Lieut. -Colonel Sykes on a portion of Dukhun. 431 



hitherto found imbedded, belong to living species. The following is the ana- 

 lysis of "Kankar"* (nodular limestone) by Mr. Prinsepf- 



Water of absorption 1 --l, 



Carbonate of lime 72-0 



Carbonate of magnesia 0"4 



Silex 15-2 



Alumine and oxide of iron 11-0 



100-0 



Kunkur, or nodular limestone, has been likened to the cornbrash of the En- 

 glish strata ; but its geological position (principally superficial), and the absence 

 of characteristic fossils, present insuperable objections to their identity. 



Granite. 



The late Dr. Voysey states, that he ''^had reason to believe, partly from per- 

 " sonal observation and partly from specimens obtained from other sources, 

 " that the basis of the whole peninsula of India is granite ; he had traced it 

 " along the coast of Coromandel, lying under iron clay (laterite) ; also in the 

 "^ bed of the Godavery river, from Rajamahendri to Nandair ; and he had 

 "^ specimens from the base of the Sitabaldi hills of Nagpoor, from Travankur, 

 '' Tinnevelli, Salem, and Bellari." Mr. Stirling in his memoir on Cuttaek says, 

 " The granite where my specimens were principally collected appears to burst 

 " through an immense bed of laterite (iron clay) rising abruptly at a consider- 

 " able angle;};." Major Franklin adds to the above quotation, " the plains of 

 " Bundelkhund attest that granite is there the basis rock." Ceylon is exclu- 

 sively granite and gneiss ; finally, I observed granite rising through laterite 

 at Calicut on the Malabar coast. With these facts before us, we can scarcely 

 question the truth of Dr. Voysey's opinion ; an opinion involving the belief, 

 with reference also to the extent of trap, that the whole peninsula of India 

 and Ceylon, covering an area roughly calculated of 700,000 square miles, is 



of igneous origin. 



Sedimentary Rocks. 



I am not aware of the existence of any sedimentary rocks in Western India, 

 south of Baroach, excepting such as have probably originated in the conso- 

 lidation of comparatively recent alluvium. 



Recapitulation. 

 I close this paper with a recapitulation of the characteristic geological fea- 

 tures of the peninsula ; namely, — the amazing extent of the trap region, and 

 the horizontal position of its stratified beds the granitic basis of the whole 



* Properly Kunkur. t Gleanings of Science, vol. i. p. 278. 



X Phys. Class, Asiatic Researches, p. B7. 



