88 MALLET: GEOLOGY OF DARJILING AND WESTERN DUARS. 



the Duars, whilst there is a terra incognita between the Jaldoka and the 

 Daina, where the base of the hills retreats several miles beyond the 

 British frontier, sections are almost entirely wanting to show the 

 relations of the Baxa beds to the other series. In ascending the Ma-chu, 

 next to the beds containing carbonaceous layers, mentioned at page 29, 

 are very brittle silicious flags, with pink calcareous layers, and a few 

 of red shale, dipping north-north-west at 50° ; these are quite similar to 

 some of the Baxa beds in the Pagli and Titi sections (p. 34). Beyond 

 these, and apparently overlying them, are green slates of the Daling type. 

 The slates in the Langti are also Daling, and these seem to overlie those 

 further south which are Baxa. Such appears to be the normal position 

 of the two series, and it is on the strength of this that I have coloured 

 the area north of Baxa as Daling. The only place where I actually 

 penetrated sufficiently far into the hills to examine this area, was in the 

 Alaikuri, the slates in the upper part of which are of an undecided 

 type which might belong to either series. Unless, however, there be 

 a fault between the gneiss and the Baxa beds, it is difficult to see how 

 the Daling series can be wanting. 



The main difficulty is, however, with respect to the relations of the 

 Baxas and Damudas. I cannot think that the strata, including graphitic 

 schists, seen in the Raidak, are Damudas, as they are interstratified with 

 beds totally different from anything associated with the latter rocks 

 west of the Jaldoka ; and, as I have previously shown, such carbonaceous 

 schists occur here and there in the Daling beds, where they certainly have 

 nothing to do with the coal-bearing series. The Raidak beds contain no 

 coal, dark-grey shale, or other characteristic Damtida rock. It is not easy 

 to see how the Baxas can be younger than the Damudas ; as, in the 

 Darjiling territory, the latter rocks immediately underlie the Dalings 

 without sensible unconformity. On the other hand, if they be older, 

 where are the Damudas in the Ma-chu section, unless, indeed, they are 

 dropped down by a fault ? Judging from the Darjiling and Bhutan 

 ground alone, I should say the Baxas were the oldest beds of all ,• but, 



( 38 ) 



