Assam Range
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Assam Range
A range of hills lying between 24 58' and 26 48' N. and 89 49' and 94 50' E., which runs almost due east and west between the valleys of the Brahmaputra and Surma. It consists of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia, North Cachar, and Naga Hills, and at its eastern end trends towards the north and is joined by the Patkai to the Himalayan system, and by the mountains of Manipur to the Arakan Yoma. The general elevation is from 3,000 to 6,000 feet, but at Japvo in the Naga Hills a height of nearly 10,000 feet is attained. The Shillong peak (6,450 feet) is the highest point in the Khasi Hills. Geologically, the range falls into two groups. The Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia Hills and part of North Cachar are known as the Shillong plateau, and consist for the most part of a great mass of gneiss. The eastern portion is mainly composed of sandstones of Tertiary age. Coal is found in the Garo and Khasi Hills, and in the hills south of Lakhimpur, and lime on the face of the Khasi Hills overlooking the plains of Sylhet. Through the greater part of their length the hills take the form of sharply serrated ridges covered with dense forest, but the central portion of the Khasi Hills is an elevated plateau consisting of rolling downs covered with short grass.
