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This article has been extracted from
THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.
OXFORD, AT THE CLAR..."

2014-06-02T08:27:58Z

Created page with "{| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This article has been extracted from <br/> THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/> OXFORD, AT THE CLAR..."

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{| class="wikitable"
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
</div>
|}
[[Category:India|R]]
[[Category:Places|R]]
''Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. ''

=Rajmahal Hills=

Hilly tract in the Santal Parganas District of
Bengal, lying between 24 30' and 25 rs'N. and 87 21' and 87 49' E.,
and estimated to cover an area of 1,366 square miles. The height
nowhere exceeds 2,000 feet above sea-level, and the average elevation
is considerably less. Among the highest ridges are Mori and Sund-
garsa. The narrow valleys in these hills belong to the Government
estate known as the Daman-i-koh, which extends 24 miles north and
south, with an average width of 5 miles, and is surrounded by hills on
every side. The Rajmahal Hills were long regarded as a continuation
of the Vindhyan range of Central India; but Mr. V. Ball, of the
Geological Survey, after a detailed examination of these hills, came to
the conclusion that they form an isolated group, the noith-eastern
extremity of which constitutes the turning-point of the Ganges. The
Rajmahal Hills consist of overflowing basaltic trap of comparatively
recent date, resting upon coal measures and metamorphic rocks of
gneissose character, forming part of the Lower Gondwana system.

The hills leave only a narrow passage between their northern flank
and the Ganges channel } and in Mughal times this pass; known as
TELIAGARHI, was of great strategic importance, and was defended by
a large stone fort, the ruins of which are still to be seen. The loop-
line of the East Indian Railway follows this route. The hills are
inhabited by the Pahana races, who are described in the article on the
SANTAL PARGANAS. A peculiar feature of these hills is the chain of
level plateaux which are found upon the crests of the ridges. Upon
these small plateaux the Pahanas have built their houses } and they
are cultivated with the ordinary plains crops, millets, sarguja (Gutzotia
oleifera), pulses and even rice covering the hill-tops, while mangoes,
jack-fruit trees, and palm trees thrive luxuriantly, The approach from
the plains below to each plateau is jealously guarded by a steep ladder
of boulders, The slopes of the hills yield large quantities of bamboos
and firewood, and spiked millet is grown in patches everywhere.
A large trade has recently sprung up in sabai grass (Ischaemum angusti-
fotium}) which is grown in the hills near Sahibganj, where it is baled
and dispatched by rail to the paper-mills in the neighbourhood of
Calcutta.

Rajmahal Hills - Revision history

Pdewan: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"| This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLAR..."

Pdewan: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|
This article has been extracted from
THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.
OXFORD, AT THE CLAR..."