18 Records of the Geological Survey of India. [voL. xiil. 
near Katapur, cannot be much less than 800 yards wide, which at an average 
dip of 6° would only give about 200 feet for the thickness. The limestone is 
usually a grey compact hard splintery rock, rather clayey or earthy, with many 
seams of white chert; in fact, it appears to have been originally a fine calcareous 
mud. 
The limestone series comes suddenly or decidedly over the Maleri clays by 
the presence of distinct bands of limestone strata. I could not, however, ascertain 
i n this Pranhita field that this upper member is fairly separable from the Maleri 
clays except by a sort of overlaj), at either end of the field, of the sandstone 
below the Metapali-Itial band, and that the red clays have their distinctive 
rubbly calcareous sandstone, just as the upper member has its distinctive bands of 
limestone. I do not recollect a single instance of rubbly calcareous sandstones 
in the upper member; but there certainly is a shading of the calcareous elements 
throughout the gi'oujD as from distinct river deposits to others of a more estu¬ 
arine character. 
The Metapali-Itial limestones overlie soft variegated sandstones with many 
thin intercalated beds of red, w'hite, and greenish clays, and a band (or perhaps 
bauds) of dark grey calcareous sandstone, massive and compact, putting on, on 
weathered surfaces, a guise of limestone so strongly that it must be hammered 
at to distinguish it from the true rock. Neither is it the rubbly calcareous rock 
of the red clays. It may be considered as a kind of passage rock deposited in 
the period of change in the character of the waters of the Kota-Maleri basin 
This calcareous grit is very constant in the sandstones below the Metapali band, 
all round (starting from the Itial end) by Rajaram, Sardajmr, and Bamena, and 
so dorvn to Kondampeta. It shows again in force, but somewhat sub-divided, in 
the thick series of sandstones underlying the Itial limestone and sjsreadiiig out 
to the west-north-west up to the Jangaon river from Gungapur. 
In following the limestone member to the south-eastward, the Metapali 
band seems to thin out, though the sandstones above and below it are in force to 
the tributary nala flowing down towards Tedlabundun. This thinning out may, 
however, only be apparent, for it is wonderful how these limestone bands are hid 
beneath the more recent deposits, the debris from the outcrops of the associated 
sandstone belts being enormously spread over the country. 
At any rate, at or near Sironcha, the only band carrying the Kota-Maleris 
into the Godavari area is that of Tondala, which I take to be of the Kota band, 
and it is in very close proximity to the Sironcha sandstones. 
r/te Godavari area. 
The Kota-Maleris, or perhaps more properly the limestone or Kota member 
of the group, has been traced out in this direction with somewhat more derail, 
but there are awkw’ard breaks in contimrity of strike, and a very large area to 
the south of the Indravati bend of the Godavari is either covered up by super, 
ficial deposits, or too shut np by jungle for close survey. 
I cai-ried the Tondala outcrop fairly down to Ohitur, beyond which village 
there is no further trace of such rocks until within a couple of miles of 
