﻿Yol. 
  53.] 
  ON 
  ROCKS 
  FROM 
  THE 
  BALUCHISTAN 
  BORDER. 
  291 
  

  

  their 
  black 
  crags 
  above 
  the 
  saDdy 
  waste, 
  but 
  the 
  sand 
  banked 
  some 
  

   1000 
  or 
  2000 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  their 
  base 
  foretells 
  a 
  similar 
  

   fate 
  in 
  store 
  for 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  phenomena 
  of 
  sand-hills 
  — 
  their 
  origin, 
  formation, 
  and 
  pre- 
  

   vailing 
  shapes 
  — 
  are 
  in 
  themselves 
  an 
  interesting 
  and 
  difficult 
  study, 
  

   and 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  recently 
  Mr. 
  Vaughan 
  Cornish 
  read 
  

   a 
  valuable 
  paper 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  before 
  the 
  Royal 
  Geographical 
  

   Society, 
  which, 
  with 
  the 
  record 
  of 
  the 
  discussion 
  that 
  followed, 
  

   deserves 
  the 
  notice 
  of 
  geologists. 
  1 
  Suffice 
  it 
  here 
  to 
  note 
  that 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  speakers 
  on 
  that 
  occasion 
  laid 
  stress 
  on 
  the 
  fact 
  that, 
  

   however 
  devouring 
  an 
  element 
  sand 
  may 
  be, 
  water 
  always 
  has 
  the 
  

   upper 
  hand, 
  and 
  that 
  a 
  small 
  stream 
  of 
  water 
  will 
  always 
  cut 
  

   its 
  way 
  through 
  sand. 
  But 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  here 
  described 
  this 
  

   principle 
  does 
  not 
  hold 
  good. 
  If 
  one 
  looks 
  at 
  the 
  map 
  one 
  sees 
  

   that 
  the 
  drainage 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  from 
  Chagai 
  westward 
  runs 
  in 
  

   the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  Helmand 
  River, 
  and 
  farther 
  west 
  still 
  it 
  runs 
  

   towards 
  the 
  God-i-Zirreh 
  Lake. 
  Little 
  of 
  that 
  drainage 
  ever 
  

   reaches 
  the 
  Helmand 
  River; 
  none 
  of 
  it, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  can 
  ascertain, 
  

   reaches 
  the 
  God-i-Zirreh. 
  In 
  each 
  case 
  it 
  is 
  stopped 
  by 
  the 
  

   sand. 
  After 
  rain, 
  immense 
  volumes 
  of 
  water 
  must 
  run 
  down 
  from 
  

   the 
  mountains 
  in 
  the 
  numerous 
  torrent-beds, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  see 
  

   that 
  this 
  water 
  never 
  travels 
  beyond 
  the 
  first 
  few 
  opposing 
  lines 
  of 
  

   sand-hills. 
  The 
  God-i-Zirreh 
  was 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  fed 
  by 
  flood-water 
  

   from 
  the 
  Helmand, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  received 
  any 
  

   replenishment 
  since 
  1880, 
  that 
  is 
  17 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  a 
  lake 
  

   of 
  salt 
  brine 
  fringed 
  by 
  an 
  ever-encroaching 
  margin 
  of 
  solid 
  salt. 
  

   The 
  great 
  Helmand 
  River 
  farther 
  north 
  comes 
  to 
  a 
  standstill 
  in 
  

   the 
  lakes 
  and 
  swamps 
  of 
  Seistan. 
  

  

  The 
  Mountains. 
  

  

  The 
  line 
  traced 
  on 
  the 
  map 
  (PI. 
  XVIII) 
  from 
  north 
  of 
  Cham 
  an 
  to 
  

   Nushki 
  marks 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  a 
  gigantic 
  fault, 
  or 
  earthquake-crack, 
  

   which 
  was 
  discovered 
  when 
  we 
  came 
  to 
  carefully 
  examine 
  this 
  

   country. 
  It 
  runs 
  in 
  a 
  well-defined 
  line 
  of 
  indentation, 
  as 
  well 
  

   marked 
  in 
  places 
  as 
  a 
  deep, 
  broad 
  railway-cutting. 
  It 
  starts 
  at 
  

   the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plain 
  north 
  of 
  Chaman 
  and 
  runs 
  along 
  the 
  foot 
  

   of 
  the 
  mountains 
  to 
  the 
  point 
  on 
  the 
  Chaman 
  and 
  Quetta 
  railway- 
  

   line 
  where 
  the 
  earthquake 
  of 
  December, 
  1892, 
  so 
  curiously 
  distorted 
  

   the 
  track, 
  and 
  shortened 
  the 
  distance 
  between 
  Chaman 
  and 
  Quetta 
  

   by 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  2| 
  feet, 
  as 
  described 
  by 
  Mr. 
  C. 
  L. 
  Griesbach, 
  now 
  

   Director 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  of 
  India, 
  in 
  the 
  May 
  number 
  of 
  

   the 
  Records 
  of 
  that 
  Survey 
  for 
  1893. 
  2 
  

  

  Prom 
  that 
  point 
  the 
  fault 
  runs 
  on, 
  gradually 
  ascending 
  diagonally 
  

   the 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  Khwaja 
  Amran 
  range, 
  until 
  it 
  crosses 
  the 
  crest 
  of 
  

   the 
  main 
  range 
  near 
  its 
  highest 
  peak, 
  at 
  an 
  elevation 
  of 
  about 
  7000 
  

   feet. 
  Descending 
  again 
  into 
  the 
  Spintizha 
  Valley 
  it 
  thereafter 
  

   ascends 
  diagonally 
  the 
  slopes 
  of 
  a 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  Khwaja- 
  

  

  1 
  Geogr. 
  Journ. 
  vol. 
  ix. 
  (1897) 
  pp. 
  278-309. 
  

  

  2 
  Vol. 
  xxvi. 
  pt. 
  ii. 
  pp. 
  57-61 
  with 
  3 
  plates. 
  

  

  x2 
  

  

  