Table Lands of South India. 311 



with any degree of certainty to be any thing else. Such 

 occur about the flanks of mountain ranges, and in the valley 

 of the Pallar river at Vaniambaddy, and in these districts 

 strata of sandy deposits are to be seen, and also rolled peb- 

 bles and a few rolled blocks. 



The table lands of South India appear to be a peculiar 

 feature of this part of the continent, for among all the imper- 

 fect information to which I have access, I find no descriptions 

 of any similar ranges of mountains. The hills of the Goom- 

 soor country, and of Kimedy in the Northern Circars, are 

 tracts of this kind, and in the Salem and the Barramahal 

 there are several. Of these the best known are the Shaivary 

 hills, 10 miles N. E. of Salem, the table land of which in ex- 

 tent is about 8 miles long by 2 in width. The Kolly Mally, 

 about 10 miles Eas.t of Namcul is a more extensive tract, con- 

 taining about 60 square miles. The Culry Mally, north of 

 Attoor, contains about 130 square miles. In the Barramahal, 

 there is a small range, the Gailgherry hills, between Tripatore 

 and Vaniambaddy, which contains about 12 square miles, and 

 the Jewaudy hills, SW. of Vellore, which contains about 130 

 square miles. There are besides, a number of smaller tracts 

 about 30 miles south of Oossor. The elevation of the flat 

 surface on all these hills is much about the same, being 

 between 3,500 and 4,500 feet above the sea. 



Of all these ranges, the slopes rise abruptly from the plains 

 of the flat country, and are formed of globular masses and 

 crags of granite, generally euritic ; the ascent is so rough 

 and steep that loaded cattle can neither ascend nor descend 

 them on any side. The flat summits are formed of a number 

 of intersecting low ridges of granite, of nearly the same alti- 

 tude. The hollows between which are filled with schistose 

 rocks and soil, so as to form vallies of not more than \ of a 

 mile in width, above the surface of the plains of which, the 

 ridges of granite project about 100 or 200 feet. 



On the Shairvaroy hills and on the south end of the Jawaudy 



