1842.] of the Himmalaya Mountains. cliii 



described. The great extent of gneiss, the limited occurrence of 

 granite, its situation in the zone of least elevation, the want of a 

 regular consecutive order in the super-position of the schists ; these 

 are sufficient to shew the total dissimilarity of nature and system. 

 But we shall find much greater differences than these, as we descend to 

 the details. It has been supposed, that in every chain of mountains, 

 the strata dip outwards, that is, from the summit the dip on op- 

 posite sides is in an opposite direction, and it is obvious that such 

 must be the state of things, supposing the origin of the stratified rocks 

 to be as Werner has taught. But in these mountains this is by 

 no means a description of the fact, for the strata, abstracting local 

 exceptions, have but one dip, and that is, on one side towards the 

 chain, on the other from it. The same arrangement obtains in the 

 ghauts of Rewah and Bundlekhund, that is, their dip is only in 

 one direction ; and it is worthy of remark, that the precipitous side 

 in that chain is also directed towards the great diluvial valley of the 

 Ganges, which is thus bounded on opposite sides by the perpendicular 

 faces of the strata. 



329. Such being the arrangement which obtains, it becomes difficult 

 to understand clearly the order of super-position of the rocks that are 

 found south of the gneiss tract. It is no doubt a very singular feature 

 in the structure of these mountains, and is the more interesting, as 

 being apparently in direct opposition to opinions which have been 

 so generally received. In the accompanying diagram,* it is evident 

 that the gneiss strata at A. prolonged, would be over those at B., which 

 succeed the gneiss in travelling southward, and this remark holds good 

 throughout down to the plains, for the strata always dip conformably or 

 sufficiently near, so as to establish this conclusion. Were the effect to 

 stop with merely placing clay slate or mica slate superior to the 

 Himalaya gneiss, there would not be the actual difficulty; for we know, 

 that within certain limits, there is no exact and universally true order 

 of super-position, though the contrary is stated by systematic writers, 

 (Art. 12.) But in this particular case, the most generally received posi- 

 tion in geology would be violated, for by supposing that no dislocation 

 or separation of the strata has taken place, we should have clay slate, 



* We trust, as before stated, that the figures and diagrams will be recovered with the 

 geological map, when we shall not fail to give them to the public— Ed. 



x 



