207 COTTER: SODA INDUSTRY OF SIND. 



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Umarkot, (he general direction is N.E.-S.W.. or E.NJJ.-W.S.W. 

 Near Khipro the direotioH changes fco N.E. by N. and finally N.N. PI 

 in Sanghar taluqa and tin- south of Khairpur State. In that part 

 of Khairpur State which lies west of the Nara, the direction of the 

 hints is almost duo north. Mr. R. I). Oldham, in the 2nd edition 

 of the Manual of the Geology of India, 1 has explained and illustrated 

 the formation of the sand-hills of (he Siiul desert. He recognises 

 tAvo types of sand-hills, (1) the longitudinal ridges or hhits, aligned 

 as has been noted above, parallel to the direction of the monsoon 

 winds, and (2) the transverse dnnos, aligned more irregularly, but 

 generally transversely to the prevailing direction of the wind. 

 Oldham remarks that " (he restriction of the longitudinal type of 

 sand-hill fco the seaward anl western margins of fche desert appears 

 to show thai they are, connected with a greater wind force than 

 the transverse type." 



In the area with which I am dealing, the most southerly portion 

 of the sand-covered country in the Khipro taluqa, is characterised 

 by long parallel sand-hills. Between the sand-hills, the old original 

 alluvial soil, which must everywhere underlie the sand-hills, is 

 either at or very close to the surface. The valleys between the 

 bint* or sa.ud-rangos are locally known as talis, or titllees as spelt 

 on the maps. 



The winds which blow from the Rami of Kachh are strongest 

 near the coast, and in this coastal area characterised by strong 

 winds, the bhiis are in unconnected parallel ridges. The further 

 north we travel, the more do we observe the bhits to be connected 

 by transverse ridges. In the southern part of the Khairpur State 

 west of the Nara, the bhits or sand-hills have in places almost a 

 haphazard appearance, although the north-south trend of the 

 larger bhits cannot fail to be noticed if looked for. This is a region 

 of small oval shaped talis (valleys or hollows between the sand- 

 hills) some of which contain shallow lakes (dhands) and some of 

 Which are dry but studded with green shrubs and trees. The same 

 features are found on the east of the Nara in Khairpur State for a 

 distance of about 25 miles from this canal. 



The eastern part of the Khairpur State lies in a rather different 

 type of country. To the east of the old fort of Kot Jubo the, 



l ManHalcf theGeoL of Ind. f 2nd edition, p. 455. 



See also Holland and Christie, Rec. Geol. 8ur. Ind.. Vol. XXXVIII, p. 163. 



