4.9 
PART ].] Ljdekker : Geology of Laddk amJ Neighlouring Districts. 
long distance up tlie Marklia river these rocks have a general south-westerly 
dip, and form a band of very uniform breadth to the north of the Trias. Near 
Kio, the lowest beds of the Carboniferous series Avhich are exposed, are nearly 
vertical, and consist of blue-black limestone, traversed by veins of yellow quartz. 
Nearer Kio itself, the south-westerly dip becomes flatter, and the limestone is over¬ 
laid by brown shales and blue slates, with many bands of Avhiteand yellow quartz: 
many of the slates contain bands of carbonaceous matter, and are not unfrequently 
studded with small crystals of pyrite.i On the llarkha river, a little below Kio, 
the yellow quartz is in great force, and gold-A\-ashing is carried on to a consider¬ 
able extent in the detritus from these quartz-i-eefs. At Kio and in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, stems of Eiicrinites are of very common occurrence in the Carbonifer¬ 
ous limestones, and at that place I obtained a coral clo.sely allied to Gijatliophyl- 
lum. To the south-east of Kio the mineralogieal composition of the presumed 
Carboniferous rocks has the same general characters as those described above; 
the relative develofiment of the limestones and shales is, however, locally very 
variable. 
In noticing these rocks at Kio, Dr. Stoliezka observes:^ “ The nuramulitic 
rocks are suddenly replaced by slato.s and carbonaceous limestones full of crinoid 
stems, which appear to be of CarboniforoTis age. All the Avay up from Kew (Kio) 
to the head of the Markha valley,' nothing but these carbonaceous crumbly slates 
occur.” No fossils wer’e found in these rocks, and Dr. Stoliezka adds that there 
were probably represeirtativcs of the Silurian and Carboniferoirs among them. The 
slates of Kio arc frequently full of small cubical crystals of pyrite. To the north¬ 
west, as we have seen, these I’ocks are continuous with the Sliargol slialcs which 
wo have clas.sod as Carboniferous. To the south-rvestof Tso Morlri, I have traced 
this band into a series of slates noticed by Dr. Stoliezka,® Avho observes that 
“ these slates can only belong to the Krding (Carboniferous) series, being perfectly 
identical with the rooks of this (series) in mineralogieal characters and geolo 
gical position, underlying the Lilang limestone.” 
There is, therefore, every presumption of the whole of the blue bands on the 
majj being of Carboniferous age. 
To the soutli-castof the valley of the Markka river the band of Carboniferous 
rocks continue.s along the southern border of the Eocenes, till it finally dies out 
on the upper Indus, between the hitter and the gneiss of Rupsu. On the Gia 
river the Carboniferous rooks have undergone great contortions; they consist at 
Gia itself of brown weathering shales mixed with blue quartzitic limestones gen¬ 
erally in lenticular masses ; the shales are often quartzitic and carbonaceous and 
dip generally towai’ds the Tei’tiaries, which they frequently much resemble. 
To the southAvard of Gia rve have at first a folded series of these rooks, 
which, further to the south, is underlaid by hard blue slates and micaceous sand¬ 
stones, similar in structure and position to the Silurians of Lama-Yuru. Near 
' The composition of the Carboiuforons series here is closely annl'osons to thot of the Ki.il 
series in the outer hills, which confirms my ouiiiiou iis to the Carboniferous age of the hittev- 
(see Rec. Geol. Snrv. of Indin, Vol. IX, p, 160). 
• Jfem. Geol. Snrv, India, Vol. V, p. 311. 
3 Ibid., p. 313. 
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