MANDALAY-LASHIO RAILWAY TRAVERSE. 



345 



that is to say, to within 8 miles of the mines, through the red 

 Namyau beds. A bridge then carries the line across the Nam-Tu, 

 and beyond this a descending series of rocks is passed through, in- 

 cluding the Plateau Limestone, the Namhsim sandstone, Naung- 

 kangyi beds, and the Bawdwin grits and volcanic tuffs. 



From Manhpwi the main line continues for about four miles over 

 r: ,,, . T . . Plateau Limestone, and then enters the red 



Manhpwi to Lashio. . -. . . . . T . , . 



beds, leaving them again near lnai, and after 

 passing through a narrow limestone ridge, enters the broad valley 

 in which Lashio is situated. This is the present terminus of the 

 railway ; but it may be well to complete the account of the 

 traverse by a brief description of the country between Lashio and the 

 Salween. 



From Lashio the road descends over a gently sloping, undulat- 



, , . , „ , ing plateau to the Namyau, about 5 miles 



Lashio to the Salween. . i i 



distant. On the left bank close to the crossing, 



o springs. a large hot spring is situated on a fissure which 



may be traced running diagonally across the river to the north-east, 



its course being indicated by the bubbling up of the hot water in the 



river bed. Just above the crossing the red beds again come in, 



striking across the valley in the same direction. On the north 



bank of the river we at once enter upon the late Tertiary silts of 



the Lashio coal-field, which extend along the 



Lashio coal-field. , . , r ., . 



road for about 15 miles, resting equally on the 

 Namyau beds and on the Plateau Limestone. They may be recognised 

 by the low, mound-like, grass-covered hills, separated by terraced strips 

 of cultivated ground and sluggish streams, into which they are worn. 

 Beyond the coal-field the road passes for several miles over a hilly 

 tract composed of a broad band of the red Namyau beds, a continua - 

 tion of the band which is seen on the map running along the northern 

 flanks of the Loi Len range, and which blocks up the valley, the 

 river forcing a passage through it in a deep gorge. We then descend, 

 into another broad valley, in which the large village of Mong- 

 ^ yaw is situated, the floor of which is entirely 



composed of the Plateau Limestone. An 

 oolitic variety of this rock, which crops out in a group of low 



hills to the north and west of the village, 

 stones? minifCraI HmC ' contains minute Foraminifera, Endothyra, Tex- 



tularia, etc., which may be seen in thin 

 sections of the rock under the microscope (Plate 12, figs. 1, 2, and 

 Plate 13, fig. 1). 



