RECENT VOLCANOES. 2 J I 



The Koh-i-Tafddn} 

 The largest of the volcanoes visited is the K6h-i-Tafda*n 

 in Persia. It still shows signs of activity. Owing to the Baluch's 

 corrupt pronunciation of Persian the word has been variously 

 spelt Daftan, Daptan ) Diptan } and Taptan. It is also called 

 K6h-i-Chehilta*n. In atlas maps it is often indicated as " K6h-i-Taf- 

 tcln " or " K6h-i-Naushada, " which means " the mountain of sal- 

 ammoniac." But this is a confusion arising from the fact that the 

 latter name belongs to another volcanic cone not far distant, the 

 K6h-i-Basman. Upon enquiry I found that none of the inhabitants 

 in the district cf Ladis know of any other names but K6h-i-Tafda*n and 

 K6h-i-Chehilta*n as applicable to the mountain which is about to be 

 described, while Pottinger gives the name K6h-i-Naushada to the 

 Basman volcano. 



The earliest mention that I have found of the Koh-i-Tafda'n is in 

 H£ji Abdul Nabi's account of a journey through 



Previous observers. _ t ' J . ^ 



Baluchistan. 2 It is mentioned also by W. T. 

 Blanford, 8 Sir C. M. MacGregor, 4 General and Captain McMahon. 6 

 It was ascended in December, 1893, by Colonel Sykes and by Major 

 Brazier-Creagh. 



1 only visited its northern slopes ; but in that direction the distance 



from the highest summit of the peak up to the 



Size of cone. , r 



edge of the volcanic formation is over twelve 

 miles. If the volcano extends to as great a distance in every 

 direction, its diameter must be as much as twenty-five miles, exceed- 

 ing in superficies the dimensions of Etna. 



When travelling from Ladis to Timi along a tributary of the Ladis 

 river the first recent volcanic formation met with is a buff-coloured 

 rock terminating northward in a low scarp and overlying the ancient 

 flysch strata (see frontispiece). This buff-coloured rock is formed of 

 ash-beds dipping away from the centre of the great volcano at a very 



1 Wrongly spelt K6h-i-Taftan on the maps; tafdan = smoking. 



3 Journ. As. Soc. of Bengal, Vol. X1I1 (1844), pp. 694-96. 

 i Eastern Persia, Vol. II, p. 481. 



4 Wanderings in Balochistan, p. 190. 



B (Juart. Journ. Geol. Soc, Vol.. LIU (1897), p. 292. 

 6 Geogr. Journ., Vol. X (1897), P« 5 8 6. 



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