292 Capt. Grant on the Geology of Cutch. 



centre of quartz rock, surrounded by horizontal strata of loose, quartzose 

 sandstone. The quartz rock varies considerably in character, being some- 

 times perfectly compact, exceedingly hard, conchoidal in its fracture, and 

 smooth or foliated on the surface ; in other parts it is saccharoidal ; occa- 

 sionally it consists of larger particles, so firmly cemented together that they 

 break with smooth surfaces : some masses, again, have a decidedly granular 

 texture ; and one variety is composed of rounded pebbles of quartz of the size 

 of marbles ; but in no specimen did I find any other material than pure 

 quartz. 



From the extremely fractured appearance of this hill, and from the quanti- 

 ties of basalt lying about, and forming the principal part of some small hills 

 immediately adjoining it, there can be no doubt that it has been subjected 

 to igneous influence ; and to the same cause the variety in the texture of the 

 quartz is also probably due, some portions appearing to have been sufficiently 

 fused, for its particles to have agglutinated into a solid mass. This opinion may 

 perhaps be furtiier strengthened by an examination of the country near the 

 town of Mhurr, distant about one mile and a half, where various dykes of basalt 

 traverse the strata. Similar intermixtures of quartz with basalt occur in a hill 

 called Peaka, from its piebald appearance, not far from Joorun, on the Runn, 

 and nearly opposite the south-west extremity of the Bunnee : also in some 

 low hillocks at the base of the Katrore hill in the Charwar range. At the 

 village of Ghuranee, about ten miles east of Mhurr, a large dyke or vein of 

 quartz protrudes from a level plain, and forms a ridge of solid rock about 30 

 feet in height. Basalt also crops out near the same spot. 



2. Sandstone and Clay, with Beds of Coal. 



This formation occupies a considerable portion of the country (see Plate 

 XX.), and consists of a regularly stratified series of thick beds of sandstone, al- 

 ternating with slate-clay, which contains, occasionally, bands of ironstone ; and 

 where the coal occurs, it is intermixed with blue clay or shale, and a greasy 

 substance resembling fullers'-earth. South of the Charwar range, the general 

 dip of the strata is S. by W. and S.W., at about one foot in twenty or thirty ; 

 but north of that range, the dip varies so much, that it is impossible to ascer- 

 tain the prevailing direction ; and the whole series is so broken, and intersected 

 with dykes and dislocations, as to render fruitless all attempts to determine its 

 general strike. 



It will be seen by the Map, that the centre of the province is dotted with 

 hills containing igneous rocks ; and the disturbed state of the beds, in their 

 vicinity, may easily be conceived. The smaller hills are composed of con- 



