NORTH CACHAR HILLS. 71 



denuded Irrawaddi beds, and the country over which they are 

 deposited shows they must have been the alluvium of a very large 

 river. This river was most probably the Irrawaddi, and the level 

 of these alluvial beds is not much above the present level of that 

 river, of which they are probably an older alluvium. 



The Geology of the Mikir Hills in Assam, by F. H. Smith, 



A.R.C.S., Depict y Superintendent \ Geological Survey of 



India. (With PL 4). 



The Mikir hills occupy a tract of country lying to the south of 



the Brahmaputra, between Nowgong and Golaghat. They are 



separated from the Naga hills, on the east, by the Dhansiri valley or 



Nambor forest', and from the North Cachar hills, on the south, by 



the Lumding plain. 



The Jamuna river, with its tributary the Deolao, cuts through the 

 hills from east to west, some 20 miles north of Lumding, dividing 

 them into the north and south Mikir hills, the former also being 

 known as the Rengma hills. 



I started for the Mikir hills from Silchar, and thus had to traverse 

 the North Cachar hills en route. I followed the course of the Assam- 

 Bengal railway through these hills, ascending the Jatinga valley to 

 the small station of Haflong, and thence turning northwards across 

 the hills to Lumding, which is situated at the southern corner of the 



Mikir hills. 



North Cachar Hills. 



The geology of the North Cachar hills, as seen along the railway 

 line, appears to be very simple, the visible rocks being confined to 

 the upper Tertiaries. 



At the mouth of the Jatinga valley, one mile north of Balicberra, 

 there is a low ridge composed of rounded sandstone boulders, some* 

 times loosely cemented together in a sandy matrix. The Jating 



( 7' ) 



