GSI-CHQ-1243
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
HIMALAYAN BRANCH
FOR
SPECIAL STUDIES
A BRIEF RESUME OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE HIMALAYAS
Geological Survey of India,
Circle Office,
SIMLA
GSI-CHQ-1243
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
HIMALAYAN BRANCH
FOR
SPECIAL STUDIES
A BRIEF RESUME OF THE GEOLOGY
OF THE
HIMALAYAS
Geological Survey of India,
Circle Office,
SIMLA
GSI-CHQ-1243
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
HIMALAYAN BRANCH FOR SPECIAL STUDIES
A BRIEF RESUME OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE HIMALAYAS
CONTENTS
Page No.
I.
Introduction to Geology of the Himalayas.
1
II.
Past life as entombed in the rooks of the Himalayas.
5
III.
Mineral Resources of the Himalayas.
8
IV.
Water & Power Resources of the Himalayas.
15
Geological Survey of India
Circle Office
Brockhurst
SIMLA
GSI-CHQ-1243
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
HIMALAYAN BRANCH FOR SPECIAL STUDIES
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE HIMALAYAS:
EXTENT OF THE HIMALAYAS:
The Himalayas (from the Sanskrit "Hima", Snow and "Alaya", abode) stand as a sentinel on
the north and separate India from the Tibetan plateau. This great mountain range is the biggest,
highest and the youngest on the face of the earth. It is no contradiction to state that it is the biggest
and the highest because it is the youngest in age among the World's mountains for, the ceaseless
denudation of geological time reduces mountain chains of the older ages, and even wears them down
to their roots. The Aravalli range of Rajasthan affords a striking example of this sculpture of Time.
More than 1500 million years ago, it was a mighty range, rivaling the Himalayas in length and height;
but, today, much of it has been worn down to mere stumps of the former gigantic massif.
The Himalayas are not a single continuous range of mountains, but a series of several more or
less parallel or converging ranges, 160-240 kilometres wide, intersected by enormous valleys and
extensive plateaus. The individual ranges generally present a steep slope towards the plains of India
and a more gently inclined slope towards Tibet. The connecting link between the Himalayas and the
other ranges of Central Asia - the Hindukush, the Karakoram, the Kuen Lun, the Tien Shan and the
Trans Alai ranges - is the great mass of the Pamir, "the Roof of the World".
From the Pamirs to the south-east, the Himalayas extend as an unbroken wall of snow-clad
mountains, few of which are less than 5150 metres in altitude. The Himalaya and Karakoram
mountains have 93 peaks exceeding 7270 metres in elevation. The number of peaks between 6060 and
7270 metres in elevation has not been counted, but must be in several hundreds.
The eastern Himalayas of Nepal-Sikkim rise very abruptly from the plains and suddenly attain
their great elevation above the snowline within a strikingly short distance from the foot of the
mountains. Thus, the peaks of Kanchenjunga and Everest arc only a few kilometres from the plains
and are visible to their inhabitants. But the western Himalayas of the Punjab and Kumaon rise
gradually from the plains by the intervention of many ranges of lesser altitude, and their snow-peaks,
such as Nanga Parbat, Badrinath or Nanda Devi, are more than 160 kilometres distant, hidden from
view by the mid-Himalayan ranges to the inhabitants of the plains.
The majestic swoop of the Himalayan arc has a radius of 1536 kilometres with its geometrical
centre near Lon., Nor lake in the Sinkiang province of China, the convex side of the arc facing the
plains of India. They are, as defined geographically, extends over a length of some 2400 kilometres
from Kashmir to Assam and follows a persistent north-west to south-east to an east-west trend line. At
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its north-west end the range appears to terminate suddenly at one of the greatest eminences on its axis,
Nanga Parbat (8066.6 m), just where the Indus has cut an extraordinarily deep gorge right across the
chain. Geological studies have shown that at this point the strike of the mountains bends sharply to the
south and then to the south-west, passing through Chilas and Hazara, instead of pursuing its northwesterly course through Chitral. All the geological formations here take a sharp hair-pin bend, as if
they were bent round a pivotal point (syntaxial bend). This extraordinary knee-bend affects the whole
breadth of the mountains from the Jhelum River in the Punjab to the Pamirs.
At the eastern limit of the Himalayas, where the great easterly flowing Tsangpo river curves
sharply southwards across the entire range into Upper Assam, to flow thereafter as the Dihang and the
Brahmaputra, and again at one of the great eminences of the mountain chain, Namcha Barua (7710.6
m), the strike of the mountains undergoes another deep knee-bend from an easterly to a. southwesterly trend, continuing through Burma in the Arakan Yomas, instead of pursuing its trend line and
crossing into China.
B. GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES OF THE HIMALAYAS:
For geographical purposes, the Himalayas are classified into three parallel, longitudinal
zones: (1) THE GREAT OR INNER HIMALAYA: the innermost line of high peaks rising above
6100 metres. On it are situated the peaks: Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat etc.,
which are amongst the highest peaks on the earth's circumference.
(2) THE LESSER OR MIDDLE HIMALAYA: a series of ranges of lesser elevation,
seldom rising above 3900 to 4500 metres; their average width is 80 kilometres.
(3) THE SUB-HIMALAYA OR OUTER HIMALAYA: those ranges form the zone of
foothills (Siwalik) with an average height of 900-1200 metres; their width varies from 28-48 Kms.
The Siwalik ranges, famous all the world over for their rich vertebrate fauna, are included amongst
those.
The plateau of Tibet immediately to the north of the Himalayas is 4240 metres in mean
altitude and is traversed by the Trans-Himalaya and Aling Kangri ranges; further north are the Kuen
Lun and Altyn Tagh ranges, followed by the great desert basin of Tarim and the Tien Shan range.
C. METEOROLOGICAL INFLUENCE OF THE HIMALAYAS:
This lofty and continuous mountain barrier exercises as dominating an influence over the
meteorological conditions of India as over its physical geography, vitally affecting both its air and
water supply it prevents the dry, cold wind of the Asian continent from blowing into India and exerts
a moderating influence on the temperature and humidity of northern India It stops the passage out of
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the country of moisture-laden monsoon clouds from the south, thus helping in the precipitation of
sufficient rain and snow.
Glaciers of enormous magnitude are nourished on the higher ranges by the precipitation of
snow, which, together with the abundant rainfall of the lower ranges, feed a number of perennial
rivers, which course down to the plains in hundreds of life-giving streams. The Himalayas thus protect
India from the continental desiccation which is gradually .invading Central Asia. But for their good
offices, the Rajputana desert would have extended far eastwards and northwards.
D. ORIGIN OF THE HIMALAYAS:
The geographical outlines of the Indian subcontinent were of the haziest description about
200 million years ago. It was then not separated from Eur-Asia by the present formidable mountain
range. At this time, a sea girdled India along its north face - a truly Mediterranean sea which divided
the northern continent of Eur-Asia from a southern continent, of more or less uncertain borders, but
which united within its compass, the present disjointed peninsulas of Africa, Arabia, India and
Australia (known to Geologists as the Gondwana Land). There then prevailed an Ocean-way (the
Tethys) which provided an uninterrupted intercourse and migration of marine animals unknown in the
world today. In this Mediterranean sea (of which the present-day Mediterranean Sea is a remnant)
were deposited the sediments of successive geological ages covering a span of 150 million years.
During this vast passage of time, the Tethys received no loss than a vertical thickness of 16,000
metres of sediments, deposited layer upon layer, paripassu with the sinking of its floor.
The rise of the Himalayas from the floor of this mediterranean sea is an epic of the geological
history of Asia, testifying to one of the basic concepts of geology that our earth's geography is mobile
and is constantly changing. As the earth's crust is sensitive to loads and under loads, pressures acting
from the sides and from within the interior of the earth, the overloaded and weakened bed of the
Tethys sea responded most to the lateral and tangential earth pressures which followed the cessation
of the sinking process and became folded and up heaved into mountain chains. Such sunken and
loaded belts are called geosynclines in geology and geosynclines have played a large part in the
evolution of the earth's past geography, stamping upon it the broader features of the continents,
mountains and ocean basins.
E. EVOLUTION OF THE HIMALAYAS:
The rise of the Himalayas from the Tethyan sea bed was not a single event, but there were
three distinct and widely separated phases of uplift spread over a span of some 50-60 million years.
The last and fourth phase of uplift did not commence until as recently as a million years ago and
probably continued after the appearance of Man on Earth. There is evidence to indicate that parts of
the Himalayas have arisen at least by 1500 metres since the advent of early Man. Early Man thus
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witnessed the growth of this northern barrier, interfering more and more with his migration and
intercourse across the steppes of Asia. A great ethnic and geographical watershed thus came into
being early in the human history.
During the process of compression of the sunken and loaded zones into mountains, the
geosynclinal belts are reduced to almost half their original width. The width of Himalayan
geosyncline has been computed by Heim and Gensser, two Swiss Geologists, to have been about 460
Kms. in one section, before it was subjected to great compressive forces, as in a vice, between the
stable continental blocks of the Deccan peninsula to the south and the high table land of Tibet to the
north; their present width along this section is only 160 Kms, Thus, the formation of the Himalayas
has brought a point in Tibet nearer to a point in the plains of India.
Considering the fact that the Himalayan mountain building movements affected parts of the
areas lying in Tibet as well, it is assumed that the crustal shortening may even be of the order of 1200
Kms. Consequent upon this stupendous amount of crustal shortening, the strata in the Himalayas have
been broken up at places and so much buckled and overturned that some of the rock sheets have been
even over thrust or translated as "nappes" over large distances along planes of movement sailed thrust
planes. The syntaxial bends at the extremities of the Himalayas are believed to have been controlled
by the peculiar triangular shape of the Indian Peninsula, which formed the obstruction against which
the Tethyan sediments were pressed in the course of their upheaval.
In view of the comparatively recent uplift undergone by the Himalayas, it is still restless and
is subject to earthquakes, some of which have been of great magnitude. In particular, those portions of
the Himalayas towards which wedge like projections of the peninsular land-mass are directed to the
north-west and north-east are generally known to be susceptible to more frequent and severer
earthquakes than elsewhere in the Himalayas.
As a sequel to the rise of the Himalayas, a complementary depression is believed to have been
created south of the ranges. This trough, or a great depression in the earth's crust, stretching from Sind
to Assam, was of considerable depth and was partly filled up by sea, a remnant of the Himalayan sea
which persisted after the main sea was driven out by the rise of the mountains. There were gulfs
stretching inland far to the north along the present valleys of the Indus and the Ganges, the gulfs of
Sind and Assam; which disappeared by the southward advance of their deltas. The great plains of
North India have originated by the filling up of the Indo-Gangetic trough by the sediments poured into
it by the rivers descending from the Himalayas - the Indo-Gangetic plain is thus a Gift of the
Himalayas on which many civilizations have waxed and wanned.
During the last one million years, the Himalayas have gone through the great Ice Age, when
large parts of North Eurasia and North America were buried under, sheets of ice. As a consequence,
the large and varied mammalian population that inhabited the area now defined by the Outer
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Himalaya suffered sudden and widespread extinction. Gigantic tongues of ice (glaciers) must nave
then descended from the Himalayas far to the south of their present limits, almost touching the subHimalayan foothills. With the close of the Ice age and the advent of warmer temperatures, these
glaciers have gradually receded to the higher levels in the Himalayas.
Many of the rivers flowing south from the Himalayas have their origin north of the Great
Himalaya and flow through deeply dissected, spectacular gorges carved across the entire range. This
feature indicates the existence of these rivers prior to the final upheaval of the Himalayas a million
years ago. They have maintained, their course on-account of their greater downward erosion as
compared to the rate of upheaval of the Himalayas-in a sense, therefore, some of these, rivers are
older than the mountains. The many deep gorges that exist across the entire range present magnificent
views of the underground make-up of the mountains, and offer invaluable clues to the Himalayan
geologists - the detectives assigned to the task of delving into the past history and structural evolution
of this mighty range - so that the treasures that it may hold deep within its bosom can be located and
exploited for the progress and prosperity of the entire Nation.
II. PAST LIFE AS ENTOMBED IN THE ROCKS OF THE HIMALAYAS
Life at the site of the Himalayas may have begun simultaneously with the advent of life on
earth itself but the story of its evolution is told haltingly, there being many mysterious blanks which
are difficult to explain. In fact, many problems concerning the structure of the Himalayas are due to
the paucity of fossils (entombed remains of plants, animals, etc.) which record the evolution of life.
Thus, a major portion of the Himalayas lying within the confines of our country consists of un
fossiliferous rocks except for the outer Siwalik Ranges, parts of Kashmir, Spiti and Eastern
Himalayas. It is only on and beyond the Tibetan border, across the snowy-peaks of the Central
Himalaya, that a complete succession of fossiliferous rocks representing life from the earliest
Cambrian (500 million years ago) is met with, which tells us a complete story.
A major portion of the Himalayas formerly consisted of a vast ocean as described earlier. Life
must have begun in this ocean also as in other oceans of the world at some indeterminate point in the
past some say two thousand million years ago, some fifteen hundred million years ago there being no
definite record as the early organisms were simple possessing only soft parts which left no mark of
their existence in the rocks.
In the Himalayas too, as elsewhere in the world, the curtain rises at the dawn of the Cambrian
period when life had already existed on the earth for possibly a thousand million years earlier. No
wonder, therefore, that the earliest forms of life are fairly archaic and are characterised by a number of
groups of the animal kingdom trilobites (arthropoda), brachiopods, corals, echinoids and annelids the
dominant among them being the trilobites so much so that the Cambrian is called the age of the
trilobites. This record of the Cambrian fauna in the Himalaya is restricted to certain portions of
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Kashmir, Spiti Valley of the Punjab and the Garbyang area of Kumaon. Rocks of presumably
equivalent age, but so far proved to be devoid of fossils, occur abundantly in other parts of the
Himalayas, and are represented by the Dogra slates of Kashmir, the Simla slates of Punjab and their
partial or approximate equivalents - the Chails and Chandpurs of Kumaon, U. P. Before leaving this
group it may not be out of place to record that the Cambrian fauna of the Spiti area show a distinct
affinity to the Cambrian fauna of the Rocky Mts, of North America and is surprisingly much closer to
those the Pacific slopes of western America than with those of China which is so near.
In the Ordovician period, this lasted from 425 to 560 million years ago, the life continued to
flourish in the warm seas, in which a large number of invertebrates grew in size and diversity and in
the complexity of their defensive armour. Before the Ordovician period ended, members of every
major group of animals, except the lowest worms, wore a defensive armour of shells. The Ordovician
system of rocks has been definitely recognised in Kashmir, Kangra dt. of the Punjab, Bushahr
(Mahasu district H. P.) and in the Kumaon hills of U. P. Fossils representing the bryozoa,
brachiopoda, Lamellibranchia, gastropoda, pteropoda, trilobita and ostracoda have been described
from those areas, besides a few representatives of acti- nozoa and cephalopoda.
The Silurian (360 - 325 million years ago) almost always follows the Ordovician, wherever
the latter is represented in India. Life in the oceans of the world continued without any marked change
except that graptolites and trilobites declined, the nautiloids continued to multiply their forms but the
most important group was the sea scorpions. The Silurian age is also of interest as it gave rise to the
first true jawed fish, the acanthodians, which appeared late in the Silurian and by the close of the
period, life started to develop on land as well. In the succeeding Devonian (325 - 280 million years)
period, corals and brachiopods are recorded from southeastern Kashmir (Rupshu), the northeastern
Punjab (Kangra distt. and Bushahr district) and the border region between Almora and-Nepal.
Unfossiliferous formations of this age are represented by a number of rock groups in the central and
western parts of Kashmir, the Simla and Chakrata areas. In the other parts of the world this period has
been important for the development of fishes, and land plants which had a very diversified flora in the
Middle Devonian (300 million years ago). Another group to emerge at this time was the Tetra pods, a
primitive group of amphibians.
In the other parts of the World, the Devonian was succeeded by the Carboniferous (280-230
million years) and Permian (230-205 million years) without any marked break. These periods are well
known for their coal-bearing horizons created from the rotted vegetation of the marshes and fens. The
other principal change was the great advancement of the amphibians and reptiles which assumed
gigantic sizes. When the Permian period ended, it brought to close the 300 million years expanse of
geologic time called the Palaeozoic era or the era of "Old life" and brought in the 130-million year
span of Mesozoic era or the era of "Middle life". In India, the record of life in the Carboniferous and
Permian periods commences with a marked break at the close of the Devonian and is mostly confined
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to the Peninsular India where a great thickness of strata, deposited for the most part sub-aerially in
river valleys, are known and is called, the Gondwana system. The commencement of Gondwana
system is marked by extreme lowering of temperatures and refrigeration. There are signs of
glaciations represented by glacial moraines and tillites, which mark the beginning of Gondwana
period. In the Himalayas marine conditions must have continued but fossiliferous rocks have been
recorded only from a few localities - Kangra Punjab, Bushahr H. P. and Kashmir. The Eastern
Himalayas have fresh water deposits sometimes intermixed with marine deposits equivalent of Lower
Gondwanas whereas the Simla-Chakrata and Kumaon Himalayas have marine formations but are
devoid of fossils - the Krols and Shalis, which are one of the greatest enigmas of Indian Geology.
The records of the Mesozoic era in the Himalaya are restricted to few localities where the
usual marine fossils have been found. By now the life in the sea as well as on land has been quite
prolific and diversified and several new groups had emerged while the old ones became extinct. The
fossiliferous rocks of the Himalayas do not record the terrestrial life of the period, for which one has
to go to peninsular India, where a gigantic flora and fauna has been recorded from the Gondwana
rocks which are the repositories of the important coal deposits of our country.
Since enumeration of the various marine fauna, entombed remains of which are in the rocks
of the Mesozoic era in the Himalayas, will not be of much interest to the general reader, we may skip
this and describe the advent of the Cainozoic era or the era of "Modern life" (75 million years ago),
which brought about marked changes in the life and geography of not only the Himalayas but of the
entire world. It is regarded that the lines on which the present configuration of the world more or less
shaped themselves were established sometimes towards the beginning of this period. The rising
Himalayas brought into existence a long narrow trough between them and the peninsular mass; in this
trough fresh water deposits of a tremendous thickness were deposited. In this colossal thickness of
gravels, sandstone and clays, deposited over an interval of time spanning, 15 to 1 million years ago,
from the Middle Miocene to the Pliocene period, and grouped under the Siwalik system, lie buried the
fore-runners of our modern vertebrates which for a magnificent array, and against whom the present
fauna would be nearly insignificant.
The Siwalik entomb the remains of a prolific mammalian fauna, many varieties of which are
extinct now or are only found elsewhere. Besides mammals, a number of forms of reptiles and
amphibia, particularly giant tortoises and crocodiles, which inhabited the forests and swamps on the
outer slopes of the Himalayas, are also recorded as fossils. Remains of tortoise shell, measuring 6
metres in length and in which 6 persons can sleep comfortably, have been found and preserved in the
Indian Museum at Calcutta.
The Indian elephant of the present-day was represented by thirty species in the Siwalik times,
of which the Stegodon ganesa (which figured on the commemoration stamps of the centenary of
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G.S.I. in 1951 and also figures on the back of the invitation cards) was so large as to measure 3.55
metres in height. It had tusks 2.9 metres long with a basal circumference of 0.67 metres. Besides
elephants several species of giraffes, hippopotami, no longer found in this country, rhinoceroses,
horses, camels, antelopes and monkeys have also been found; several varieties of which are now
extinct. Many of the fossil forms are of animals which combine in them characters of different groups,
like Sivatherium - which combined in it the characters of a giraffe and an elephant.
The Siwalik fauna was not exclusively of Indian origin; for, there was considerable migration
of forms from North America, Central Asia, Egypt, Arabia and Africa by way of land bridges. While
the ancestors of Man, the primates, developed in the North American region, the land of their birth
probably proved too inhospitable for them and they migrated to other parts of world. In India the first
anthropoid apes are recorded from the late Miocene times although no true apes are found living in
the country. Several species nave been recorded, including the famous Sivapithecus which was
regarded by its finder as a possible ancestor of man. Fragments of its jaw bone and teeth were found
in the Siwalik rocks near Hari Talyanger in the Bilaspur district of H. P., at Ramnagar in Kashmir as
well as in some parts of Punjab. The molar teeth of this form resemble those of man but the scientists
are not agreed in regard to the direct line of the ancestry of Man from Sivapithecus. The Siwalik fauna
were largely rendered extinct due to the advent of the Great Ice age and by the Middle Pleistocene
times (less than a million years ago) only a few forms survived the intense cold while the rest of them
all perished.
During the Middle Pleistocene period, the Kashmir and Kathmandu valleys were occupied by
lakes in which fossils of fishes, birds, elephants and bovid are found in many cases similar to those of
the present day. They are also rich in fossil Insects (Locusts) which may have invaded the forests of
that period. The presence of the remains of a water nut (Trapanatans) at the height of 3550 metres
now indicates that the uplift of the Himalayas must have taken place during recent times as they
cannot flourish at that height.
III. MINERAL RESOURCES OF HIMALAYAS
Geological Survey of India has carried out investigations for minerals in various parts of the
Himalayas. Some of the important mineralised belts, from Kashmir to Bhutan, have been mapped and
examined in great detail by the Base Metal Unit of the Geological Survey of India in recent years.
Such investigations are being pursued and intensified, notably in the recently discovered mineralised
belts in parts of the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Other important investigations carried out by the
Geological Survey of India, in the Himalayan region, include the magnesite deposits of Almora and
Pithoragarh districts, U. P.; the limestone deposits of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and Assam; gypsum deposits in parts of Jammu and in parts o£ Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Assam; coal deposits in parts of J & K and Assam, salt deposits of Himachal Pradesh;
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antimony ore deposits near Bara Shigri glacier, in Lahaul District, Punjab, apart from some other
minerals of strategic importance in Ladakh, NEFA and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Based on the results of the investigations of limestones carried out by the Geological Survey
of India, industries have been set up and more are being established. Thus cement factories are already
in. existence in the Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir and more factories are being planned in Punjab,
Himachal Pradesh, U. P. and Assam.
The limestones from the Himalayan region are being used to meet the needs for fertilizers,
chemical and sugar industries; the possibility of utilising some of the Himalayan limestone deposits in
steel industries is worth-examining.
Realizing the need for fuels, so essential for the industrial development of the Himalayan
region the Survey undertook investigations for coal and lignite in parts of Jammu and Kashmir with
success. This is very significant indeed. Search for coal could now be extended, with cautious
optimism, to equivalent formations in other parts of the Himalayas, particularly in the western sector.
Gypsum deposits of the Himalayan areas, examined by the Survey are being exploited to meet
the needs of the industries. Plans are also being actively pursued for industrial exploitation of the
magnesite deposits of Uttar Pradesh.
So far as base metal mineral deposits are concerned though the Sikkim Mining Corporation is
engaged in exploiting ores originally surveyed and proved by the Geological Survey of India, no other
spectacular discoveries have yet been made. But as more and more areas are being covered and
mineralised belts explored new data are steadily being accumulated which not only throw light on the
origin, mode of occurrence, and structural controls of mineralisation, but are encouraging factors for
determined and intensified pursuance of the programme of investigations.
The antimony ore deposits which are of strategic importance are being vigorously
investigated by the Geological Survey of India, in different parts of the Himalayas, and particularly
the deposits near Bara Shigri glacier occurring at an altitude of 14,000 ft. (4800 m.) are receiving the
most immediate attention.
In view of the importance of fertilizer for the development of agricultural yield, the
Geological Survey of India has embarked upon a programme of country wide search for rockphosphates. In pursuance of this, programme of search for possible sources of rock phosphates and
phosphatic nodules have been undertaken and are underway in different parts of the Himalayas,
notably in parts of U. P. and H. P. The results are not very encouraging though worth pursuing, for
some hitherto unknown potential areas have already been brought to light.
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The thermal springs in the Himalayas are being systematically studied by the Groundwater
Division of the Geological Survey of India. The importance of such springs for therapeutic purposes
needs careful examination. The feasibility of developing modern spas should also receive immediate
attention.
Though no iron ore deposits have been found in the Himalayas which could merit immediate
exploitation yet, in view of the modern methods of mining and improvement in metallurgy, the
Geological Survey of India, has taken up programme of investigations of iron deposits in the
Himalayan region with a view to examining the feasibility of utilising the ores for the production of
iron to meet local demands.
Modern methods of exploration are steadily being introduced by the Survey. Geophysical
explorations have been carried out in some of most rugged terrains of the Himalayas, particularly in
parts of J & K and U. P. New Geophysical equipments have been deployed, for base metal
investigations in the Himalayas with encouraging results. Geochemical methods of prospecting are
also being employed by the Survey to explore hidden ore deposits.
A short resume of some of the important mineral occurrences, with which Geological Survey
of India has been actively associated, is given in the following pages: Petroleum and Natural Gas
Punjab:
Detailed geological and structural mapping in the Jwalamukhi and Dharamsala areas in the
Hoshiarpur and Kangra districts was carried out with a view to locating suitable structures for
accumulation of petroleum. Based on the work done by the Geological Survey of India, the Oil and
Natural Gas Commission has done, further detailed work, including drilling, in the area.
Coal
Jammu & Kashmir
The coal fields in Udhampur and Poonch districts have been mapped in detail. The probable
reserves of coal in the Chika area have been estimated at 3 million tonnes, where as in Kalakote area
proved reserves are likely to increase from the earlier estimated figures of 7 million tonnes. In Jangalgali the existence of a lower Coal horizon in which one seam is over 6.4 metres thick, has been
established. Work has also been continued in Metka Coal-field and programme of drilling is under
way.
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Sikkim
The main coal-field of Sikkim is in the Rangit Valley. North of Rishi Khola, one 6.1 m. thick
seam has been recorded. Other seams have been recorded from near Rinchingpong hill and south of
Rebong.
Inferior grade of coal, tending to be semi-anthracitic type occur in Ghati Khola, the seam is
about 1.5 m. thick.
A number of seams varying in thickness from 1.8 to 3.6 m. have been reported from Put
Khala, Roathak Khola, Baigum Khola, Andhari Khola, Ranji Khola and Nanirek Khola.
Himachal Pradesh
Minor deposits of coal are reported from Mandi and Sirmur districts from Eocene rocks
(Subathus).
Base Metals
Jammu & Kashmir
Detailed investigations of copper-lead, zinc and nickel, ores have been undertaken and are
underway at Ramsu-Banihal, Assar-Bhadarwaha, Riasi, Bunyar, Sind Valley, Kishtwar, Lashteal and
Shumahal. Large areas have been covered by large scale mapping for these investigations. Drilling
has also been undertaken at several places.
Punjab
Investigations of copper, lead-zinc-silver-nickel-and cobalt-ore deposits have been taken up
by the newly set up Punjab - Himachal Pradesh Circle of Geological Survey of India. Encouraging
results have been met with in Naraul area, Kangra district where the mineralisation (copper, nickel,
cobalt) is marked by an oxidation zone extending over a distance of eight kilometers and is dotted
with a number of old workings.
In Chitrani area (Kangra district) investigation was carried out for lead including geochemical
sampling. Significant observations and anomalies have been recorded. Geophysical survey has been
proposed in the area.
Sikkim
The best localities with good concentration of copper ore occur near Pachikhani, Rathokhani,
Rangpo (Bhotang) Dikchu and Tukkani.
At Rangpo (Bhotang mine) chalcopyrite occurs in a hard jaspery looking rock, but it is much
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nixed with iron pyrites. There are two bands, measuring 0.9 m. and 0.75 m. respectively. A sample
from the old working has shown 12.21 % cu. Indian Bureau of Mines had taken up this area for
detailed exploration and has proved about 0.5 million tonnes of copper ore.
The Sikkim mining corporation is engaged in exploiting the deposits.
Uttar Pradesh
The copper and lead-ore occurrences of Almora and Pithoragarh districts have been
investigated in great detail during the last few years. However, mineralisation has been found to be
poor, erratic and very limited in extent.
Detailed investigation for copper-and lead-ore in Dhanpur and Pokhri areas in Chamoli
district has been started. This work has revealed the presence of stibnite, an ore of antimony, in the
Pokhri area, the second known locality in the country.
Stibnite
Punjab
The expedition party to Bara Shigri glacier, Lahaul district, investigated the Stibnite deposits
at a height ranging between 4500 and 4800 metres. The veins are 10 cm. to 6 metres in length and 2 to
10 cm. wide. Further work is being taken up.
Uttar Pradesh
Stibnite has been found in two localities in Pokhri area, Chamoli district. Detailed
investigation is in progress.
Salt
Himachal Pradesh
Rock salt deposits occurring in the Mandi district have been investigated in detail and the
reserves have been found to be sufficient for large scale exploitation.
Magnesite
Uttar Pradesh
The Geological Survey of India has discovered large deposits of magnesite in various parts of
the Almora and Pithoragarh districts. Based on this, the Indian Bureau of Mines took up the work of
proving the magnesite deposits between Someshwar and Bageshwar in the Almora district. According
to the Bureau, the Agar-Girechina sector contains a reserve of about 3.35 million tonnes of magnesite
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of average and low grades. Deposits in the other sectors are known to contain much larger reserves.
Lignite
Jammu & Kashmir
The lignite deposits of the Kashmir valley has been investigated recently and their estimated
reserves are of the order of 88.5 million tonnes.
Limestone
Himachal Pradesh
A limestone deposit suitable for the manufacture of cement occurs near Sataun in the Sirmur
district. It has been estimated to be of the order of 110 million tonnes. Some of the limestone bands
are suitable even for the paper and sugar industries and for use as flux in iron smelting. Similar high
grade crystalline limestone has been recorded at Naura in the same district. The reserves are estimated
to be of the order of 17 million tonnes. Investigation of limestone deposits in the Bilaspur and Mandi
districts has commenced recently. Some deposits suitable for use in cement and (as flux) in iron
industries have come to light.
Jammu & Kashmir
Deposits of limestone suitable for manufacture of Portland cement have been investigated in
the Baramula, Srinagar, Anantnag and Udhampur districts. The probable total reserves of limestone in
Kashmir Province are of the order of 25 million tonnes for depths varying from 15 to 61 metres, and
in the Udhampur district 19 million tonnes for a depth of 15 metres.
Punjab
Detailed investigation of the limestone deposit near Dharamkot in the Kangra district has
proved a reserve of about 17.9 million tonnes of easily quarriable limestone suitable for the
manufacture of Portland cement. This quantity can support a 700-tonnes plant for 25 years. East of
Malla, in the Ambala district, a discontinuous bed to good limestone has been located between
Tundapathar and Sherla with an estimated reserve of about 165 million tonnes. Parts of this deposit
are suitable for use in chemical industries.
Uttar Pradesh
Limestone deposits of the Dehra Dun district have been investigated in detail. The reserves in
the area are more than 355 million tonnes. Good quality limestones have also been found in Nainital
and Tehri Garhwal districts.
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Bauxite
Jammu & Kashmir
Fairly extensive deposits of high grade bauxite occur in the Poonch and Riasi areas of the
Jammu Province.
Gypsum
Himachal Pradesh
Four deposits known in Korga and Bharli areas in Sirmur district are potentially large,
whereas deposits of Shilorna and Ridang are poor.
Korga deposit is estimated to have 83,000 tonnes of gypsum containing 60% Ca SO4, 2H2O.
Out of this reserve, 60,000 tons of gypsum containing 80% Ca SO4, 2H2O can be had by hand picking
and sorting.
In the Bharli area, a total of 1,215,000 tonnes of rock-averaging 41.75% of gypsum, represent
507,900 tonnes of pure gypsum.
Jammu & Kashmir
Gypsum deposits in the Baramula and Boda districts have been mapped in details and
explored by drilling. In the Baramula district the probable reserves of gypsum of 92% purity have
been estimated at 92 million tonnes to a depth of 30.5 metres. The probable reserves of good quality
gypsum in the Ramban and Assar areas in the Doda district have been estimated around 39 million
tonnes.
Uttar Pradesh
The gypsum resources of the state are almost confined to the Musseorie-Lachman Jhula area.
The total quantity in these hills must be large, but the great majority of the deposits are in the form of
small lenticles which cannot be extracted economically for any large scale enterprise.
Graphite
Sikkim
A vein of 32.5 c ms thickness, of good quality, giving a return of 93% graphite occurs about
0.8 Kms to the north of the road from Tsuntang and Lachen. Near Bop village, 3.2 Kms NNE of
Chunttang one band of 60 cms thickness occurs with varying concentrations.
Minor occurrences have been-reported from Kalighar, Kuapani, north of Tattang and north of
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Chhu-Lachen confluence. The thickness of the bands varies from a few cm. to as much as 6 metres.
Uttar Pradesh
Minor occurrences have been reported from Almora, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts. These
will be explored in detail in the near future.
IV. WATER AND POWER RESOURCES OF THE HIMALAYAS
The Himalayan rivers are fed by the summer and winter rains and by the everlasting snow
fields situated above an elevation of 4500-5000 metres. The water and power resources of the
Himalayas are gradually being harnessed, in order to augment the agricultural wealth of the Nation
and the industrial and social prosperity of the inhabitants of the hills as well as those of the adjacent
plains of northern India.
The Himalayan Rivers are characterised by significant minimum flows, compared with the
other rain-fed rivers in the rest of India. The construction of large storage reservoirs in the Outer
Himalaya, for purposes of irrigation, and of mainly run-of-the river schemes, utilising the minimum
flows fit rivers in the Middle Himalaya, supplemented by small storage reservoirs for purposes of
power generation, has been taken up during all the three Plans formulated till date. In general, the
high gradient of the rivers, and the existence of narrow gorges in the Middle Himalaya necessitate the
construction of high dams of the order of 150-200 metres above the bed level of the rivers, so that
appreciable storage is made available for power generation this is geologically and economically
feasible only at a few selected sites. However, wherever such storage schemes are feasible, the firm
power potential of the Projects in the Middle Himalayas is considerably increased on account of the
large minimum flows sustained by the glaciers originating in the Inner Himalaya.
The enormous power potential that is inherent at many of the river basins in the Himalayas far
outweigh the difficulties of access and the construction problems involved. Thus, it has been
estimated that the firm power potential of the Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Ganga, Yamuna, Sarda,
Teesta and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries in the Himalayas, is of the order of 30 million
kilowatts; this is nearly three-fourths of the total firm power potential that could be developed
economically from the rivers all over India, The magnitude of power benefits that the Himalayas can
bestow on the country will be more apparent when it is realised that the stated power potential is
nearly three times the additional power output envisaged from the various installations all over the
country in all the 15 years encompassing the Three Plans formulated till date.
Some of the more important, purely hydro-electric projects that have been contemplated, or,
are under construction in the Outer and Middle Himalayas during the Third Plan Period, are as
follows:-
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(i) Chineni Hydel Project, J & K State, utilising the minimum flows in the Tawi river and
dropping it from a height of 400 metres (ii) Beas-Sutlej Link Hydel Project, H. P., a mammoth
scheme envisaging the diversion of the waters of the, Beas to the Sutlej through a series of dams,
tunnels and lakes and negotiating a drop of nearly 300 metres (iii) Uhl Hydel Project, H. P. utilising
the discharge of the existing Jogindernagar Power House and dropping it over a height of 360 metres
(iv) Yamuna Hydel Project, Uttar Pradesh, involving a tunnel diversion of the waters of the Tons into
the Yamuna and utilising a fall of 150 metres (v) Jaldhaka Hydel Project on the border of Bhutan and
Bengal, utilising the minimum flows and guiding it through a tunnel and channel before dropping it
over a height of 70 metres.
The above mentioned Projects have a firm power potential of nearly 7 lac kilowatts and the
financial investment in developing the power potential of even these few Himalayan sites exceeds 100
crores. Besides, difficult technical problems are involved in constructing tunnels aggregating some 50
kilometres in length, part of which lie in inaccessible areas of the Middle Himalayas, so that the water
can be brought to the proposed sites for power generation.
The development of irrigation storage in the Outer Himalayas has also played a notable part
in augmenting the agricultural out put in the plains of Northern India. Thus, the storage offered by the
224-metre-high Bhakra Dam in the Punjab is expected to accrue benefits of irrigation to nearly 10
million acres of land in the plains, through a network of canals aggregating 3700 kilometres in length.
The storage that will be created by the 121-metre-high Beas Dam in the Punjab will supply water to
nearly 4 million acres of desert land in Rajasthan, through the longest canal system in the world,
totaling nearly 9000 kilometres in length. The 121-metre-high Ramganga Dam in Uttar Pradesh will
store enough water to feed the main and branch canals, 4000 kilometres in total length, and is
expected to irrigate nearly 2 million acres of land in the plains.
The three major storage Projects in the Outer Himalaya, cited above, are also anticipated to
produce incidental power to the tune of 7 lac kilowatts, and the financial investment for developing
both the irrigation and power potential of these three Himalayan Project sites is of the order of 200
crores of rupees,
In the course of the detailed and large-scale investigations of the various River Valley
Projects in the Outer and Middle Himalayas, in addition to the information gathered for the purposes
of planning, designing and executing these Projects, a better insight into the composition and structure
of the concerned mountain ranges has become possible, in particular, due to the rare opportunities
offered while practically laying bare the mountains through excavations for dams, power-houses,
roads and tunnels. Some of the tunnels have even given a complete cross-sectional view of a part of
the individual ranges comprising the Himalayas; as, for example, the Pir Panjal range in the case of
the Jawahar (Banihal) Road Tunnel Project in Kashmir. The tunnels of the Beas-Sutlej Link Project,
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H. P., and the Yamuna Hydel Project, U. P., when completed, are likewise, expected to yield
invaluable information on the geological structure of the Dhauladhar and Ohakrata sections of the
Himalayas.
In this great endeavor on the development of the water resources of the Himalayas, the advice
of the geologists of this Department has been most useful in helping to build civil engineering
structures that are best adopted to the complex and, at places, even unprecedented, difficult foundation
conditions in the world, and in helping to build them with the maximum safety and minimum of
construction costs. For example, during the construction of the Bhakra Dam on the most difficult
foundations encountered so far in the world for a structure of this magnitude, the continuous
association of the geological of this Department with the engineers in charge of the work for a period
of well over 10 years, has resulted in the unraveling of the complex underground structure of the
rocks here and in ensuring proper and timely foundation evaluation as well as remedial treatment to
strengthen the rooks to bear the new stresses imposed by Man. A similar association of geologists and
engineers has been evolved at the sites of the other major Projects under construction, and which are
spread over the entire length of the Outer and Middle Himalayas form Kashmir to Assam.
The application of geology to the exploitation of the water wealth of the Himalayas would not
have been possible without the basic framework of fundamental regional geologic mapping. In the
course of these developmental activities in the Himalayas, more of these ranges are being rendered
easier of access than before, through the construction of railways, roads, bridges and tunnels, a fact
which is of importance to the economical exploitation of the mineral resources of the Himalayas in
the future.