l82 VREDENBURG: SKETCH OF BALOCHISTAN DESERT. 



The boundary commissions of 1870-72 which defined the eastern 

 frontier of the Persian Empire in the Mekra*n and in Seistan afforded 

 ample opportunity for the study of those districts till then so seldom 

 visited. The results of these investigations have been recorded in 

 the first volume of u Eastern Persia/' and in various contributions 

 to scientific publications. 1 



In 1872, Dr. Blanford accompanied by Sir O. St. John accom- 

 plished a journey the results of which both 



W. T. Blanford, 1872. ,.,,,., . . ., , 



zoological and geological are given in the second 

 volume of " Eastern Persia '\ 3 Although the districts examined by 

 Dr. Blanford lie west of those upon which I am reporting, yet this 

 is the most important contribution bearing directly upon the geology 

 of the region. Upon perusal of this work, anyone who has travelled 

 in the desert of Baluchistan cannot but be struck by the evident 

 similarity of the adjoining Persian provinces. In fact, from a 

 geographical as well as a geological point of view, the two evidently 

 belong to one region. Amongst the points which particularly invite 

 attention are the almost exclusive predominance of upper cretaceous 

 and lower tertiary strata, the volcanic rocks of the same age 

 associated with them, the high angles of dip and considerable 

 amount of disturbance of these rocks. 3 The recent deposits, the 

 gravel terraces, the various features of the physical geography are 

 quite similar to what is seen further east. Many details of great 

 interest are given respecting the recent and sub-recent cones of the 



1 Eastern Persia, an account of the Journeys of the Persian Boundary Commission, 1870-71- 

 72. Vol. I. The Geography with narratives by'Majors St. John, Lovett, and Ewan Smith and 

 an Introduction by Major-General Sir F. J. Goldsmid, C.B., K.C.S.I. London, Macmillan 

 and Co., 1876. 



" Journey from Bandar Abbas to Mash-had by Sistan, with some account of the last- 

 nam-»d Province," by Major-General Sir F. J. Goldsmid. Journal of the Royal Geographi- 

 cal Society, Vol. XLIII (1873), pp. 65-83. 



" Narrative of a Visit to the Kuh-i-Khwajah in Sistan," by Major B. Lovett. lb. Vol. 

 XLIV (1874), pp. I4S-I52. 



3 "Eastern Persia. Vol II, the Zoology and Geology," by W. T. Blanford (London, 

 1876). 



8 lb. p. 461. 



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