GEOLOGY OF THE AREA. . 33 



nd the pellety laterite by fluviatile or pluvial action. Our results 

 may then be tabulated thus ; — 



Group. Nature of the Laterite. Origin, 



Plateau laterite. Vesicular. Non-detrital. 



Terrace ,, Pellety. Detrital. 



Valley ,, Partly vesicular, partly Partly non-detrital. 



pellety. partly detrital* 



Speaking generally, laterite in Malabar has been formed by the 

 decomposition of gneiss and the partial re-arrangement by the 

 mechanical action of water of the resulting materials. In other 

 words, it is really a soil. 



In many cases most of the oxide of iron which is collected 

 together by concretionary action remains in situ } while the clay 

 is washed away. In other cases, however, the oxide of iron is 

 washed away with the clay and forms laterite in some other place. 

 However it has been formed, the laterite is always liable to be broken 

 up and re-deposited elsewhere in the form of pellety laterite. 



Recent Deposits. 

 The deposits in South Malabar of later origin than the laterite are 

 not of much importance and need only be alluded to. 



Lieutenant Newbold 1 describes the bank of the Beypore River 

 near Beypore as made up of the following series of beds : — 



Ft. 



Sandy alluvial soil ........ 4 



Loose sandstone with beds of ochreous earth 



Gritty sandstone passing into gritty laterite, the 



variegated with red and yellow bands . 



Carboniferous stratum, a few inches to 



It has been suggested (District Manual, p 

 the representatives of the Warkilli beds. But there is no proof 

 that this is the case. 



My own stay at Beypore was short, and I did not find the carboni- 

 ferous stratum mentioned by Lieutenant Newbold. The banks of 

 the river are partly marine and partly fluviatile deposits, and. irregular 

 seams of lignite may be expected to occur in these. 



1 Madras Journal of Literature and Science, Vol. XI, p. 239 et. seq. 

 D ( 233 ) 



. 10 



lower part 



. 20 



. S 



21) that these are 



