1847.] Geological Notes on Zillak Shahabad, or Arrah. 279 



he received Alexander's ambassador Antiochus ; this is strange, and if 

 correct, we shall again be at fault as to Asoka and the pillar inscrip- 

 tions. I beg to invite attention to this subject. 



I shall never feel satisfied till I shall have seen Pawapuri, Burgaon, 

 Giryek, Raja-griha and Behar, and several other places which have been 

 pointed out to me. I hope the time is not far distant ; until then I must 

 take leave of the Viharas. 



Geological Notes on Zillak Skahabad, or Arrah. — By Lieut. 

 W. S. Sherwill. 



The southern portion of Zillah Arrah, or Shahabad, is occupied by 

 an elevated plateau of table-land, forming the eastern extremity of 

 the Kymore range of sandstone mountains. From whichever side it is 

 viewed, it presents a series of high bluffs, or precipices, similar to those 

 so often seen on sea coasts ; these precipices, varying from 300 to 1500 

 feet in perpendicular height, are supported by bulging buttresses cover- 

 ed with almost impenetrable bamboo forests. The summit of this 

 extensive plateau is covered with forests of Ebony, Saloogunje, a few 

 Saul, and a variety of other trees, and has several ranges of low hills 

 traversing it in various directions ; many rugged and deep valleys indent 

 the northern face, which is of a much less elevation than the southern 

 face. These valleys, extending for ten or twelve miles into the body 

 of the table-land, gradually contract in width from one mile to a few 

 hundred yards, similar valleys branching off from them laterally. The 

 ends of these valleys terminate abruptly in mural precipices, down which, 

 during the rainy season, mountain streams are precipitated with a deaf- 

 ening roar. These valleys present to the traveller views of exceeding 

 beauty : in many spots where they happen to be only a few hundred 

 yards across, the deep shade at mid-day caused by the dense foliage 

 and perpendicular walls a thousand feet in height, is quite a phenome- 

 non for India. The most extensive of these valleys, or as they are styled 

 by the natives k'hohs, is that through which the Doorgoutee river 

 flows ; a more beautiful spot it is difficult to imagine ; at the spot where 

 the Doorgoutee falls from the table-land, the valley named Kudhur-k'hoh, 

 is only a few hundred feet in width, dark, deep and cold ; immediately 



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