STRAT1GRAPHICAL FEATURES. 



73 



which the lower and greatest portion of it belongs to the rhaetic system, 

 whilst only the shell limestones which cap these strata can be identi- 

 fied as lias and that of an Alpine facies. 



The general succession of these two systems I found to be almost 

 uniformly the same in all the sections which I have examined. It is 

 in descending order: 



s 



u 



CO 



V) 

 I- C 



<u o 

 •2*-= 



1" 

 16 



14 



Lithological character of 

 divisions. 



Zones of 



Alpine 

 equivalents. 



Lias 



Black shales, and dark earthy 

 limestones, with oolitic struc- 

 ture. 



Contain lower lias re- 

 mains. 



Gresten beds. 



RHjETIC. 



Passage beds. 



Grey Crinoid limestone in irre- 

 gular thin beds. 



Terebratula horia Sss. 

 Gervillia inflata 

 Schfk. 



Starhemberg fa- 

 cies of the 

 Koisen beds. 



I(. 



Lithodendron limestone in thick 

 beds, with a lower " Kossen " 

 horizon. 



Lithodendron , 



Lithodendron 

 limestone. 



IK 



Great thickness of limestone and 

 dolomites. 



M egalodon sp. 



Dachstein lime-, 

 stone. 



x 



A 



w J 



H 



Great thickness of dolomites ; 

 great thickness of flaggy dark 

 limestones, with thick-bedded 

 dolomites which gradually pass 

 downwards into the upper 

 trias. 



Lithodendron . 



Haupt dolomite. 



Rhaetic and liassic limestones cover a very large area in the 



higher Himalayas and follow generally the limits 

 Distribution. 



of the distribution of the trias, in fact usually 



cap the latter, presenting gigantic scarps towards the south, with a 



dip-slope gradually falling towards the north where the complex of 



rhaetic-lias beds is overlaid by Jurassic Spiti shales. Excepting 



where ravines have cut through these immense blocks of rhaetics, 



the greater part of this system forms inaccessible precipices, but 



( 73 ) 



