6 



TOPOaRAPHY OF THE 



south of the Sohan ; but the map shows no such sharp-edged topography, owmg no 

 doubt to the thick covering of the newer rocks above, as far as to the Salt Range. 



c. In the Salt Range part of the region, the nummulitic rocks rise very high, gene- 

 rally in a double saddle with a small basin between, but have commonly pretty gentle 

 dips especially towards the north. Sometimes the dip is so gentle as to give rise to 

 something like the square-edged topography already noticed ; for example, at Chin- 

 noor, Hungooch and Dooma. But the dip is often too steep for this, and the topog- 

 raphy is then blunt-edged in character, as in the hills northeast of the Salt Range 

 at Jaba near Kalabagh and many parts of the Salt Range itself. There are even in 

 this case often short vertical cliffs, but the shape of the land above them is steeper 

 than where the rocks lie level, though less steep than where the rocks dip very steeply. 

 At Aluggud there is a very uniform dip of about 25°, and a nearly corresponding 

 steepness to the hill on one side ; but certain soft thick layers of clay or shales are 

 so protected by harder layers of sand rock or lime I'ock as to form vertical walls on 

 the other side of the hills. Had the dip been much steeper, the clay and shales 

 would doubtless have been wholly washed away to water level leaving the harder sand 

 rock and lime rock layers standing, if these were thick enough to hold themselves up. 



3. The progress of the wearing away with time gives rise to varieties of these main 

 topographical characters. The tendency is to bring the whole country finally to the 

 level of the sea ; but progress towards this end is, of course, more rapid in the water 

 courses than elsewhere. Little elevation above neighboring drainage levels by les- 

 sening the force of the streams makes the progress slower. 



We have, therefore, in a square-edged district, first, flat land with crooked, mean- 

 dering, almost aimless streams, as shown in the low country south of the Salt Range 

 and perhaps in some patches north of ISTummul and elsewhere, as well as along some 

 large streams, l^ext the country becomes uneven ; and if the surface to some depth 

 is uniformly soft, the land becomes rolling, as perhaps in some large patches north of 

 the Salt Range ; if the surface is somewhat harder, it will so last and shelter the 

 rocks below, as to give rise to long cliffs and gorges, as near Chinnoor, Hungooch 

 and Dooma and elsewhere along the northern side of the Salt Range, and at ]N^ur- 

 singpuhar and other places on the southern side. In the course of time, however, 

 after the streams have cut down to their lowest level, these cliffs must recede farther 

 and farthei- from the streams, though at length with great slowness, and finally the 

 whole country becomes again a dead level, if it remain undisturbed long enough. 



But where the rivers, as in the higher country, flow among rocks that have a decided 

 dip, their direction is of coui'se much influenced by the strike of the rocks. It is 

 very plain, I'or example, that the Sohan follows in general the strike of the lower 



