PUNJAB OIL EEGIOlSr. 



3 



On the south the Salt Range falls abruptly to a very level plain that spreads far and 

 wide at about 7 50 feet above the sea. In the very southwesternmost corner of the 

 region the mountains west of the Indus come close to it at Kafir Ivot, and run southerly 

 with a double ridge, and rise to a height of more than 2,000 feet above the sea. 



The Indus flows with a swift current through a narrow, rocky channel (100 to 500 

 yards wide) with high banks in the country above the Salt Range, but on reaching 

 the plain below (at Ivalabagh) spreads out into many wide channels, with low banks 

 and irregular islands, and changes its course from time to time. The river falls be- 

 tween Attok and Kalabagh (110 miles) about two feet a mile ; for 350 miles below 

 Kalabagh about eight inches a mile. The Jhelum likewise spreads out into many 

 channels in the low country. 



As the climate affects the tojDography, it must be remarked that almost all the rain 

 of the year takes place, in this region, within two or three months of the summer, 

 which are pi'eceded by two or three months of very hot, dry weather, with the ther- 

 mometer sometimes at 120° F. in the shade. Owing to the summer rains and the 

 melting of snow in the Himalayas, and other very high mountains, there are great 

 floods, and the Indus rises about fifty feet in the narrow channel above Kalabagh ; 

 but in the wide channels below, about eight or nine feet, spreading out into broad 

 lakes. The stream of the Sohan, and other smaller rivers is, in the dry season, a 

 mere thread in the midst of a waste of sand sometimes a mile or more wide, which 

 it wholly covers in the rainy season. Of course many of the smallest rivers are quite 

 dry before the rains begin. The streams that flow down the southern face of the Salt 

 Range almost all dry up in the great heat of the low country, and are lost in the sand 

 before reaching the great rivers. 



In the valley on top of the Salt Range is a lake. Son Sukesur Kuhar, that has no 

 outlet and is salt. On the northern side is another salt lake, Kullur Kuhar, which 

 has, however, an outlet in high water, and is less salt than the other. 



III. SPECIAL FEATURES. 



In looking into the topography of parts of the region, the chief things to notice will 

 be (1) their general height, (2) the character of the hills as affected by the steepness 

 of dip of the rocks, (3) the modification of this character with time, and (4) the mode 

 of cutting out the valleys. 



1. The most stiiking feature in the topography of any region is the general dif- 

 ference of height of the different districts. We have, for example, in the region in 

 question, mountain lands, such as the Salt Range, the Choor Hills, the Himalaya Spur 

 and Khairee Moorut ; table land, such as the central part of the region ; and low land, 

 such as the plain south of the Salt Range. 



