cxlvi Report of the Mineralogical Survey [No. 126*. 



308. Southward of the great belt of argillaceous schist, which 

 forms the plainward termination of the series of schists, we find a 

 narrow strip of secondary rocks, mostly, if not entirely, the newer red 

 or saliferous sandstone. This formation presents little to interest us, 

 excepting in the promise which its position here gives of more 

 valuable deposits further South. It is always stratified, and the dip 

 is most commonly conformable to that of the primary strata. At 

 Hurdwar, the strata on opposite sides of the river dip in opposite direc- 

 tions. It differs extremely in character, being sometimes a red clay, 

 which occasionally contains rounded stones, sometimes a regular 

 sandstone conglomerate, often loose sand. It is remarkable for the 

 quantity of mica it contains, and for the series of bright colours it pre- 

 sents often within a very short distance. It contains brown coal 

 (bituminous mineral coal,) but in what quantity is not known. 



309. Lastly, we have lying at the southern foot of this sandstone 

 range, and also occupying the several vallies bounded by it, a deposit of 

 great depth, but not disposed in strata, consisting of gravel and sand, 

 including large boulders or rounded stones of every magnitude up to 

 three feet diameter. The extent of this diluvium, as we may call it, is 

 very great, it occupies «i track 192 miles in length, and nearly 10 in 

 breadth. But the length is probably much greater, as it is not unrea- 

 sonable to infer, that it is conterminous with the sandstone range, which 

 certainly extends from the Indus to the Burhampooter. Outside of the 

 tract of diluvium, a red earthy marl is found intermixed with patches 

 of sand, and a blue clay, very similar in character to that of the London 

 clay, is found to underline these. In the neighbourhood of Hansee, a 

 fresh water limestone is met with, containing perfect shells of the 

 genera melania and planorbis. 



CONCLUSION. 



Section IV. 



310. From the particulars given in Section I, may be collected the 

 fact of a considerable difference of physical aspect between these 

 mountains and the Andes, the chain with which it has been most usual 

 to compare them. Instead of the confused and irregular appearance, the 



