1842.] of the Himmalay a Mountains. lv 



ever as the green colour is made the discriminative character of chlorite, 

 descriptive geology must notice it as a change. 



111. This latter rock continues in the ascent beyond Teda, assuming 

 latterly a magnesian character, and containing veins of quartz. The 

 transition between magnesian clay slate, and talc slate with which chlo- 

 rite slate is associated, is so common, as to render the above conjecture 

 probable ; masses of a rock which might be called quartz rock are then 

 met with. It is of a fine granular composition and slaty structure ; a little 

 higher an enormous precipice occurs formed of the projecting ends of 

 the strata, and facing the north. This rock is a gneiss of a grey colour, 

 fine granular composition, and perfect schistose structure, and the dip, it 

 would appear from the above, must be South on the Sulan Pass ; again 

 the rock is gneiss, but no observation of the dip could be made. 



112. In the descent from this Pass to the village of Koornoo, so thick 

 is the coat of debris, that not a single example of the rock is to be 

 detected excepting fragments. These are gneiss ; but from Koornoo 

 the rock is finely exposed, particularly in the bed of the stream which 

 leads from the bridge below Koornoo to the foot of the Pass above 

 Surmal, and which here separates the Sutlej basin from that of the 

 Jumna. This stream runs in a narrow gorge with high perpendicular 

 walls on each side, formed of the projecting ends of the strata. 

 These are observed on each side to correspond perfectly, not only as 

 to the seams and directions of the strata, but also in the mineralogical 

 character of the rock. This rock is an ordinary gneiss of a grey colour, 

 and marked schistose character, the strata are sometimes five feet thick, 

 and between them is a distinct separation or fissure; sometimes they are 

 not more than six inches thick, and these changes occur within a very 

 short distance, the dip is regularly S. 40° to 50° E. The inclination 

 15° to 25°. 



113. In the neighbourhood of the Surmal village, gneiss is still found, 

 occasionally, however, almost losing it* felspar and consequently oscil- 

 lating towards micaceous schist or quartz rock. The route from this 

 village to Kuatar, at the head of the Nocor glen, leads along the high 

 ridge which separates the basins of the Sutlej and of the Jumna. 

 This ridge has an elevation in this quarter of from 7000 to 1 1 ,000 feet ; 

 some parts are above the limit of forest. It rises rapidly as it continues 

 upwards, and is seen to be crowned witli snow-bearing peaks at but a 



