1869.] Geological Notes on the Khasi Hills. 13 



the sandstone being so friable and soft, it was very difficult to obtain 

 perfect specimens. 



From the top of the ridge, looking north and west, the view was a 

 curious one, and showed the geological features very strikingly. 

 This was principally due to the hard sandstone of the Maokerasi 

 plateau which, I believe, to be exactly the same as that on which the 

 station of Cherra Poonjee is built, and it occurs precisely on the same 

 horizon as regards the nummulitic limestone. I give a panoramic 

 sketch, taken from Nongkulang, which will give, I trust, an idea of 

 this portion of the Khasi Hills, with those of the Grarow hills in the 

 extreme distance. (See Plate IV.)* 



In such interminable forests, as here cover the country, it is not an 

 easy task on first coming upon a new series of beds to make them out, 

 and be quite certain of their relative position. I was inclined to think 

 the fossils I had found, bore a cretaceous type, and again the perfect 

 horizontally of the limestone did not appear conformable with the 

 southerly inclination of the sandstone, which is about 5 — 7 degrees. We 

 may account for this by the difference in their mode of deposit. The 

 Molluscs in the upper beds point to a shallow sea with, in all probability, 

 a sloping bottom. The limestone partakes in many places of a southerly 

 incline, even very perceptible further west. To clear up this point, I 

 made several excursions around this ridge, and was successful in 

 finding several good sections. One of the best of these sections is to 

 be seen on the path that leads from the old and deserted village of 

 Nongkulang, to the new site of the same ; it was at first a somewhat 

 puzzling one. Leaving the trigonometrical station for some distance 

 west, the main ridge on which it stands, is followed ; it soon falls, 

 the ferruginous sandy clays and shales continuing all the way to the 

 first considerable ravine, and on the left bank of this, limestone 

 comes suddenly in, but does not extend to the right bank. By 

 following down this narrow ravine bed, the section d, represented on 

 plate VI, with plan, in the nummulitic series was displayed. In this 

 section r represents the hard white coloured limestone ; s, where the 

 path crossed the bed of the ravine, is a blue clay, four feet thick, resting 



* There is one error I must point out, i. c. the peak of W anrhy is too far to 

 the north, its true position is immediately over Pudengru scarp. This mistake 

 originated by my putting in Wanrhy from another sketch, the peak at the 

 time having been obscured by haze. 



