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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 335.

PALAIYIA U 335 people, and customs are quite distinct from those of Palamau. Par- gana Belaunja in its southern portion closely resembles Palamau, but towards the north it sinks into an extremely fertile valley into which the Son yearly overspills. Pargana Japla, in the extreme north of the District, is a tract almost devoid of hills and very similar to the alluvial portion of the District of Gaya. The Son flows along the northern border, but the most important river is the Koel. This rises in Barwe in Ranch! District, and after flowing nearly due west for about 24 miles, turns northwards, passing through the centre of Palamau, and joins the Son not far from the old fort of Rohtasgarh ; its chief affluents are the Auranga and Amanat. The Kanhar flows in a north-westerly direction along the Surguja boundary, and eventually joins the Son in Mirzapur District. The characteristic formation of Palamau is gneiss, of which all the more important hill ranges are composed. It is of extremely varied constitution, including granitic gneisses, mica schists, magnetite schists, huge beds of crystalline limestone, &c. Along the north-west boundary of the District is the eastern termination of a large outcrop of Bijawar slates, which extends westward for nearly 200 miles through Mirzapur and Rewah. The Lower Vindhyans, which rest unconformably upon the Bijawars, are found along the valley of the Son, where representa- tives of the Garhbandh, porcellanic, and Khinjua groups are found; the first mentioned contains two subdivisions, a lower one consisting of conglomerates, shales, limestones, sandstones, and porcellanites, and an upper band of compact limestone of aoo or 300 feet in thickness. The rocks of the porcellanic group, which overlies the Garhbandh, are indurated, highly siliceous volcanic ashes ; their thickness increases as they approach the former centres of volcanic activity in the neighbour- hood of Kutumba, Nablnagar, and Japla. The shales and limestones of the Khinjua group are mostly concealed by alluvium along the banks of the Son. As the Vindhyans are unfossiliferous, their geological age cannot be exactly determined, but there is reason to think that they may be as old as Cambrian. The next formation, the Gondwana, contains numerous fossil plants, which determine its age partly as upper palaeozoic and partly as mesozoic. It is of great economic importance on account of the coal and iron ore which it contains. It comprises in Palamau the Maha- deva, Panchet, Raniganj, Barakar, and Talcher divisions. The rocks of this formation generally weather into low undulating ground, but those of the Mahadeva group rise into lofty hills. The coal-seams are restricted to the Barakar and Raniganj groups, which consist of alternating layers of shale and sandstone; the workable seams are found chiefly in the Barakar. The Panchet and Mahadeva groups consist principally of sandstones, and the Talcher mostly of shales ;