68 
.Records of the Geological Survey of India. 
[VOL, II. 
upheaval of the islands,—that in connection with the eruption of the serpentines and 
gabbros,—the formation of the flat coral-land elevated only a few feet above the level of the 
sea can, on the other hand, be explained by the accumulation of coral fragments, of sand 
and shells by the waves and breakers on the shallow surface of the fringing reefs. A 
detailed description of the peculiarities of the Nicobar coral reefs and of the formation 
of the low coral-land has been already given by Kink, (loc. cit., p. 88, &c.). 
ll.—On the occurrence of coal and other useful rocks and minerals on the Nicobar 
Islands. 
The question regarding coal was the principal point of inquiry during the first expe¬ 
dition to the Nicobars, which was undertaken in 1845 by the Danish Consul Mackey of 
Calcutta, the Englishman Leiois and the two Danes Busch and Lowert. 
The solution of this question was a second time the problem undertaken by Dr. Kink, 
as geologist with the royal Danish Corvette “ Galathea.” The order of the day No. 5, which 
contained the instrn :t ; ec nd directions for the survey and exploration of the Nicobar islands 
on tin part of the scientific expedition of His Majesty’s Frigate “Novara,” made the reply 
to this question my tuty also.* The facts on this point are as follows:— 
The results of the first expedition were confined to the discovery of single pieces of 
coal on the strand of .he southern islands. Dr. Kink found several localities of coal on differ¬ 
ent places of Little Nicobar, Trice, Milu and Kondul. “ These localities at which coal 
ocr'urr 1 pwed, howc ver, everywhere to be isolated masses varying from one to two inches in 
thickness.” The incorrect (as already stated) designation of “ brown coal formation” for the 
sandstones and slates of the southe rn island might, have been the cause of misunderstanding ; 
but Rink himself (loc. cit., p. 53) expressed bis results thus:—"There appears nothing 
found on the Nicobar islands which would correspond with the coal formations of South- 
Eastern Asia. The coal localities were met with here and there without any order 
either in sandstone or in slate, and appear to me therefore to he derived from driftwood 
which was deposited with the clay and sand. I nowhere found anything which could indicate 
an accumulation of plants in basin-like depressions, in which the plant would be grow¬ 
ing in situ and through which the surrounding masses of clay would be impregnated with 
organic ingredients and mixed with portions of plants. The question, therefore, still remains 
pending whether those brown coals occur ill considerable quantity, as the quantity and size 
of the collected pebbles would seem to indicate.” 
I also did not succeed farther than finding single fragments of brown coal. The first frag¬ 
ments were met with on the strand of the small island Trice; it was a brown coal with con- 
ehoidal fracture, but- still with distinct structure of the wood. The pieces were all rolled, and 
the largest—5-inches long, 4-inches broad and 2-inclies thick—was bored by Pholadidce. I do 
not doubt that these pieces were derived from the beds of file sandstone or slate of Trice; but on 
the opposite island Track, I was fortunate to knock out of the sandstone, in situ, a, small frag¬ 
ment of coal also rolled. Exactly in the same way I also fouud small fragments of brown coal 
on Kondul and on the smith side of Great Nicobar, partly on the strand, partly on the 
sandstone or slate rock, and it is certain that these pieces occur ail through the group of islands. 
The condition of all the brown coal fragments met with tends to show that they were only 
singly imbedded driftwood pieces, which were changed to coal, not that they belonged to 
large coal seams through the destruction of which they have come into younger strata. Only 
on the strand of Pulo Milu have I obtained pebbles of true coal with laminated structure, 
such as is only to he found in scams. It is, however, much more probable that these pieces of 
coal came from the steamer “ Ganges” accompanying the “ Galathea” in 1846, and stopping for 
some time about Pulo M ilu, than that they were derived from coal seams on the Nicobars. 
I therefore entirely agree with Kink’s opinion, that so far as it is possible to make observa¬ 
tions nothing speaks in favor of the existence of true coal basins on the Nicobars, and that 
the occurrence of workable coal is not probable. However the area of Great, and Little 
Nicobar is large enough to hide under the thick primeval forest formations of which no trace 
* This instruction runsAccording; to the report of the naturalists of the Danish expedition, coal and pro- 
bably also precious metals occur. As far as this may be verified, samples in. sufficient quantity ought to be taken 
equally so in case of *metals being found. In general it is however to be reported, as regards geological conditions, 
how far conclusions can be drawn from the existing rocks as to the occurrence of useful minerals, &c. Of the rivers 
and springs, the temperature should be measured, &e M &c. 
