2$2 VREDENBURG: SKETCH OF BALtJCHISTAN DESERT. 



In fact it seems as far as can be judged from a distance, that the 

 two outcrops of volcanic strata coalesce into one, in the • neigh- 

 bourhood of the locality called Kanian ; but I have not made sure of 

 this by actual observation. The syncline of tertiary rocks consists 

 princ'pally of slaty shales with some narrow limestone bands con- 

 taining nummulites. Underlying these nummulitic strata and 

 immediately overlying the bedded tuffs are those same bright coloured 

 shales and flaggy limestones that were already mentioned when 

 describing the Nimik Pass Section (page 50) ; in the present case 

 they are also highly cleaved. 



With the possible exception of the rocks at (k) (Fig. 4), which 

 I have not visited, there is nothing but tertiary rocks between the 

 Charian range and the Kharan plain. The Kharan plain here is much 

 lower in altitude than in the case of the sections hitherto described. 

 It has become a broad desert of alluvial "pat" and sand dunes. 

 South of the Charian range the mountains consist of innumerable 

 ranges of slates ; the beds are sharply contorted, causing them to dip 

 at very high angles, as is shown in the illustration (PI. X) of the 

 hill at Zard. We have here an instance of the irregularities 

 mentioned above with respect to the strike : the strata shown in this 

 picture dip io° E. of N. at 75 , the strike being therefore in this 

 special instance io° N. of W., while the general trend of the ranges 

 is W. S. W. The shaly beds are everywhere converted into slates, 

 but nummulites are still recognisable in the limestone bands. 



A considerable limestone band gives rise to a tall range north 

 of Jalawar. Sections of nummulites are clearly seen upon the 

 weathered surface of the rock (i in section, Fig. 4) . It is under- 

 laid by sandstones containing volcanic material and by shales which 

 are not cleaved to the same extent as those met with along the 

 main portion of the section. The limestone belongs probably to the 

 Ranikot horizon like the one described in the Shekh Hosein section 

 (page 48). It seems that there is again a limestone at Jalawar, at the 

 edge of the desert plain (k in section). It is not only of geological 

 but also historical interest, as it carries an inscription several centuries 



( 54 ) 



