238 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 



Dr. King in the Godavari delta. An important gap in our knowledge 

 of the Sub-Himalayan tertiaries was also filled up by the season's 

 work. Messrs. Medlicott, Theobald, and Lydekker made an outline 

 survey of the broad band of tertiary deposits flanking the Pir 

 Panjal in the Jammu territory, thus connecting previous work in 

 the Cis Ravi and Trans-Jhelam regions. In the east, in Upper 

 Assam, Mr. Mallet completed his survey of the coal fields of the 

 Naga hills, which for quality and quantity of the coal, rank as the 

 most important of the Indian carboniferous deposits, although 

 entirely of tertiary age, possibly even of middle tertiary.* On the 

 south-west extension of the Sub-Himalayan series, Mr. Blanford, 

 assisted by Mr. Fedden, accomplished a good season's work on the 

 tertiary deposits in Sind. A preliminary sketch of these formations 

 from the previous season's field work was published by Mr. Blanford 

 in the " Records " for 1876 (p. 8). 



Early in 1876 Mr. Blanford made an important trip across the 

 desert east of the Indus, through Umarkot and Balmir to Jodhpur, 

 and back through Jaisalmer to Rohri. Interesting information was 

 thus gained regarding a great area of Western Rajputana, pre- 

 viously almost unknown, and of the region traversed by the Arvali 

 mountains, a tract believed to be formed entirely of gneissic and 

 transition rocks, the remains of an exceedingly ancient mountain 

 system or area of special disturbance. The main difficulty here 

 demanding solution is the occurrence within a moderately large area 

 of several strong rock groups, having much mutual resemblance, 

 and each independently in natural contact with a fundamental 

 gneiss. 



The survey sustained an irreparable loss during 1876 in the 

 retirement of Dr. Thomas Oldham, F.R.S., the able and eminent 

 superintendent, whose services will be found briefly recorded in the 

 Memoir on the Indian Surveys. He was succeeded by Mr. H. B. 

 Medlicott. Mr. Tween, the chemist to the survey, also retired, 

 after a service extending over 15 years. 



A first-class medal was awarded for the exhibits of the Geological 

 Survey of India at the Congres International des Sciences 

 Geographiques, held at Paris in 1875. 



During 1877 two comparatively new regions were explored by 

 Mr. Lydekker and Dr. Ball, respectively, one being the mountains 



* See Part 2 of Ibe Memoirs of tbe Geological Surve}' of India, Vol. XII. 



