1842.] of the Himmalay a Mountains. xciii 



least not readily fissile. The fracture is difficult to obtain, as it splits in 

 various directions with a kind of cleavage, on the face of which it is 

 difficult to discern the mineralogical structure ; the strata are frequently 

 curved, and the dip sometimes reversed. On it lies a rather thick bed 

 of a rock of an argillaceous character, rather one of the shales than 

 a schist. It is loose and unconsolidated, having the appearance of a 

 soft and tender rock which had been crushed ; nothing like marks of 

 stratification are observable. Its colours are various, and with this shat- 

 tered appearance, characteristic ; i. e. green, white, black, purple, red, 

 yellow, all of decided tone, and changing often within a limited space. 

 On this lies the diluvian deposit of rounded stones and gravel, which 

 notwithstanding all the inequalities of the ground, and they are great 

 and numerous, has its upper surface perfectly even and almost level. It 

 is to be remarked, that wherever these beds are visible in their lowest 

 limit, they are always found resting on these shatteied masses of shale, 

 and never in any instance on the sandstone. 



205. In this rock we take leave of the argillaceous strata which we 

 have now to follow out in the route leading from Almorah to Bhu- 

 mouree. The micaceous schist beds, the details of which, as before observ- 

 ed, we will postpone till we come to the description of the granite, con- 

 tinue beyond Powree, the first stage, to within a short distance of the 

 halting place, Ramgur, on the summit of the Sohakatee Pass. It is 

 exchanged for a very hard bluish grey rock, with much of the external 

 aspect of limestone, but non- effervescent, or very rarely so, and in a low 

 degree. It is marked with stripes of a darker colour, breaks with a 

 sub-conchoidal fracture, the grain of which shews it to be a composed 

 rock, but so small is it, that there is difficulty in determining precisely 

 what are the ingredients. Mica and quartz are evident, and a dark 

 mineral, which may be either indurated clay or hornblende ; some speci- 

 mens contain also carbonate of lime. It forms a lengthened mass in the 

 micaceous schist, being observed to descend to the bed of the Ramgur, 

 and rise on the opposite side, holding an oblique course across the valley 

 for a considerable distance, which is easily traced, owing to the peculiar 

 surface character of the rock. From all the characters of the mass 

 I am very much inclined to consider it as a vein. 



206. Below the Pass, we have a white schistose quartz rock of rather 

 arenaceous composition. It may contain a small quantity of felspar. 





