1840.] Geological Features of the Himalayan Mountains, 



found in the beds of rivers, tliey are usually composed of every variety 

 of rock. Though so deep in the centre of the valley, the debris thins 

 off towards its extremities, where the sandstone is seen underlying the 

 beds of shingle; these boulders are also found filling up the valleys of 

 the great Hitnalayan rivers, as those of the Ganges, Jumna, Tonse, 

 Pabur, where flat terraces of considerable extent, sometimes cultivated, 

 may frequently be seen, composed chiefly of great masses of boulders, 

 with gravel and sand, with the river flowing at some depth below the 

 flat terrace, and through which it appears to have cut its way. These 

 exactly resemble the boulders in the channels of the rivers, or those 

 found in the longitudinal valleys, or on the Sandstone hills, and may be 

 traced, but smaller in size, to considerable distances t that is, to twenty 

 or twenty-five miles in the plains, as may be seen in digging wells. 

 They would be displayed in the same way as the Sandstone, or Sewalic 

 range, if any portion of ihe present plains were by any means to be 

 raised from their horizontal into an inclined position. 



This Sandstone range may be traced along the plainw^ard base of the 

 Himalayas, from Rowpur, on the Sutlej, to the foot of the Siccim Hillsp 

 in lat. 26^° long. 88^°, where it was recognized by Capt. Herbert, in 

 his trip to Dnrjiling. Dr. Buchanan, in entering Nepal in long. 85", 

 describes the Hills as composed in general of clay, intermixed with 

 various proportions of sand, mica, and gravel, disposed in strata, either 

 horizontal or dipping towards the north, at an angle less than 25"^, and 

 that incrustations are abundant, from the deposition of calcareous matter, 

 also lignite. The prolongation of these Hills from the Kalee to the 

 Sutlej, or from long. 8o|° to 70^°, has been minutely examined by 

 Capt. Herbert, v;hen employed on the Mineralogical Survey of the 

 Himalayas, and their structure found to correspond with what has been 

 described, and lignite found throughout. The dip is usually to N. E. ; at 

 Chikoom S. W. ; but between Chilka and Dikoolee the beds are almost 

 horizontal. At Hurdwar and Chandneepuhar, on opposite sides of the 

 river, the strata dip in opposite directions. On the N. E. side of the 

 Deyra Valley, in ascending to Mussooree, by Beejapore, I found the 

 Sandstone dipping S. "W., at an angle of 25*, and at Kalsee sandstone 

 is also observed dipping to the S., and gradually passing to a dip E. by 

 N. Capt. Caatley has observed, that though we may, on a large scale* 

 lay down the dip and direction with accuracy, the former as varying 

 from 15° to 35*, and the latter from N. E. to. S. W., local details give 

 very different results, and that nearNahun the mass of mountains 

 have been upheaved from a variety of centres, as if the upheaving 

 power had been exerted irregularly over the face of the district. He 



