PART L] 
Blanford: Geology of Sind . 
11 
Volcanic Rocks. 
At the base of the section exposed at Ranikot, where the lowest beds found in the pro¬ 
vince are seen, and again in a similar position, as I learn from Mr. Fedden, north of Ranikot, 
basalt is seen. The exposure in each case occupies only a few square feet, and is very 
obscure. Nothing of importance with reference to this rock has been added during the 
past season to the observations made in 1863* and it is still uncertain whether the basalt 
is intrusive or not, and, in the latter case, whether it belongs to the Deccan group of traps. 
Its relation to the overlying beds in the latter case is remarkably similar to what it is in 
Kachh.f 
2. Ranikot Gkoup ok Infka-nummulitic. 
These beds have already been described in the Memoirs.J They consist of sandstones, 
shales and clays, with gypsum, and are frequently remarkable for their bright and variegated 
colors. In some places the shales are carbonaceous, and irregular deposits of lignite occur 
in them, and they frequently contain pyrites and yield alum. 
About 1,300 feet of these beds are exposed in Ranikot, between the base of the num- 
mulitic limestone and the small hummock of basalt which forms the lowest of the rockg 
seen in the section. 
The only organic remains observed in the beds themselves arc vegetable, being dicotyle¬ 
donous leaves, stems, Ac. But north of Ranikot, Mr. Fedden found some bands of cal¬ 
careous shale and limestone some distance below the base of the white Nummulitic (Khirthar) 
limestone and interstratified with sandstones and shales which may belong to the Ranikot 
group. These bands contain Cardita Seaumonti, Nautilus Forbesi, N. Labechei, and a few 
other fossils. Those above named have Cretaceous affinities. Further examination of the 
locality is desirable in order to ascertain the extent to which the two groups can be con¬ 
sidered as interstratified. It should bo noticed that neither Cardita Seaumonti nor the 
species of Nautilus have hitherto been obtained by Mr. Fedden or myself at any higher 
horizon than the extreme base of the Khirthar group. 
The Ranikot group is but sparingly exposed in Sind. It is seen at Ranikot itself, and 
extends for some distance to the north, fiualty appearing on the outer scarp of the hills. It 
is also exposed within the range about four miles west of Ranikot, where it occupies a 
valley about five miles long by a mile broad, and there is a small tract composed of it 
around Lainyan south-east of Ranikot and north-west of Kotri. Here, however, the ground 
is greatly concealed by surface gravels, and much of the area to the westward is occupied by 
the grey sandstones of the Mauchhar (Sevalik) group, which in places so closely resemble some 
of the sandstones of Ranikot that they cannot easily be distinguished. 
3. Khiethae ok Lowee Nemmulitic Geoue. 
This is by far the most important and characteristic group of rocks in Sind, and all 
the higher hills of the provinco are composed of it. As usually developed, it consists of an 
immense thickness of massive grey and white limestone, abounding in Nummulites and 
other Foraminifera and unbroken by a single band of any other rock. Such is its character 
from the northern frontier of Sind to Kotri, but to the southward I am informed by 
Mr. Fedden that the group shows a tendency to break up into distinct beds, the typical 
hard limestone being interstratified with bands of softer limestones, sandstones, and shales, 
and in adjoining areas, in Kachh and Baluchistan, the massive white or grey limestone forms 
but a subordinate portion of the group. 
* Mem. Geological Survey of India, Vol. VI, p. 5. 
t Mem. Geological Survey of India, Vol. IX, p. 75. 
t Mem. Geological Survey of India, Vol. VI, p. 4. 
