HO FOOTE : GEOLOGY OF THE BELLARY DISTRICT. 



flows out of the Sandur valley. The scenery in the gorge is very fine, 

 and so also are the views of it both from the east and west. 



One of the most conspicuous objects in the Bhimagandi gorge is a 

 oreat detached rock which rises in the middle of the valley on the 

 north (left) bank of the Narihalla. The river evidently in former 

 ao-es flowed round its northern side as well, and isolated it entirely 

 from the great haematite quartzite bed, which towers up conspicu- 

 ously about the middle of the gorge. The detached rock forms a 

 double crate in the pass, the river flowing through the southern one, 

 and the high road passing through the northern one. Newbold, in 

 his article on Sandur State, describes it in some detail. It shows con- 

 spicuously in the accompanying sketch (Plate IV) of the Bhimagandi 

 gorge, taken from the foot of the hill 2\ miles east of the mouth of 

 the pass. The Oblagandi gorge, by which Narihalla enters the 

 Sandur valley, is hidden by the gate rock, which also hides the north 

 side of the second gate made by the Nandgarh ridge. 



The finest object, however, is the Nandgarh ridge, which forms the 

 second or western portal in the Bhimagandi gorge. 

 It is slightly inverted, having a very high easterly 

 dip. It towers up over the Narihalla river in the most commanding 

 way, and the small fort which crowns it must have been perfectly 

 impregnable in olden times, except by blockading and starving out the 

 garrison. It consists of a moderately ferruginous and decidedly 

 jaspery haematite quartzite. Its southern extension into the Donimale 

 plateau forms a very important bed, which shows conspicuously on the 

 south side of the gorge, and which will have to be referred to when 

 dealing with the south-eastern division. 



To the north-west of this Nandgarh bed is a deep recess in the 



ridge known as the Bhimtirth. It is surrounded 



by fine haematite quartzite scarps and, being full 



of trees, is a very pretty spot. It owes its existence to the eroding 



action continued through long ages of the small watercourse which 



comes down from the saddle between the Nandgarh bed and the 



Bhimtirth bed. The recess is really a wide ravine with very cliffy 



scarps in its upper half. 



(no ) 



