50 
UALL AND SIMPSON: COALFIELDS Ol«^ INDIA. 
field. It is roughly elliptical in shape, and has a maximum length, 
east and west , of about 23 miles, the greatest breadth being about 
10 miles. The total area of the coal-bearing rocks (Damudas) is 
about 150 sq. miles. The beds have been deposited in the form 
of a basin, the rocks dipping towards a common centre at angles 
of about 10^. High dips, however, prevail on the southern margin 
of the field, where the boundary is abruptly faulted. The thickest 
and best coal seams occur among the Barakar beds, in wkich 18 
seams, varying in thickness from a few feet to as much as lOU, 
have been discovered. In the Raniganj series there is a number 
of thin seams, but they are inclined at high angles, and Hughes/ 
who explored and mapped the field in 1865, pronounced them to 
be worthless. Subsequent working has shown that at least one of 
these upper seams is of valuable quality. 
Three typical sections across the coal measures are given below : — 
Jharia section. 
No. of seam. 
IS 
17 
16 
15 
14 A 
14 
13 
12 
II 
10 
Coal in feet. 
13 
14 
23 
7i 
26 
6 
10 
11 
45 
Strdt;i in feet. 
130 
300 
240 
14 
80 
70 
10 
22 
120 
1 Mem.. G S I . V. pt. 4 0866). 
