RECORDS 
OF THE 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 
Part 2.] 187-4. [May. 
Geological notes on the route traversed by the Yarkand Embassy from Shahi- 
dula to Yarkand and Kashgar, by Dr. F. Stoliczka, Naturalist attached to the 
Embassy. 
In a former communication I had already occasion to notice, tlmt the rocks composing: 
the Kuenlun range near Shahidula, chiefly consist of syenitio gneiss, often interbedded, and 
alternating, with various metamorphie and quar-tzose schists, Similar rocks continue the 
whole way down the Ivarakash river lor about twenty-four miles. After this the road fol¬ 
lows, in a somewhat north-westerly direction, a small stream leading to the. Sanju-(or Grimm-) 
pass. Here the rooks are childly true mica schist, in places full of garnets. Near, and on, 
the pass itself eldoritic and quurtzose schists prevail, in which veins of pale green jade occur, 
numerous blocks containing this mineral having been observed near the top of the pass. 
All the strata arc very highly inclined, often vertical, the slopes of the hills, and in fact of 
the entire range, being on that account rather precipitous, and the crests of the ridges them¬ 
selves very narrow. 
To the north of the Sanju puss we again meet with metamorphie, mostly chloritie 
schists, until we approach the camping place Tam, where, distinctly bedded, sedimentary 
rocks cap the hills of both sides of the valley. They are dark, almost black, silky slates, 
resting unoonformably on the schists, and are overlain by a grey, partly quart/.itic sandstone, 
passing into conglomerate. The last rock contains particles of the black slates, and is, 
therefore, clearly of younger age. Some of the conglomeratic beds have a remarkably recent 
aspect, hut others are almost metamorphie. In none of the groups, the slates or sandstones 
or conglomerates, have any fossils been observed ; but they appear to belong to some 
palaeozoic formation. They all dip at from 40° to 50° towards north-east, extending 
for about one and a half miles dowu the Sanju valley. Here they are suddenly cut olf by 
metamorphie schists, hut the exact place of contact on the slopes of the hills is entirely 
concealed by debris. The schists are only in one or two places interrupted by massive beds 
of a beautiful porphyritic gneiss, containing splendid- crystals of orthoclasc and biotite; 
they continue for about eighteen miles to the camp Kiwaz. On the road, which often passes 
through very narrow portions of the valley, we often met with old river deposits, consisting 
of beds of gravel and very fine clay, which is easily carried off by only a moderate breeze, 
and fills the atmosphere with clouds of dust. These old river deposits reach in many places 
up to about ono hundred and fifty feet above the present level of the river, which has to be 
waded across at least once in every mile. 
At the camp Kiwaz tlie hills on both sides of the valley are low, composed of a com¬ 
paratively recent looking conglomerate, which in a few places alternates with beds of reddish, 
sandy clay, the thickness of the latter varying from two to five feet only. These rock 
