326 



On the Geology of Cutch. 



[Oct. 



7. Alluvial, or Recent Deposits. 

 These consist entirely of plains covered with soil, evidently detritus 

 which has been washed from the hills, or of land recovered from the 

 sea by the blowing up of sand. The whole of the province south of 

 the volcanic range might be considered alluvial ; the surface being 

 composed of a thick soil, formed by the rapid decomposition of the 

 basaltic or igneous hills ; but as the banks of the rivers contain ter- 

 tiary shells, I have thought it better to designate the district as con- 

 sisting of rocks of that age. The boundary between the tertiary and 

 alluvial districts must, therefore, be considered partly imaginar}^, as I 

 have thought it more correct to give a general outline, than to mark, 

 with apparen* minuteness, limits, which my examination of the district, 

 did not enable me to ascertain. 



Lav 1 gaining on the Sea.~\vi many places along the coast, where there 

 are rifVps of sand, the land gains upon the sea. These dunes are con- 

 staritly increasing, from the particles blown up by the sea-breezes, or the 

 south-west winds, which p'evail during so great a portion of the year ; 

 and the ridges frequently occur in double rows, orcupying a considera- 

 ble breadth, and varying from 50 to 100 feet in height. During strong 

 winds the whole appear to be in motion, from the sand drifting along their 

 surfaces. 



At Mandavee, the principal seaport in Cutch, is a ruin on a spot call- 

 ed the Old Bunder, or Ouay. It is now about three miles inland, and is 

 situated on the bank of the river, which flows into the sea near the pre- 

 sent town ; but at the time when this old quay was in use, the town must 

 have been some distance from the present shore. A small temple, built 

 upon a rock, now in the middle of the town, is said to have been at that 

 time also in the sea. Even now, a considerable space, composed of loose 

 sand and sand-hills, intervenes between the town and the sea; and the 

 distance is continually increasing, owing to the qu-mtity of sandy detritus 

 brought down by the tiver during the periodical floods, and washed back 

 by the sea in the dry season. A bar is also thus formetl across the 

 mouth of the river, and the position of it varies so much, and so often, 

 as to render the entrance to the river very difficult. Even boatmen be- 

 longing to the port, who have been absent a few months, cannot pilot 

 their vessels in. During very dry seasons, this bar increases to so great 

 a degree as almost to block up the entrance entirely ; and the laden 

 boats always strand upon it at high water, their cargoes being carried 

 away by carts, when the tide is out. 



At Mooudrah, Budraseer, and other seaports up the Gulf of Cutch; the 



