MEMOIRS 



OF 



THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 



The Geology of South Malabar, between the Beypore and 

 Ponnani Rivers, by Philip Lake, B.A., F.G.S., Geological 

 Survey of India. 



Introduction. 

 The portion of Malabar to be described in this report lies, for the 

 most part, between the Beypore 1 and Ponndni Rivers, and stretches 

 from the sea on the west to the Ghats on the east. The Western 

 Ghats are here much further from the coast than they are to the 

 north and south, so that South Malabar lies in a sort of bay. To the 

 north of this bay are the Wynaad Hills, which reach to within a few 

 miles of the sea. To the east are the Nilgiris and Palghit Hills, 

 which are 40 or 50 miles from the coast. To the south the Western 

 Ghats (Cochin Hills) again draw nearer to the sea and form the 

 southern boundary of the " bay." 



Topography. 

 The coast is low and sandy, with a few reefs of Iaterite at the 

 mouths of the Kadalhundi and Beypore Rivers. There are narrow 

 backwaters and some wide marshy tracts that lie nearly at the sea- 

 level ; but the whole backwater system is very small compared with 

 that of Travancore. It is in this region that cocoanut palms are 

 most numerous ; and it is probably by the binding power of their roots 



1 In this paper the rivers are named after the chief towns at their mouths, and 

 tributaries after the chief towns on their banks. 



( 20I ) 

 Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Vol. XXIV, Pt. 3. 



