DAMODAR COAL AND IRON FIELDS. 637 coal-field. ganj coal-field, and about 10,000 feet thick in the Satpura basin. They consist of three divisions; coal occurs in the upper and lower, ironstone (without coal) in the middle division. The Ráníganj coal-field is the most important in India. So far Ráníganj as yet known, it covers an area of about 500 square miles, running about 18 miles from north to south, and about 39 miles from east to west; but it extends farther to the east under the laterite and alluvium. It is traversed by the Damodar river, and also the road from Calcutta to Benares and by the East Indian Railway. From its situation and importance, this coal-field is better known than any other in India. Much has been learnt concerning it since the last examination by the Geological Survey, especially from the recent reports by Mr. H. Bauermann. seams. The upper or Ráníganj series has eleven seams, with a Ráníganj total thickness of 120 feet, in the eastern district, and thirteen coalseams, 100 feet thick, in the western district. The average thickness of the seams worked is from 12 to 18 feet, but occasionally a seam reaches a great thickness-20 to 80 feet. The lower or Barákhar series (2000 feet thick) contains four Barákhar seams, of a total thickness of 69 feet. Compared with English coals, those of this coal-field are of a poor quality; they contain much ash, and are generally non-coking. The seams of the lower series are the best, and some of these at Sánktoria, near the Barákhar river, are fairly good for coke and gas. seams. field. The best coal in India is in the small coal- field at KarharKarharbári. The beds here are lower in the series than bári coalthose of the Ráníganj field; they belong to the upper part of the Tálcher group, the lowest of the Gondwána series. The Karharbári coal-beds cover an area of about 11 square miles; and have three seams, varying from 9 to 33 feet thick. The lowest seam is the best, and it is nearly as good as English steam coal. This coal-field, now largely worked, is the property of the East Indian Railway, which is thus supplied with fuel at a cheaper rate than any other railway in the world. Indian coal usually contains phosphoric acid, which greatly lessens its value for iron-smelting.1 The Damodar series, which, as we have seen, is the chief Damodar iron-stone. source of coal in India, is also one of the most important 1 The economic aspects of Indian coal have been dealt with in the chapter on Mines and Minerals. For full accounts of the Indian coalfields, see articles RANIGANJ, KARHARBARI, etc., in The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Kankar. Deccan trap. Laterite ; sources of iron. The ore occurs in the middle division, coal in the highest and lowest. The ore is partly a clay ironstone, like that occurring in the coal-measures of England, parly an oxide of iron or hæmatite. It generally contains phos phorus, which prevents its use in the preparation of the finer qualities of steel. A similar difficulty attends the use of the Cleveland ore of North Yorkshire. Experiments have been in progress for years in search of a process which shall, in an economical manner, obtain iron from Cleveland ore free from phosphorus, latterly, it is hoped, with some success. If this be so, India will be a great gainer. Excellent iron-ore occurs in the metamorphic rocks south of the Damodar river. Laterite (see below) is sometimes used as ore. It is very earthy, with a low percentage of metal; but it contains only a comparatively small proportion of phosphorus.1 The want of limestone for flux, within easy reach, is generally a great drawback as regards iron-smelting in India. Kankar or ghutin (concretionary carbonate of lime) is collected for this purpose from the river beds and alluvial deposits. It sometimes contains as much as 70 per cent. of carbonate of lime; but generally the proportion is much less, and the fluxing value proportionally diminished. The real difficulty in India is to find the ore, the fuel, and the flux, in sufficiently close proximity to yield a profit. The enormous mass of basaltic rock known as the Deccan trap, is of great importance in the geological structure of the Indian Peninsula. It now covers an area of about 200,000 square miles, and probably extended in former times over a much wider area. Where thickest, the traps are at least 6000 feet in depth. They form the most striking physical features of the country, many of the most prominent hill ranges being the denuded edges of the basaltic flows. The great volcanic outbursts which produced this trap commenced in the Cretaceous period, and lasted into the Eocene period. Laterite is a ferruginous and argillaceous rock, varying from 30 to 200 feet thick, which often occurs over the trap area, but is also found in other tracts. As a rule, it makes rather barren land; it is highly porous, and the rain rapidly sinks into it. Laterite may be roughly divided into two kinds, high-level; high-level and low-level laterite. The former, which covers a large area of the high basaltic plains, is believed by Mr. R. B. 1 For the economic aspects of Indian iron, see chapter on Mines and Minerals. DECCAN TRAP: BURMA. 639 Foote to be very frequently the product of decomposition of the trap, and to have been thus formed in the place where it is now found. Sometimes the high-level laterite overlies gneiss or other rocks; and in these cases it has probably been transported. The low-level laterite is generally more low-level. sandy in character, and is often associated with gravels. In most cases this has clearly been carried down to its present position, probably largely by sub-aerial action, aided by rains and streams. Possibly in some cases it has been spread out along the coasts by marine action. The low-level laterite fringes the coast of the Peninsula, from near Bombay on the west and Orissa on the east, to Cape Comorin. It is not continuous throughout these regions; and it is of very varying width and elevation. The age of the high-level laterite is unknown. Its formation probably extended throughout a long period of time, much of which must be of very ancient date; for the laterite, together with the underlying basalt, has suffered extensive denudation. stones. As regards gems, the geologist comes to the same con- Precious clusion as the economist, viz. that the precious stones of ancient India were the product of forced labour, and that the search for them in our days can scarcely repay the working expenses. BRITISH BURMA.-The geological structure of Burma com- Burma : prises three sections-western, middle, and eastern, nearly its three corresponding to the Divisions of Arakan, Pegu, and Tenasserim. sections. The geological groups met with in Arakan and Pegu are, Pegu and in the ascending order, as follow. The crystalline rocks of Arakan. Taung-ngu; age undetermined, comprising beds of different ages. Axial or Arakan group, occupying the northern part of Arakan range; age probably Triassic. Nummulitic group, including the entire range of Arakan; age Eocene or early Tertiary. Pegu group, occupying the whole of the country east of the Irawadi to the Sittaung river; age Miocene or middle Tertiary. Fossil-wood group, most largely developed in eastern Prome, in which fossil-wood, in the form of silicified trunks of trees, some of them 30 to 40 feet long, is plentifully present; age probably Pliocene or newer Tertiary. Lastly, the Alluvium group, comprising older alluvial deposits in places where the river channels are excavated, and newer alluvial Tenasserim. deposits thrown down on the surface by the Irawadi and other rivers. In geological structure, Tenasserim is entirely distinct from Pegu and Arakan; the groups in ascending order are as follow. The crystalline rocks; age uncertain. Mergui group, largely developed in Mergui District; age perhaps Silurian. Maulmain group, well seen near Maulmain and Amherst; age lower Carboniferous. Tenasserim group, embracing the various coalfields in the southern part of the Tenasserim Division; age doubtful, but probably Tertiary. CHAPTER XXIII. METEOROLOGY OF INDIA. logy of India. THE great peninsula of India, with its lofty mountain ranges Meteoro and its extensive seaboard, exposed to the first violence of the winds of two oceans, forms an exceptionally valuable and interesting field for the study of meteorological phenomena. But the Department of Government which deals with these phenomena has had to contend with many obstacles; and it is only within the last few years that trustworthy statistics have been obtained from a complete system of registration stations. Every year, however, is now adding to our knowledge of the meteorology of the country, and supplying authentic materials for purposes of comparison and induction. METEOROLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.-After the general description Meteoroof the country given at the beginning of this volume, it is only logical Geography necessary to sketch very briefly the meteorological geography of India. The following paragraphs are condensed from an interesting account in the official Report on the Meteorology of India (for 1883), by Mr. H. F. Blanford. Mr. Blanford's volume on the Meteorology of India, being the second part of The Indian Meteorologist's Vade-Mecum (Government Press, Calcutta, 1877), should be in the hands of every student. The great mountain ranges of the HIMALAYAS and the SULAIMANS, which form the northern and north-western boundaries of India, have been fully described.1 From the gorge of the Indus to that of the Dihong (Bráhmaputra), a distance of 1400 miles, the Himalayas form an unbroken watershed, the northern flank Himáof which is drained by the upper valleys of these two rivers; layas. while the Sutlej (Satlaj), starting from the southern foot of the Kailas peak, breaks through the watershed, dividing it into two very unequal portions, that to the north-west being the smaller. The average elevation of the higher Himálayas may be taken at not less than 19,000 feet, and therefore equal to 1 Vide ante, chap. i. pp. 3-10; also articles HIMALAYAS and SULAIMAN MOUNTAINS, The Imperial Gazetteer of India. VOL. VI. 2 S |