GEOLOGY. 
17 
tic beds occur ; and, in these, sections of Dicerocardium Eimcilayense are not uncommon. 
In other places beds are met with full of Crinoid stems. North of the LiAgzi-thung plain— 
to the west of which the Mils are mostly composed of the same triassic limestone— a red 
brecciated, calcareous conglomerate is seen at the foot of the Compass-la, but this conglom- 
erate gradually passes into the ordinary grey limestone, which forms the ridge, and un- 
doubtedly belongs to the same group of triassic rocks. The last place where I saw the 
tiiassie limestone was just before reaching the camping ground SMnglung : here it is an 
almost wliite or light grey compact rock, containing very perfect sections of 31cgoilodon 
tnqueter , the most characteristic triassic fossil. On Mr. Forsyth’s route Dr. Bellow 
rae t with similar triassic limestones on the northern declivities of the Sasser pass, and also 
the Karakoram pass, overlying the carboniferous shales and sandstones previously 
policed. On the Karakoram the triassic limestone contains spherical corals, very similar 
c those Avhich were a few years ago described by Professor Bitter von Beuss from the 
Hallstadt beds in the Alps, and which are here known to travellers as Karakoram stones. 1 
Returning to our Lin»zi-thung route, we leave, as already mentioned, the last traces 
of triassic limestone at Shinglung, in the Upper Karakash valley. Here the limestone rests 
u Pon some shales, and then follow immediately the same chloritic rock which we noticed 
°* the Lankar-la, alternating with quartzose scliists, both of which must be regarded as 
u l>per palaeozoic age. 
At Kizil-jilga regular sub-metamorphic slates appear, alternating with red conglom- 
0l ‘ ate and red sandstones ; and further on dark slate is the only rock to be seen the whole 
w ay down the Karakash, until the river assumes a north-easterly course, some fourteen 
“ lle s east of the Karatagh pass. From here my route lay in a north-westerly direction 
awards Aktagh, and the same slaty rock was met with along the whole of this route up 
0 the last-mentioned place. Dr. Bellew also traced these slates from the northern side of 
lle Karakoram to Aktagh. They further continue northwards across the Suget-la, a few miles 
^01 tlv of the pass, as well as in single patches down the Suget river to its junction with the 
Karakash. The irregular range of hills to the south of the portion of the KaraMsh river, 
flows almost east and west from Shah-i-dula, on its southern side entirely consists of 
,. lese flates, while on the northern side it is composed of a fine-grained syenite, wMch also forms 
le whole of the Kuenluen range along the right bank of the Karakash river, and also is the 
®°le rock composing the hills about the camping ground at Shah-i-dula. The slates of which 
1 s poke are, on account of the close cleavage, mostly fine, crumbling, not metamorpluc, and 
^ st > I think, be referred to the silurian group. They correspond to the metamorpluc 
c fists on the southern side of the Karakoram ranges. 
Thus we have the whole system of mountain ranges between the Indus and the borders 
. Tur kistan bounded on the north and south by syenitic rocks, including between them the 
sflurian, carboniferous, and triassic formations. 3 This fact is rather remarkable, for, south 
. tlle Indus, we have nearly all the principal sedimentary formations represented, from the 
S1 iU’ian up to the eocene, and most of the beds abound in fossils. 
The only exception to which I can allude on the Changchenmo route is near Kium, in 
le Changchenmo valley. Here there are on the left bank of the river some remarkably 
ST „ ' arc st iU somewhat in the dark as to the true nature of these curious fossils. Dr. Waagen considered th ® m to . S °“^ 
pongos ( Astylospongia ) described by Professor Ferd. Eiimer from Tennessee and from the Silurian pebbles in the drift o i esia, a 
stoner y the resenil)lance externally and on cut sections is very great, but hitherto no spicules have been detected in t ie ara oram 
A specimens have now been sent to Europe for identification. • . f 
liassi ° U ^ Subse 1 uent journey from Yarkand, Dr. Stoliczka found that the highest portions of the Karakoram pass c n 
ro cks (Tagling). See concluding portion of Geology, p. 45. 
