The geology of the Himalayas being described elsewhere (see [Himalayas]), the following account deals only with the Indo-Gangetic plain and the Peninsula.

The Indo-Gangetic Plain covers an area of about 300,000 sq. m., and varies in width from 90 to nearly 300 m. It rises very gradually from the sea at either end; the lowest point of the watershed between the Punjab rivers and the Ganges is about 924 ft. above the sea. This point, by a line measured down the valley, but not following the winding of the river, is about 1050 m. from the mouth of the Ganges and 850 m. from the mouth of the Indus, so that the average inclination of the plain, from the central watershed to the sea, is only about 1 ft. per mile. It is less near the sea, where for long distances there is no fall at all. Near the watershed it is generally more; but there is here no ridge of high ground between the Indus and the Ganges, and a very trifling change of level would often turn the upper waters of one river into the other. It is not unlikely that such changes have in past time occurred; and if so an explanation is afforded of the occurrence of allied forms of freshwater dolphins (Platanista) and of many other animals in the two rivers and in the Brahmaputra.

The alluvial deposits of the plain, as made known by the boring at Calcutta, prove a gradual depression of the area in recent times. There are peat and forest beds, which must have grown quietly at the surface, alternating with deposits of gravel, sand and clay. The thickness of the delta deposit is unknown; 481 ft. was proved at the bore hole, but probably this represents only a small part of the deposit. Outside the delta, in the Bay of Bengal, is a deep depression known as the “swatch of no ground”; all around it the soundings are only of 5 to 10 fathoms, but they very rapidly deepen to over 300 fathoms. Mr J. Ferguson has shown that the sediment is carried away from this area by the set of the currents; probably then it has remained free from sediment whilst the neighbouring sea bottom has gradually been filled up. If so, the thickness of the alluvium is at least 1800 ft., and may be much more. At Lucknow a boring was driven through the Gangetic alluvium to a depth of 1336 ft. from the surface, or nearly 1000 ft. below sea-level. Even at this depth there was no indication of an approach to the base of the alluvial deposits.

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The deposits of the Indo-Gangetic plain are of modern date and the formation of the depression which they fill is almost certainly connected with the elevation of the Himalayas. Both movements are probably still going on. The alluvial deposits prove depression in quite recent geological times; and within the Himalayan region earthquakes are still common, whilst in Peninsular India they are rare.

Peninsular India.—The oldest rocks of this region consist of gneiss, granite and other crystalline rocks. They cover a large area in Bengal and Madras and extend into Ceylon; and they are found also in Bundelkhand and in Gujarat. Upon them rest the unfossiliferous strata known to Indian geologists as the Transition and Vindhyan series. The Transition rocks are often violently folded and are frequently converted into schists. In the south, where they are known as the Dharwar series, they form long and narrow bands running from north-north-west to south-south-east across the ancient gneiss; and it is interesting to note that all the quartz-reefs which contain gold in paying quantities occur in the Dharwar series. The Transition rocks are of great but unknown age. The Vindhyan rocks which succeed them are also of ancient date. But long before the earliest Vindhyan rocks were laid down the Transition rocks had been altered and contorted. Occasionally the Vindhyan beds themselves are strongly folded, as in the east of the Cuddapah basin; but this was the last folding of any violence which has occurred in the Peninsula. In more recent times there have been local disturbances, and large faults have in places been formed; but the greater part of the Peninsula rocks are only slightly disturbed. The Vindhyan series is generally sharply marked off from older rocks; but in the Godavari valley there is no well-defined line between them and the Transition rocks. The Vindhyan beds are divided into two groups. The lower, with an estimated thickness of only 2000 ft., or slightly more, cover a large area—extending, with but little change of character, from the Sone valley in one direction to Cuddapah, and in a diverging line to near Bijapur—in each case a distance of over 700 m. The upper Vindhyans cover a much smaller area, but attain a thickness of about 12,000 ft. The Vindhyans are well-stratified beds of sandstone and shale, with some limestones. As yet they have yielded no trace of fossils, and their exact age is consequently unknown. They are however certainly Pre-Permian, and it is most probable that they belong to the early part of the Palaeozoic era. The total absence of fossils is a remarkable fact, and one for which it is difficult to account, as the beds are for the most part quite unaltered. Even if they are entirely of freshwater origin, we should expect that some traces of life from the waters or neighbouring land would be found.

The Gondwana series is in many respects the most interesting and important series of the Indian Peninsula. The beds are almost entirely of freshwater origin. Many subdivisions have been made, but here we need only note the main division into two great groups: Lower Gondwanas, 13,000 ft. thick; Upper Gondwanas, 11,000 ft. thick. The series is mainly confined to the area of country between the Nerbudda and the Sone on the north, and the Kistna on the south; but the western part of this region is in great part covered by newer beds. The lowest Gondwanas are very constant in character, wherever they are found; the upper members of the lower division show more variation, and this divergence of character in different districts becomes more marked in the Upper Gondwana series. Disturbances have occurred in the lower series before the formation of the upper.