  particularly, 
  as 
  it 
  pertains 
  

   geologically 
  to 
  an 
  older 
  group 
  than 
  the 
  laterite 
  of 
  Sittoung 
  and 
  Shuay- 
  

   gheen. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  described 
  this 
  laterite 
  as 
  a 
  basal 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  

  

  alluvium 
  of 
  the 
  province; 
  but 
  perhaps 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  more 
  correct 
  to 
  

  

  describe 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  shore 
  or 
  marginal 
  deposit 
  of 
  the 
  basin 
  wherein 
  the 
  

  

  wide-spread 
  alluvial 
  clay 
  accumulated, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  equivalent, 
  so 
  to 
  

  

  say, 
  of 
  that 
  rock. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  its 
  accumulation, 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  Gulf 
  of 
  Martaban 
  stretched 
  up 
  what 
  now 
  forms 
  the 
  Irrawadi, 
  Sittoung 
  

  

  and 
  Salwin 
  valleys; 
  and 
  the 
  drainage 
  from 
  the 
  then 
  peninsular-like 
  

  

  land, 
  now 
  constituting 
  the 
  Arakan, 
  Pegu 
  and 
  Poungloung 
  ranges, 
  

  

  contributed 
  towards 
  the 
  formation 
  along 
  the 
  coast-line 
  of 
  the 
  sandy 
  

  

  talus 
  or 
  bank, 
  which 
  now 
  intervenes 
  between 
  the 
  level 
  plains 
  and 
  

  

  the 
  hill 
  country. 
  The 
  Pegu 
  range, 
  consisting 
  wholly 
  of 
  soft 
  sand 
  and 
  

  

  shales, 
  rather 
  deficient 
  in 
  iron, 
  has 
  contributed 
  to 
  that 
  sandy 
  detritus, 
  

  

  which 
  fringes 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  Sittoung 
  valley 
  to 
  the 
  Westward, 
  and 
  

  

  wherein 
  pebbles 
  and 
  gravel 
  are 
  scarce, 
  and 
  laterite 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  wanting*. 
  

  

  East 
  of 
  the 
  Sittoung, 
  however, 
  the 
  Poungloung 
  hill 
  ranges 
  composed 
  

  

  of 
  metamorphic 
  and 
  altered 
  rocks, 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  rich 
  in 
  iron, 
  have 
  

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