410 Mr. Fraser's Geological Observations made 



vailing inclination of the strata is directed to the north-east at an angle which 

 varies from 30' to 60°; but it is by no means uniform^ and in many places may 

 be seen convolutions like those which the layers of wood affect when turned 

 by knots out of their regular course. 



On the other side the hills are lower^ and the strata more continuous and 

 horizontal; they consist of limestone and clay intermixed as in what are called 

 the Kunker banks in the valley of the Ganges^ the Jumna, and other Indian 

 rivers. The limestone forms hard nodules, which are collected and burnt. 

 These strata oftendip in a contrary direction to those on the opposite bank. 

 At the bottom of the valley are found agglutinated pieces of limestone and 

 serpentin : the latter may be derived from a range composed of this rock 

 which is found in the neighbourhood. Neither on the high ground nor in 

 the valley is there in general the least appearance of soil, still less of vegeta- 

 tion. The surface is every where cracked as if it had been exposed to the 

 action of heat. 



Such is the country that fell under my observation ; and the description I 

 have given would, I think, apply to the whole district. There are several 

 springs both warm and cold, and the places where they break out are gene- 

 rally indicated by a village and a few date trees. These springs are not met 

 with as you advance into the interior of the country. The temperature of 

 one which I visited I found to be 111^° Fahrenheit : the water was perfectly 

 sweet, and used both for drinking and irrigation ; it took its rise in a cave of 

 red limestone. Sparry iron ore is found in the limestone : the relative posi- 

 tion of the limestone and serpentin could not be determined. 



BOMBARAK ROCK. 



From Muscat I crossed the Persian Gulf, and having doubled Cape Jask 

 made an insulated mountain known to mariners by the name of Bombarak 

 rock, and called by the natives of the country Kobe Mubaruc or the Fortunate 

 Hill. It consists of a limestone similar to that of Muscat : from the unequal 

 hardness of the several beds of this rock, it exhibits a series of steps or terraces 

 resembling those formed by the basaltic and amygdaloidal beds of the Jam 

 Ghat, the Boar Ghat, and the high mountains which separate the Concan and 

 lower lands of India from the Decan: these limestone terraces are seen for a 

 considerable way along the coast. 



The Quoins or Coins rocks rise boldly from the sea, and in appearance and 

 structure resemble that of Bombarak ; they are situate nearly at the entrance 

 of the Gulf of Persia. 



