PHYSICAL FEATURES AND NATURAL RESOURCES

GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS

The foregoing description of the physical features and natural environment lends a favourable setting for understanding the regional patterns in the district. Ratnagiri is typical Konkan with all that is implied in the word; a monsoonal land with great contrast in nature, of heights and plains, of wet and dry seasons, of forested and cultivated stretches, of bare lateritic plateau surfaces and intensely tilled valleys. But this contrast of nature, paradoxically, is not reflected in its human element. The keynote to human life in Ratnagiri district is economic insufficiency with all the attendant problems. Yet regionally there is an interesting variation in landscapes and patterns of human economy. Broadly it is possible to recognise three belts parallel to the coast line and the inland Sahyadris. The eastern portion consists of the main areas of the Sahyadrian Range and its transverse members sprawling into the (Konkan) plain. The mountainous face is deeply scarred by ravines, and the Deccan Lava topography yields the typical step-like appearance, with bold and bleak scarps alternating with softer debris slopes Vegetation, which is mostly monsoonal forests, follows intimately the alternating patterns. On the crest line, towards the Maharashtra plateau, the landscape suddenly changes into a mellowed smooth contoured topography. But at the Sahyadrian base in the Konkan, ruggedness is evident all round. Many of the peaks carry the famous Maratha fortresses, and weaker rocks have given way to create the famous Ghat routes. The topographical influence of the Sahyadris continues westward through the minor ranges to a distance ranging between fifteen to twenty miles. The characteristic feature that is common all over is the destruction of vegetal cover and bare rocky expanses. This is a stark contrast to the luxuriant forest growth southwards in Goa and Kanara. Imporverished forest areas and shifting cultivation are not uncommon to this part of the Ratnagiri district, and consequently population is thin, economically backward and culturally isolated. Villages dot along the main stream courses, and only at the foot of the leading passes does a village grow into a township.

To the west of this Sahyadrian and sub-Sahyadrian region of the district, the hilly landscape opens out to form an undulating aspect which could be as best called plateau surface deeply notched by the parallel flowing streams and their tributaries. Practically most of this surface belongs to the low level laterite that offers a bare and bleak appearance due to the destruction of earlier vegetation. Now nothing but coarse grass and shrubs grow. Here rough grazing of the stunted cattle population is the natural response. This monotony in landscape is relieved only along the deeply entrenched stream courses where meandering sweeps create alluvial patches. On these, intensive rice cultivation and cocoanut and betel-nut gardening are practised and that gives the landscape a verdant appearance. The majority of the villages dot along these courses, and most of them consist of strings of homesteads succeeding in one field and another. Population is essentially agricultural. The more important villages and township are concerned with commerce and transport and they have a remarkable similarity in their geographical location and economic functions. They are situated just where the Sahyadrian foot hills open out to merge in the lateritic plateaus and where the rivers have their tidal limit. Such are, from north to south, Mhapral (pop. 2,820), Khed (pop. 6,477), Chiplun (pop. 15,847), Devrukl (pop. 6,470), Rajapur (pop. 8,023), Kharepatan (pop. 3,400), and Banda (pop. 4,154). Each of these towns is situated at the navigable limit of a river and controls the ' Ghat' route beyond. Before the days of steam-ships and railways, they enjoyed a much greater importance than at present, for goods used to be transported more economically on pack bullocks and sailing crafts and these towns flourished because they were the points of transhipment. Development of railways on the Maharashtra plateau considerably reduced their importance and with the new roads and faster motor traffic developing in the Ratnagiri district, these towns may further recede into the background.

It is difficult to say where this plateau tract of the Ratnagiri district ends and where the coastal ' plains' begin, for these landscapes dovetail into each other so frequently that any clear-cut demarcation must appear artificial. Yet, there is a visible change as one approaches the coastline; wide estuaries, open expanses of cultivation and the salt laden atmosphere have an unmistakable 'milieu' of their own lateritic areas from water sheds between rivers and their promontories-which are the sites of the famous Maratha forts-projecting into the Arabian sea. But below them, in the estuarine areas nestle villages and their cultivated fields covered by lines of cocoanut palms, and at the mouth of the estuary itself has a town which had its hey-day in the olden Moghal and Maratha regimes. Thus each estuary is a focus of human activity-mostly agricultural but partly marine, and till the development of the roads in the interior, was connected to the hinterland by the ghat routes and with the outer world through its small port. Thus Dabhol (pop. 5,065), Guhagar (pop. 5,031), Jayagad (pop. 2,309), Ratnagiri (pop. 27,082), Vijayadurg (pop. 2,506), Deogad (pop. 2,493), Malvan (pop. 29,851), Vengurla (pop. 22,778) and Redi (pop. 4,183), were important'ports in the medieval and pre-British period. Even now they retain their function as local trade and administrative centres. Ratnagiri, due to its position as the district headquarters, has become more important than others. But the common features of inadequate means of sustenance prevail both in town and country side. That explains the well known seasonal and permanent exodus of the able bodied population to Bombay and other active areas in search of employment. What remains in the district, therefore, is economically ineffective and dependent element, either too young or too old, and unless developmental measures to promote agriculture, good water supply, industry including fisheries and communication are actively taken up the geographical face of the district will continue to remain inert and unprogressive.

APPENDIX.

Administrative Divisions of Ratnagiri district, with their area, population and number of villages and towns therein, according to the Census of 1951.

GEOLOGY.

GEOLOGY [The note on ' Geology' was contributed by shri Y. S. Sahasrabuddhe of the geological Survey of India.].-Except for a few scattered areas, the district has not been entirely geologically mapped. The geological formations in the area, which, in descending order of their antiquity, are as below:-

Dharwars.

Dharwars.-The Archaean and the Cuddapah formations are found only in the southern half of the district, while the entire northern portion of the district, is occupied by lava flows referred to as " Deccan traps". The Dharwars are the most ancient formations in the area and are represented by phyllites, crush conglomerates, quartzites, banded-hematite-quartzites, a variety of schists with variable proportions of garnet, staurolite, and kyanite and composed largely of hornblende and mica and various granulites. The crush conglomerates, quartzites and banded-hematite-quartzites occur as narrow bands almost parallel to the coast and as small reefs and islands off the shore. The other rock types appear to cover the greater portion of the area away from the coast. These rock units have trends paralleling the coast line, i.e., NW-SE. to N.N.W.-S.S.E. suggesting some relation between the strike of the rocks and the run of the coast. The quartzites and banded-hematite-quartzites along the shore near Nivti and Malvan are associated with the crushed and brecciated conglomerates and suggest a thrust plane parallel to the coast. Variations in the strike and dip observed at a number of localities indicate that these rocks have been subjected to intense deformation. Some of these sections are described below:

Narrow bands of crush conglomerates, quartzites and banded-hematite-quartzites, running almost parallel to the coast, near Malvan, Nivti and Redi and also forming small reefs and islands off the shore, show steep easterly dips while the rocks little further inland show a northerly dip, suggesting a thrust parallel to the coast line. Similarly, the gneissic rocks south and south-east of Sawantwadi strike E-W., with an obscure and uncertain dip, while those to the south and south-west of Sawantwadi show NW-SE. srike, and near Mano-hargad, north of Sawantwadi strike E-W. A little further north, in the Kudal river the rocks strike N-S. Marked disparity in the strike and dip of these rocks is also noticed near Phonda, where they dip towards S.S.E. at low angles while near Durgagad, north of Phonda, they have north-westerly dips. The schists and quartzites near Kasal show a north-easterly dip, while the same rocks two miles south, show southerly dips.

Mica-schists, mica-garnet-schists, hornblende-schists and chlorite schists are the principal rock types in the Dharwars of this district They form small bands, and near granitic intrusions are associated with biotite-granulites. Good exposures are seen near Vengurla Bunder Hill, Aderi, Kadawal, Satral, Janavli, in the hills north and south-west of Sawantwadi and in the Gad river near Kankavli. Stauro-lite, kyantie or garnet are developed in the mica-schists in the hills north of Shirvada, near Shravan, Lingras wadi and Gaothan. Presence of tourmaline is invariably noticed in the mica-schists in contact with the granite-gneiss. Hornblende and biotite granulites are exposed near Kankavli, Satral, Janavli, Kasal, Kunda Kasba, Kalsuli, Amrad, Avalegaon, Kadawal, Akeri and Danoli. Granulites also occur as inclusions in the granite-gneiss along the Sawantwadi-Aronda and Sawantwadi-Banda roads. Talc-schists occur frequently in the Sawantwadi taluka and are generally found forming lenses and bands interbedded with other Dharwar rocks. Outcrops are noticed near Bamgarda and near the crossing of the Tilari river and the Ram Pass road near Kudasi. The same band passes northwards to the top of the spur between Sasoli and Kumberal. Good exposures are also noticed near Akeri, north-west of Sawantwadi, Sherli, west of Banda, Vankda, south of Ashmat, the slope of the Tapalwadi Hill at Ajgaon, Jholamba, Bidwadi, Gaothan, Asgani and Kirlosi. Actinolite-schists, composed entirely of actinolite and with a few accessories like rutile, biotite, phlogopite and iron-ore are found associated with harn-blende-schists near Kankavli, Talsuli, Nerur, Asoli and Kunda. Good exposures are also noticed at the foot of the Deccan trap lulls near Gadge-Sakkal, one mile north of Phonda. A few thin lenses of anthophyllite-schists are met with near Kankavli and Bidwadi. Similar lenses associated with hornblende-schists are also noticed on the bank of the Gad river, west of Kankavli.

Fine to coarse-grained quartzites composed almost entirely of quartz with minor accessories such as muscovite, biotite, tourmaline, magnetite and pyrite, possessing a typical granoblastic texture, occur as small bands all over the southern part of the district. They are developed in force in the hill range north of Shrirvade, Rathivade, Banda, Nivti, Pat and along the coast of Malvan. The quartzites at Malvan and Nivti have hitherto been regarded as a facies of the Kaladgi Series, but recent work shows them to belong to the Dharwar Series. Ferruginous quartzites are noticed near Asoli and below the laterite cap near Kochra, Mahapan, Pat, Parule, Otavane, Banda, Degwe, Mazgaon, Kalne, Kumbrol and Sherla.

Banded-hematite-quartzite forms a small proportion of the Dharwar rocks in the district. About six small bands, 10-20 feet thick, and less than a few hundred feet in length, are found inter-bedded with hornblende-schists near Kankavli and with granulites near Kiristavwadi. A few minor bands are also noticed north-east of Kasal, southwest of Kunda, east of Vagda, Katta, Varad and along the coast, two miles south of Malvan. Banded-hematite-quartzite is conspicuously developed along the southern margin of the district, particularly along the border of the Portuguese occupied territory. A band near Aros which is almost lateritised laterally extends over 1,400 feet with an average width of 300 feet. A band of similar dimensions is also found near Aravali and Satarda. A few parallel bands at Redi extending over two miles in length with an average width of over 1,500 feet are lateritised, and are extensively worked at present for iron-ore. Small exposures, covered by laterite and exposed intermittently, occur near Tiravada about one mile north-east of Ajgaon, south of Wadi Phanasvada, north-west of Aros, one and a half mile north-west of Aravali and along the northern slope of the hill, west of Talavna.

A number of small bands of crushed conglomerates are noticed in the southern portions of the district. Three bands striking N-S., sharply marked off from adjacent hornblende-schists, are exposed in the bed of Gad river south of Pisekamata and about 3½ miles west by south of Kankavli. Four small bands are also noticed near Sindhudurg, and along the shore near Malvan and Nivti. The pebbles constitute 60 to 70 per cent. of the rock by volume and are somewhat flattened and ellipsoidal in shape. The matrix is siliceous of coherent sandy and gritty material, often stained with ferruginous material.

Granite-gneiss.

Granite-gneiss.-Granite-gneiss, intrusive into the schistose rocks, forms small scattered patches occupying a comparatively small area. All gradations are noticed varying from distinctly gneissic varieties to an evenly granular and porphyritic type. In the porphyritic variety the phenocrysts of microcline are generally set in a medium to coarse-grained matrix composed chiefly of microcline, quartz, oligoclase, biotite and hornblende. A few accessories such as zircon, apatite, sphene and magnetite are common. In the gneissic varieties, the direction of the banding varies between N 10° W to N. 50° W and conform to the strike of the adjacent schistose rocks. Occasionally, these granites exhibit augen structures, suggestive of their having suffered post consolidation deformation.

The most northerly exposure of the gneisses occurs as a small inlier, surrounded by quartzites of the Kaladgi Series, at the base of Deo-donger hill north-west of Phonda. Good outcrops of granites showing their intrusive relationship with the Dharwars are noticed near Kankavli, Katta and Koshra. An interesting section of gneissic rocks is seen at Ram Pass near Banda. At the head of the pass light-coloured, highly felspathic gneisses crop out, while lower down the pass, compact, fine-grained, bluish hornblende-gneisses are inter-bedded with hornblende-schists and quartzites. The strike of the rock is quite persistent throughout the spurs upto the south of Pargad Fort. Another good section in the bend of the Tilari river, west of the fort at Permeg exhibits the light-coloured, gneisses dipping at 50° towads south-west. Hornblende-gnesses are widely developed in some parts of the district and are noticed in the following localities: (1) in the hills around Banda, (2) between Ram Pass and Vengurla, (3) between Anai and Fukeri, (4) in the valley east of Oras Budrukh, (5) south of Balamwadi, (6) one mile north-east and south-west of Dankalwadi, (7) on the spur crowned by the Hanmant-gad Fort, (8) the hills south-west and north of Sawantwadi, (9) in a river section near Kalmist a couple of miles north of Devsu, and (10) in the high hills of Baravda, Bambarda and Mulda. Isolated patches of granite-gneiss surrounded by lateritised Dharwar rocks are noticed near Sukalwadi, Avalegaon, Pat, Gabit and Vajrat, Kandal-gaon, Adali, Dhampur, Kalse and Amberi.

The main granitic intrusion was followed by numerous minor injections of quartz, pegmatite, opatites, etc., in apophysal forms, and are especially found traversing the schistose rocks all over the area. The pegmatites often contain tourmaline and muscovite. Such pegmatites are exposed one mile south-west and north-west of Avle-gaon, on the border of Kumbhavade and Biravane villages and near Kadawal. The mica bearing pegmatite at Kadawal is about 1,600 feet long and nearly 600 feet wide. Numerous small quartz veins conformably intrude the Dharwar rocks and the gneisses. A quartz vein, about 25 feet wide and a little over a mile in length occurs north of Phonda, while few quartz tourmaline veins occur at Rathi-vade and Varavda. These veins appear to be responsible for the incorporation of tourmaline in the country rocks as in the biotite-schists at Ratambewadi and Shiravda; the talc-schists along the northern slope of the Tapalwadi hill at Ajgani; the quartzite at Pisekamta, north-west of Kankavli; and the hornblende-granulite at Musalman Wadi and at Varavda half a mile north-west of Kankavli.

Basic and Ultramafic intrusions.- Numerous small dykes of basic and ultramafic rocks, intrude the Dharwars and granite-gneisses. They comprise chlorites, dolerites, olivine-dolerites gabbros, picrites and chromite-bearing serpentines. The dykes do not outcrop continuously as they are often obscured by the laterite cover. Following are some of the localities where the dykes are conspicuous: (1) along the coast south of Gabitwadi, (2) two miles south-west of Kochra, (3) one mile north-west of Aravali and Nirukhe, (4) Man-gaon-Akeri Road and Vengurla-Belgaum Road, (5) half a mile northwest of Banda, (6) Vapholi, (7) north of Kalne-Mazgaon and Padve, (8) west of Vagda, (9) Kankavli-Harkul Road, (10) one mile west of Kasal bridge, and (11) Sawantwadi-Aronda Road.

Picrite which is noticed on the Danoli-Banda Road is coarsegrained and holo-crystalline, composed largely of pyroxene olivine. Chromite-bearing serpentine rocks are noticed near Kankavli and Vagda exposure is composed of two ridges separated by a patch of cultivation. These serpentines are usually altered to laterite. The chromite ore bodies pccur as irregular lenses or small veins in the serpentine. An extensive outcrop of an irregular intrusive mass of olivine-norite is noticed in the hills near Vagheri, live miles northeast of Vengurla.

Kaladgi Series.

The Kaladgi Series.-Rocks of the Kaladgi Series are noticed in the southern portions of the district and are represented by conglo- merates, quartzites, sandstones and shales. The Kaladgis appear to have covered large areas in the past and suffered immense denudation long before the outpouring of the Deccan lava flows. They now form numerous detached inliers, separated from one another by the overlying beds of the Deccan trap and laterite. The most important of the inliers, covering more than 100 square miles, occurs near Phonda, exposed in a chain of hills at the base of the Phonda and Shivgad passes, extending beyond Lora and Kusli. The rocks generally have gentle dips to the S. S. E. A similar inlier is also seen near Salva and Kokesra including the isolated hills near Kasarda, Nathaoda and Wagh. Thin bedded, ripple-marked, sandstones occur at the base and are overlain by quartzites and coarse friable sandstones. Extensive development of dark-grey to black shale,is also noticed in the area, the rocks generally dipping 7 to 10 degrees to the west. A few small isolated inliers are noticed further north of the Salva inliers on the northern and southern bauks of the Sukh river, as at Naola, Sangalwadi, Edgaon, and near Kusur along the northern bank and near Sherpe, Edgaon, Napne, Naida, Ozar and Hijda along the southern bank. The quartzites here are white, red or brown in colour, and dip 45° N. N. W., resting on the chlorite-schists. The more important exposures of Kaladgi rocks further south are at Math, Budhavla, Trimbak, Shravan, Vaeran, Masda, Golvan, Chaphekhol and Salel, where they rest unconformably on Dharwar schists. The quartzites are white, pink and red-brown in colour and are hard and compact in texture. The conglomerates carry pebbles of colourless, milky and smoky quartz and quartzite, with small fragments of pink feldspar, the cement being generally siliceous. Microcline, biotite, tourmaline, zircon, rutile, epidote, apatite, garnet and anatase are some of the common accessory minerals.

The Kaladgi rocks, in general, are well bedded, the thickness of individual beds of coarser arenaceous types varying between 2 and 15 feet, and of the silts and clays being from 2" to 3" thick. False bedding and symmetrical sharp ripple marks occur in several sandstones and quartzites near Sherpewadi, while what appears to be rain prints, are seen in the sandstone near Napne. The shales are of various colours, black, yellow-green and red-brown varieties feeing common. Fine-grained, compact and grey limestones are noticed occurring as sporadic boulders in the shales near Kasarda.

Infra-trappean beds.

The infra-trappean (?) beds.-Deccan trap generally rests on some Archaean schists or gneisses in some places or on Kaladgi sand- stones and quartzites in others. But beds of loose water-worn pebbles intervening between the trap flows and the Archaean ropks are noticed at a few localities and are supposed to be infra-trappean beds. They crop out as narrow discontinuous bands fringing the Deccan traps and are traceable for about four miles along the base of the Deccan trap between Nagwa and Sakedi. Two isolated patches of similar beds occur two miles north of Kankavli and three miles south-west of Nagwa. Both the outcrops occur at the same altitude of about 170 feet from the mean sea level. Similar pre-trapean formation is noticed almost at the same altitude in the hill, south-east of Kasal and along the north-western flank of the hill, east of Ovalia.

The beds, in general, appear to be nearly horizontal. The thickness of the bed near Sakedi is about 20 feet, while at Nagwa, it is only 10 feet. The pebbles are made up chiefly of sub-angular to rounded quartz and rarely of microcline.

Deccan trap.

Deccan trap.-Towards the end of the creataceous period, there was intensive volcanism in the Deccan plateau, as seen now by the enormous thickness of nearly horizontal lava flows known as " Deccan Trap", which flooded the country occupied by Dharwar and Kaladgi rocks. Deccan trap forms a very extensive formation covering the entire northern portion and parts of the southern portion of the district. However, the greater part of the exposed trap belongs to the lowest flows, the surface of which is generally covered by thick beds of laterite. Numerous bold scarps are carved out in several of the thick lava flows due to the prolonged action of rivers. Some of the outstanding scarps are noticed along the Amba Pass, Amboli Pass and the Phonda Pass. These and other scarps constitute the spurs of the main Sahyadrian range. Each spur consists of several lava flows of different thickness and each lava bed could be easily demarcated even from a distance by their characteristic vegetation or lack of it.

Many mural precipices of hard, compact, columnar basalts are noticed near Prangad, where three distinct and conspicuous flows form cliff-like scarp, about five to six hundred feet in height. Another prominent double mural scarp of much beauty, made up of two flows, is noticed north of Amboli Pass. The spur on which the remarkable hill forts of Manohar and Mansantosh stand is capped by an extensive basaltic flow showing very fine mural scarps. Another prominent hill on which the famous hill fort Rangna is situated, shows seven different flows.

Recently, as many as eight flows, separated by seven red bole beds have been distinguished near the Phonda Pass. The rocks, as a rule, have a porphyritic texture with a fine grained aphanitic matrix. The different units of flows are represented by: (1) coarsegrained massive basalts characterised by spheroidal weathering or development of columnar joints, (2) amygdaloidal basalt with zeolites, (3) agglomerates and (4) breccias. The rocks are occasionally scoriaceous and amygdular and the cavities are usually lined with any one of the following minerals: dark-green chlorophaeite, haulandite, stibite, opal, agate and crypto-crystalline quartz. Trap dykes have intruded the several lava flows in a few places, near Sawantwadi, Kasai and Maneri.

Cuddalore Series.

Cuddalore Series (?).-A few small patches of Tertiary sediments appear to rest on the denuded surface of the Deccan trap at Ratnagiri. They consist of white and blue clays carrying fossil plant material and a few thin carbonaceous seams. They are supposed to be the northern extensions of the Cuddalore Series extending from  Travancore and fringing the coast as far north as Ratnagiri. The  fossils are very imperfectly preserved and study on these Tertiary formations is yet awaited.

Laterite.

Laterite.-Extensive spreads of Laterite are noticed throughout the district. They are considered to be the nature of the 'high level' laterite and not of detrital origin as was once supposed. They generally form flat plateaus with an elevation between two and three hundred feet. They make the country monotonous with sheets of slag-like laterite, without vegetation except scanty grass and a few stunted trees. It will be convenient to treat the laterite formation of the district in two sections: (1) Harnai-Ratnagiri-Khed-Devrukh section in the north and (2) Ratnagiri-Vengurla section in the south.

A wall-like scarp of huge laterite plateau with an elevation of about 700 feet above the mean sea level, is noticed between the Harnai Fort and the sea. The laterite appears to be distinctly bauxitic at places. The texture of the rock is peculiar, in that it is mottled with red and white in irregular veined patches. The upper limit of laterite appears to be near about 700 feet in the vicinity of Harnai. However, the laterite near Khed and particularly between Khed and Chiplun occurs at a much higher level. The laterite at Ratnagiri occurs at an elevation of 200 to 400 feet and is well seen near the Palace of the late King Thibaw of Burmah. Good exposures of primary laterite are noticed along the coast from Harnai to Dabhol and Ratnagiri. Extensive development is also noticed in the high ridges forming the parts of the Western ghats along the westernmost margin of the district. Thick spread of lateritic soil is common near Sangameshwar, while detrital laterite is noticed in the open plains near Devrukh.

In the southern section, the first place is at Vijayadurg Fort which is built on a small laterite peninsula, not more than 90 feet in height. Excellent sections of tubular laterite scarp are noticed within the Fort. A thin formation of laterite-conglomerates with the bauxitic nodules is fouund on the plateau top. The high ground south of the Vijayadurg Fort, 100 feet above sea level, is capped by laterite. The laterite of Vijayadurg, in general, is more ferruginous and contains trifling seggregations of bauxitic nodules. White lithomarge found in the neighbourhood is very conspicuous. The laterite of Deogad, in general, is similar to the laterite of Vijayadurg. Here, the masses of cream-coloured bauxite are found in loose blocks at the top of the toe of the scarp near the customs house. A gradation of the litho-margic laterite to the deeply kaolinised trap is noticed in the laterite section within the Fort. The laterite section near Malvan is interesting. The laterite caps the quartzites and a few sections show a regular gradation from quartzites to laterite. The next section of importance is the plateau near Vengurla, where the laterite caps the granite-gneiss. Laterite capping is more conspicuous towards east of Vengurla. It is also seen to cover the granitic country between Vengurla and Phonda and in the vicinity of the Gad river. Thick spreads of laterite are also seen near Aros, Satarda, Ajgaon extending further south in the Portuguese occupied territory.

Recent Deposits.

Recent deposits.- Two kinds of alluvial deposits, viz., marine alluvium and the river alluvium, are generally noticed in the district, but neither is of any extent or importance. To the marine alluvium, belong the recent shell-beds formed due to the consolidation of broken shells and sands. They are noticed at some distance above the high-tide level along the creek north of Malvan and at Deogad. The beds show a slight westerly dip. The sand spits, by which the mouths of the Kudal and Ashamat rivers show considerable bent towards south, must all be reckoned as marine alluvium and are supposed to be due to the prevailing northerly coast currents. The river alluvia are limited to the lower reaches of the several creeks, and are almost entirely obscured by wet cultivation. The hillocks of brown-sand along the coast near Malvan and Deogad cover the raised beds of sea-alluvium and the various patches of low-level laterites along the coast.

The soils depend almost on the character of the rock by whose decomposition they have been formed. Soils from the Deccan trap are generally grey to light-brown and deep-red in colour. The Kaladgi quartzites and shales give rise to sandy soils and clays, respectively. The laterite soil is typical red in colour and is very common along the coast throughout the district.

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