270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



English) of liquid naphtha and prepared bitumen ; which, inclu- 

 ding the expense of collecting, of manufacturing, and of carriage, are 

 sold in Shuster at the following rate : — Liquid naphtha, 1^ Keran 

 per maun, or 2^c?. per lb., — Bitumen, at 2 Kerans per maun, or 3^6?. 

 per lb. There might be collected 7000 or 8000 mauns annually, if 

 there were sufficient demand. There are various other bitumen- 

 springs in the immediate neighbourhood, the refuse-waters of which 

 fall into the A'b i Siir ("Salt River"), which is the receptacle for 

 every species of villanous water, whether bituminous, naphthous, salty, 

 or sulphureous, rising among the gypseous deposits of that region. 



2. Nummulitic Series. 



The rocks of the Nummulitic Series constitute the most remarkable 

 feature of the Zagros, and extend, to my knowledge, from Shiraz to 

 Mount Ararat, a distance of 800 geographical miles. 



They rise from beneath the beds of the gypsum-formation in 

 elongated saddles of compact crystalline limestone, running parallel 

 to each other, and having a quaquaversal dip. Frequently, when 

 much elevating force has been exerted, huge masses of the limestone 

 stand isolated, with lofty precipices on all sides, bearing on their 

 summits acres of pasturage and springs of delicious water, to 

 which the native chiefs and their adherents can retire in safety, 

 and, with a handful of men, defy the whole power of the Persian 

 Government. 



Of the saddle-formed ridges the most remarkable is the range of 

 Kealiin (fig. 4). It forms the eastern edge of the trough through 

 which the Kerkhah River flows before passing into the plains ; and 

 it extends 35 miles in a perfectly straight line. Seen in perspective, 

 its outline resembles a gigantic model of the Crystal Palace, the 

 uniform curve of the dome being very remarkable and imposing. 



The Kebir Kuh, which bounds the western side of the same 

 trough (fig. 4), is another example of a similar kind ; but the con- 

 tinuity of the layers is frequently broken on the summit, and thus 

 considerable precipices are the result, the jagged edges of which 

 were invaluable points for the survey of the frontier. 



Innumerable examples of the saddle-shaped ranges might be ad- 

 duced ; for, in fact, this is the usual form in which the nummulitic 

 rocks show themselves on the west of the central axis, where the 

 elevating force has been less generally experienced than in the in- 

 terior of the chain. In the latter position, as is naturally to be 

 expected, the strata have been forced asunder, and present mural 

 cliffs of great height on either side of long valleys of elevation. 



Of isolated masses of the nummulitic limestone, I may refer to 

 the impregnable fort of Jaffer Kiili Khan, the notorious chief of the 

 Bakhtiyari Mountains, — Chaouni in Liiristan (fig. 8), — the Kiih-i- 

 Seffid, between Shiraz and Behbehan, — and particularly to the Ban-i- 

 Zardah near Zohab (fig. 2). 



During the elevation of this portion of the ancient Zagros, the 

 subterranean force acted with such intensity as to sever the lime- 

 stone-strata of Kiih-i-Dalahu ; and a huge mass on the S.W. side. 



