Tosham Hill range
Tosham Hill | |
---|---|
List of Indian states and territories by highest point | |
Coordinates | 28°53′N 75°55′E / 28.88°N 75.92°E |
Geography | |
Location in Haryana | |
Location | Bhiwani district, Haryana, India |
Parent range | Aravali Range |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Hike / scramble |
Tosham hill range (Tusham hill range old spelling), located at and in the area around
is a remnant of the outer ring of a fallen chamber of an extinct volcano. Tosham hill range covers the hills at Tosham, Khanak, and Riwasa as well as the small rocky outcrops at Nigana, Dulehri, Dharan, Dadam, and Kharkari Makhwan. Among these, Khanak hill is the largest in area and tallest in height.It is an important biodiversity area within the "western-southern Haryana" spur of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor.
Geology of Tosham hill
The main Tosham hill is an
Tosham Igneous Complex
Tosham Igneous Complex has 3 main hills (Khanak, Tosham and Riwasa) and several other smaller rocky outcrops, mainly around the ring dyke:
- Tosham Hill:
The main Tusham hill is the second largest hill in the range. It has - Khanak hill at Khanak:
Khanak hill is the largest and tallest in the range, followed by neighbouring Tosham hill, Nigana Khurd, Riwasa, Dulehri, Dharan, Dadam etc in the order of decreasing size. These hills are mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2][3] - Riwasa hill near Riwasa village:
Mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2]
The rocky outcrops include the following:
- Nigana hill near twin Nigana villages, Nigana Khurd and Nigana Kalan:
Hilly outcrop in the vicinity of , are mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2] - Dulehri hill near Dulehri village:
Mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2] - Dharan hill near Dharan village:
Mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2] - Dadam hill near Dadam village:
Mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2] - Kharkari Makhwan hill near Kharkari Makhwan village:
Mainly composed of granite porphyries.[1][2]
Mining
Based on the scientific study of artifacts from
Sacred sulphur ponds of Tosham Hill
There are several holy ponds on Tosham Hill inside the caves, namely Pandu Teerth Kund, Surya Kund, Kukkar Kund, Gyarasia/Vyas Kund and a reservoir or a small tank on the summit of the hill to store rain water. Water in these kunds (ponds) in various caverns contain sulfur which is considered sacred by the devotees and pilgrimages as it heals skin diseases.[5]
Pandu Tirath, Tosham
There are several sacred kunds or reservoirs on the hill; one of them, the Pandu Tirath, is considered so sacred that some of the neighbouring villages deposit the ashes of their dead in it instead of taking them to the Ganges.
Surya Kund, Tosham
The Surya Kund is one of many kunds (pond) found in caverns of Tosham hill. It is considered sacred.
Kukkar Kund, Tosham
The Kukkar Kund is one of many kunds (pond) found in caverns of Tosham hill. It is considered sacred.
Gyarasia Kund, Tosham
The Gyarasia Kund (Vyas Kund) is one of many kunds (pond) found in caverns of Tosham hill. It is considered sacred.
Scientific studies
From 1894-96, Lt-General C.A. Mcmahon (1830-1904), who was also the president of British Geologists' Association, was the first modern geologist to study these rocks. He described the petrography of the rocks in 1884 and 1886 and published his work in the Records of Geological Survey of India.[1][2] During 1994-96, Khorana, Dhir and Jayapaul of Geological Survey of India carried out the first mineral survey and scout drilling of several hills in the Tosham range.[6] During 2014-2016, Ravindra Singh and Dheerendra Singh of Banaras Hindu University undertook first ever Indus Valley Civilization archaeological excavations of the area to confirm the connection of ores mined from these hills with the smelting metallurgical work of IVS.[citation needed]
Malani Supercontinent
The plume related Malani magmatism in the NW Indian shield is intraplate, anorogenic, A-type and is indicative of extensional tectonic environment in the region. There is a relationship between mantle plume related anorogenic magmatism and assembly of a supercontinent. In this research paper similarities between TAB of NW Indian shield, Seychelles, Madagascar, Nubian-Arabian shield central Iran and South China constituting Malani supercontinent in terms of bimodal anorogenic magmatism, ring structures, Strutian glaciation and subsequent desiccation are discussed. Paleomagnetic data also support the existence of Malani Supercontinent
The TAB is unique in the geological evolution of the Indian shield as it marks a major period of anorogenic (A-type), ‘Within Plate’, high heat producing (HHP) magmatism represented by the Malani igneous suite of rocks (MIS). The Neoproterozoic Malani igneous suite (55,000 km2; 732 Ma) comprising peralkaline (Siwana), metaluminous to milidly peralkaline (Jalor), and peraluminous (Tusham and Jhunjhunu) granites with cogenetic carapace of acid volcanics (welded tuff, trachyte, rhyolite, explosion breccia and perlite) are characterized by volcano-plutonic ring structures and radial dykes. The suite is bimodal in nature with minor amounts of basalt, gabbro and dolerite dykes
Tosham Hill range Indus Valley civilization mines and smelters
There are several
Ravindra Singh and Dheerendra Singh of
Glass Bridge Skywalk
A Glass Bridge Skywalk is planned here, see also List of Glass Bridge Skywalks in India.
Concerns
Due to the ongoing mining activities there are environmental, pollution and noise related concerns, as well as
External links
- Haryana state geology and mineral maps, Geological Survey of India.
- Report on investigation for strategic and basemental mineraisation around Nigana, Khanak, Kharakari, Devrala, Bhiwani district, Haryana, Geological Survey of India field report 1994-95 and 1995-96, by RK Khorana, NK Dhir and D Jayapaul.
- Dyke Swarms: Keys for Geodynamic Interpretation, Rajesh Srivastava - 2011
- Indian Minerals,Volume 58, Page 39, 2004
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kochhar, Naresh,1983, Tusham ring complex, Bhiwani, India. Proc. Indian Natl.Sci. Acad.v.49A, pp.459-490
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kochhar, Naresh, 2000 Attributes and significance of the A-type Malani magmatism, NW peninsular India. In M.Deb (ed.) Crystal evolution and metallogeny in northwestern Indian shield. Chapter 9, Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi
- ^ a b "Dadam to Dadam".
- ^ A golden chain of civilizations: Indic, Iranic, Semitic, Page 252
- ^ 2004, "Records, Volume 135, Part 1.", Geological Survey of India, Page 144.
- ^ RK Khorana, NK Dhir and D Jayapaul, 1996, "Report on investigation for strategic and basemental mineraisation around Nigana, Khanak, Kharakari, Devrala, Bhiwani district, Haryana", field report 1994-95 and 1995-96, Geological Survey of India.
- ^ N Kochhar, R Kochhar, And D.K. Chakrabarti, 1999, "A New Source of Primary Tin Ore in the Indus Civilisation", South Asian Studies, vol 15, pp 115-118.
- ^ D.K. Chakrabarti, 2014, "Distribution and Features of the Harappan Settlements, in History of India-Protohistoric Foundation", Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.
- ^ Randal Law, 2006, "Moving Mountains: The Trade and Transport of RocNs and minerals within the greater Indus Valley Region in Space and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology," (Eds.) E.C. Robertson, R.D. Seibert, D.C. Fernandez and M.V. Zender, University of Calgary Press, Alberta, Canada.
- University of Wisconsin, pp 209-210.
- ^ A.L. Vasiliev, M.V. Kovalchuk, and E. B. Yatsishina, 2015, "Electron Microscopy Methods in Studies of Cultural Heritage Sites", Crystallography Reports, Pleiades Publishing, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 873–885, ISSN 1063-7745.