312 



On the Geology of Ciitch. 



[Oct. 



conchoidal in its fracture, and smooth or foliated on the surface ; in 

 other parts it is saccharoidal ; occasionally it consists of larger particles, 

 so firmly cemented together that they break with smooth surfaces : some 

 masses, again, have a decidedly granular texture ; and one variety is com- 

 posed of rounded pebbles of quartz of the size of marbles; but in no 

 specimen did I find any other material than pure quartz. 



From ,the extremely fractured appearance of this hill, and from the 

 quantities of basalt lying about, and forming the principal part of some 

 small hills immediately adjoining it, there can be no doubt that it has 

 been subjected to igneous influence ; and to the same cause the variety 

 in the texture of the quartz is also probably due, some portions appear- 

 ing to have been sufficently fused, for its particles to have agglutinated 

 into a solid mass. This opinion may perhaps be further strengthened 

 by an examination of the country near the town of Mhurr, distant about 

 one mile and a half, where various dykes of J^asalt traverse the strata. 

 Similar intermixtures of quartz with basalt occur in a hill called Peaka, 

 from its piebald appearance, not far from Joorun, on the Ruun, and near- 

 ly opposite the south-west extremity of the Bunnee : also in some low 

 hillocks at the base of the Katrore hill in the Charwar range. At the 

 village of Ghuranee, about ten miles east of Mhurr, a large dyke or vein 

 of quartz protrudes from a level plain, and forms a ridge of solid rock 

 about 30 feet in height. Basalt also crops out near the same spot. 



2. Sandstone akd Clay, with Beds of Coal. 



This formation occupies a considerable portion of the country, and 

 consists of a regularly stratified series of thick beds of sandstone, alter- 

 nating with slate-clay, which contains, occasionally, bands of ironstone ; 

 and where the coal occurs, it is intermixed with blue clay or shale, and a 

 greasy substance resembling fuUers'-earth. South of the Charwar range, 

 the general dip of the strata is S. by W. and S. W., at about one foot in 

 twenty or thirty ; but north of that range, the dip varies so much, that 

 it is imi ossible to ascertain the prevailing direction; and the whole 

 series is so broken, and intersected with dykes and dislocations, as to ren- 

 der fruitless all attempts to determine its general strike. 



The centre of the province is dotted with hills containing 

 igneous rocks ; and the disturbed state of the beds, in their 

 "vicinity, may easily be conceived. The smaller hills are com- 

 posed of confused heaps of a very ferruginous sandstone and ironstone, 

 belonging to this formation, and the surface soil is a deep sand. The 



