3o6 CIIITTAGONG DISTRICT
the north the Fenny river divides it from Noâkhali and Tippera Dis-
tricts; and on the east lie the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In shape it
resembles an acute-angled triangle, 166 miles in length, its base rest-
ing on the river Fenny and its apex terminating in the promontory
of Teknaaf; its breadth along the northern boundary is 26 miles,
while along the southern it is only 4 miles.
The prominent characteristic of an extensive tract of country lying
to the east of the Bay of Bengal is the succession of low ranges of
hills, which run in a south-easterly direction parallel
Physical
aspects, to each other and to the coast-line. Chittagon
g
District comprises a section of the three most
westerly of these ranges, and of the four valleys intersected by them.
The first of the ranges rises almost from the sea at the northern
extremity of Maiskhal island, of which it forms the backbone. It
reappears at Cox's Bazar on the east of the Maiskhâl channel in
precipitous cliffs along the whole length of the coast, and terminates in
the promontory of Teknaaf. The central range forms the SITnKUND
hills in the north of the District and, proceeding southwards, is named
successively the Diyang, Banskhali, and Garjania hills. But little of the
eastern range is in Chittagong District, which it enters a, few miles north
of the Karnaphuli river, disappearing again into the Hill Tracts after
forming the Patia hills between the Karnaphuli and Sangu rivers. The
low hills, clothed with luxuriant vegetation, and the winding rivers,
meandering through verdant plains interspersed with groves of bamboos
and betel-nut palms, combine to form a very pleasing panorama.
The rivers traverse the District in a south-westerly direction at right
angles to the ranges of hills, the watershed lying in the higher hills of
the more easterly ranges in the Hill Tracts. The most important rivers
are the FENNY, which marks the northern boundary, the KARNAPHUM,
near the mouth of which lies the town of Chittagong, the SANGU, and
the MATAMUHARI. The District is thus divided into valleys, running
from north to south, which are bounded on the east and west by hills
and on the north and south by rivers, each valley being drained by
affluents of the said rivers. The tributaries of the Karnaphuh are the
Ichamati, Sylok, Halda, and Boalkhali, while the Sangu receives the
Dolu, Chandkhali, and Kumira.
The hills are formed of sandstones and clays of the Upper Tertiary
period, and the valleys have been filled by alluvial deposits of sand
and clay washed down from the hill-sides or dropped by the rivers
when in flood.
Along the coast, and particularly on the low islands that fringe it, is
found a scanty vegetation of Ischaemum and various other grasses and
littoral or swamp-forest species. The lower hills that separate the river
valleys are mainly covered with a shrubby jungle ; the higher hills are
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