CMAMBA STATE
129
having cost 24 lakhs. The conservancy of the civil station is provided
for from the Pishin bazar fund.
Chamardi.-Petty State in KATHIAWAR, Bombay.
Charnarlakota.--'Town in Godavari District, Madras. See SAMAL:
KOT.
Chamba State.---Native State in the Punjab, under the political
control of the Commissioner, Lahore Division, lying between 32° 10'
and 33° 13' N. and 75° 45' and 77' 3' E., with an estimated area of
3,216 square miles, and shut in on almost every side by lofty hill ranges.
It is bounded on the west and north by the territories of Kashmir, and
on the east and south by the British Districts of Kangra and Gurdaspur.
Two ranges of snowy peaks and glaciers run through
the State : one through the centre, dividing the physical
aspects.
valleys of the Ravi and the Chenab; the other along
the borders of Ladakh and British Lahul. To the west and south
stretch fertile valleys. The country is wholly mountainous, and the
principal rivers are the Chandra and Ravi, which flow generally from
south-east to north-west.
Geologically, the State possesses all the characteristics of the North-
West Himalayas, though local details vary. Along the southern margin
of the mountain region are found the lower Siwalik or .Nahan sand-
stones and the upper Siwalik conglomerate. Along the southern
margin the Nahan series predominate. At the higher elevations the
flora is that common to the North-West Himalayas generally, but some
Kashmir types find their eastern limit in the western valleys. In the
Ravi basin and Pdngi, Cedrus Deodara and other conifers abound, and
there is also a good deal of mixed forest. Chamba Lahul has an almost
purely Tibetan flora. Chamba is a favourite resort of sportsmen, and
the mountain ranges abound with game, comprising the black and
brown bear, leopards, Kashmir stag, ibex, gural, barking-deer, thdr,
serow, and snow leopard. The musk deer is found in many parts.
Among game-birds, the chikor, snow partridge, and five species of
pheasant are common. Fish are found in the larger streams. With
altitudes Of 2,000 to 21,000 feet every variety of climate may be
experienced. That of the lower tracts resembles the plains, except that
the heat in summer is less intense. In the central parts the heat in
summer is great, but the winter is mild and the snowfall light. On the
higher ranges, at altitudes Of from 5,000 to 20,000 feet, the summer is
mild, and the winter severe with heavy snowfall. The autumn months
are generally unhealthy, except on the upper ranges, the lower valleys
being malarious. In the lower valleys the rains are heavy and pro-
longed. In the Ravi valley the rainy season is well marked and the
rainfall considerable. In the Chenab valley it is scanty, heavy rain is
unusual, and the annual average does not exceed io inches. Rain also
VOL. X. K
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
