The pool is simply due to the reversal of the natural slope of
the river-bed, caused by the formation of a roll or undulation in the
ground on the upthrow side of the fault. Its recent origin is evident
from the number of dead trees and bamboo clumps still standing in the
water.
For a mile after the fault leaves the pool, its throw varies
considerably. It rises, as already mentioned, from zero to 25 feet. A
little farther on, the fault runs up the side of a spur, the throw
increasing to 31 feet; and, in this part, the violence of the shock
was shown by the dislodgment of blocks of granite as much as 20 feet
in diameter, and by the overthrow or destruction of many trees. After
crossing the spur, the fault returns to the neighbourhood of the
river, and crosses its bed four times, forming pools (_e_, _g_) or
waterfalls (_d_, _f_) according as the scarp occurs on the downstream
or upstream side. The throw of the fault then changes considerably
within little more than half a mile, from 18 feet to zero and again to
20 feet, the undulation so formed producing a large pool (_h_)
entirely on the upthrow side of the fault.
At the point marked _i_ on the map, the river once more crosses the
fault; but the bottom of the valley is filled with alluvium, and,
instead of a waterfall, a large sandy delta spreads down the stream.
The scarp is, however, readily traced on the east side of the river, a
throw of 32 feet being measured. After this, the alluvium becomes of
considerable thickness, and the continuation of the fault is marked by
a short slope, which tilts over the trees when it traverses
forest-land. Leaving the valley of the Chedrang, the fault crosses an
open plain, and is followed with some difficulty to the neighbourhood
of Jhira, where, owing to the thick bed of alluvium, it forms a gentle
roll or undulation of the surface, crossing the main channel of the
Krishnai to the north-east of Jhira. On the west side of this barrier
a large sheet of water, a mile and a half in length, three-quarters of
a mile wide, and 12 feet in depth, gathered over the village of Jhira.
"On the east side of the Jhira lake," says Mr. Oldham, "there is ample
evidence of change of level, for part of the dry land was formerly ...
perpetually under water, and at one place the remains of an old
irrigation channel can be seen.... At the northern end of the lake the
drainage now makes its escape in a broad and shallow sheet of water
over what was once high land covered with _sal_ forest."
This is the last marked feature due to the Chedrang fault. Beyond the
north of Jhira the throw rapidly diminishes, and perhaps dies out
altogether before reaching the low hills lying to the north of that
village.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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