An Ultimate|Destination for the GeoscientistsGEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA 2018 we MF WE GAL: An Ultimate Destination for the Geoscientists MAY 2018rs bad WEST BENGAL: FOREWORD am glad thal SU: WB & AN, GSI Eastern Region, Kokalais bringing outa special volume tiled 'West Bengal: An Ulimale Destination forthe CGeoscientists'to highlight and showcase the pctorial presentation f varied features pertaining tothe diverse geological domains of West Bengal ranging in age trom Precambrian to Recent ‘plethora of data sets covring wide aspects of gaoscientfc studies have been generated over the years by different stalwart workers of SU: WB & AN, However, a major hurdle was the consolidation of relevant photographs having immense geoscientifc values under a single umbrela, The state of West Bengal represents a classic framework of heterogeneous landmass comprising of mighty Himalayas, high grade Proterozoic schistose rocks of Puulia, Gondwana sediments with rich coal resources, Swalks and vast stretches of Indo-Gangetic Pans, The state of West Bengal holds an important role in mineral producton ofthe county. n tems of value, the stale accounts for 3.8% of mineral production in India and hos various metalic and ‘on-metalic mineral depos ike coal, china clay, fre clay, apatite, dolomite, imestone, sia sand, base metals, wolfamit, having widespread economic importance, A wide array of information on intcate srctural features related to Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) & Main Cenzal Thrust (MCT), fond in the seismotectoncaly active Exrepeninsulr Himalayan region of West Bengal ike thrusts, schuppens, folds and faults have aso been incorporated in this volume, ‘Sundarbans, a mangrove dominated complex ecosystem, which has evolved through progressive dela building actly of te Ganga-Padma ver system comprises of aso of detac landforms tke inte-dstrbutary islands/marshes separates by intricate network ofcistbutary channalsidal craks associated wit bal fats, levees and sub-aqueous bars. Sundarban National Parks a UNESCO World Herlage site an hotspot of biodiversity, which holds great Signicance across the globe. am happy to lean that some prominent photographs from tis dela system have been assimilated inthis special volume. This wil defintely have afar reaching signficance before the commencement of fld studies in the ligt of forthcoming IGC-2020, Bringing outa speca pictorial volume wil defntey help geosclentsts, academicians, researchers and policy makers in visualizing the diverse geological mains of West Bengal. | siongly bfeve this book wil gather fame and popularity among the pubicin general and earth science fraternity in particular. letebo (N. Kutumba Rao) Director General, GS1PREFACE ‘aso shares inernatonal boundaries wih counties ike Nepal, utan and Bangladesh. The state hosts geological unis ranging am Pracamorian age to Recent imes, making ita storehouse of various mineral, rocks and fossis. A vara of economic deposits found in the state such as Coal, Apaite, REEs, Dolomite Tin-Tungsten, Copper, lc..make itone of the important contriouors othe indian economy. Apart om ils host of geological treasures, the slate is unique in having a varity of geomorphological features staring from Himalayas inte North othe Bay of Bengal inthe south T= of West Bengals athe eastern end of India, sharing mesic boundaries with the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. This geological diverse states the envy ofthe geoscentfc community of the country and the world, The Precambrian to Qualemary sequences found in the stale comprise of Pracambrian basement folowed by huge coal eserves of Gondwanas, overain by the vas act of alluvial pains belonging othe word's largest dela sysiem- the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta, Also the Quaternary sequences at Gangani (Bankura Dist) are similar othe Grand Canyons ‘of USA which adds tots geological hartage Apart fam its ich geological content, he statis unigue among ater states ofthe county as ithas the Darjeeing Himalayas in the north as wel as vast acs of coastal areas inthe Digha-Frasergan-Namkhana area. The slate is also home tothe word famous Sunderban Bio-Dversily regan which has been designated as UNESCO Word Hertage Site due to is vast mangrove plantations ‘Al these features make the state of West Bengal an ulate destination forall geoscientss which is why tis coffe table book sited 'WEST BENGAL: An Urtimate Destination fr Geoscientiss, This Coffe Table book sa pictorial presentaton of some ofthe famous and unique geological and geomorphological features seen in the slate, curated by officers of SU: WB-AN. This book does not contain detailed discussions onthe geology ofthe sate however iis intended for ight hearted technical dscussions betwoon geoscntss The ofcer of SU: INB-AN ae thanked for ther reles efforts that have gone into preparing his book. AD, HOD, GSI ERs thanked for his inspiration, ‘encouragement and fancial support without which this book would not have bean possible, Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort” Frankl, Roosevelt (Kamal Kumar Gangopadhyay) Deputy Diector General SU: WB & AN, ER, GSIWEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination forthe Geosclentists T H INTRODUCTION COAL DARJEELING Buy vai ENGINEERING GEOLOGY GEO-TECHNICAL LABORATOR’ CHOTANAGPUR GNEISSIC COMPLEX NORTH SINGHBHUM MOBILE BELT SUNDARBAN@vtTRoouCTION nthe year 1963 we had been called for interview as prospective Assistant Geologists atthe UPSC interview centre. The Chairman ofthe Board asked me if knew about 2 geological window. As was expected | cid not know about it but had to pay long. | was asked io draw a cross-section and | very inteligently drow a buter-cako stratigraphy and put valley at its center and said the window was the lower strata peeping out atthe canter of te valley The Chaiman pethaps knew even less about a geological window. He kept looking ait and did not make any remarks. The next candidate entered tho hall shivering, He was asked whether he knew about a geological window. Before entering, my fiend had asked me about what questions were asked, | explained the geological window as | drew. The Chairman looked at his cross-section in a very um manner and sad “The earer boy must have told you about the cross section. Now | wan a geological window on a hl op". Obviously he could not draw it Lied | know tha my respected coleagues would begin paying in a geological window in the Daresing Himalayas forthe next several years However, | cid not have the goo fortune of collaborating with them LLetme go mary more years back. Asa young boy | had rea in one ofthe popular Bengali magazines (Probas, or Bhartbarsa or Basu) thal somewhere near Garbeta under the supervision of he then District Collector, the skeleton of a human being was excavated. Itwas reported in thal ‘magazine that th skeloton belonged toa man nearly seven foot tal. However, since then | have tied to get hald of any sort of confrmation about the incident and confess that was one of those things which motivated me to read geology, When | read abou the Olduvai Gorge in Aca where evidence of the eariest human population has been recorded, my mind travels back to what | had read as a boy. Ist nt possible that some day some of our successors willbe able lo oig out human palaeo~emains from some ofthe red sos of West Bengal Now our time is up butte time machine takes us back o our younger days when trekking kiometers afte llometers was not a chore bu a pleasure Good fortune has allowed me to have some acquaintance with the old metamorphic rocks of Odisha and Bhar but gneisses of Chhotanagpur remained beyond my reach The Purua Pumped Storage Scheme was vsualzed in the late sevens and early eighties. Nobody believed then that he reservoir would hold enough waler to run a pumped storage scheme successul al tat place. Yetitis perhaps the fist such scheme executed successful any where wii India, The green and white his of the Himalayas point their spies atthe be shy above; the verdant green of he plans conceals so many mysteries; between the Rajmahal and Garo ils the concealed pars ofthe Bengal ough are so deep as to have been almost beyond the technical capad of ding for al. Since the eighties the discovery ofthe concealed coal belo Birbhum promises to change the econamy of West Benga.fy WEST BENGAL: Pee eee ec sey Come to Kolkata ad tle would you imagine that €000 years before present, Kolkata was par of the Sundarban mangrove zone, The plains have been bull up by the capricious interplay of rvers, Where the Damodar takes @ southward um, you can even see a cone, an old small deta pressing against the present river plain. The deltas clearly vse ona satelite imagery map. Nobody knows what underground resources are there. May be the nex generation of workers can analyze and tll us what the prospects are. Rocks most peculiar are encountered in some of the hardrock areas, The leadzino- sulphides and magnette rocks ofthe Garubathan areas can be global intresting in tars of tai origin. The mineralized zone from Pura int Binar may mark he northern extremity of a fundamantal fracture zone which has been welded into the Indan suboontinent, (On the eastom seafront, one would id lines of dune ridges stretching from Digha in West Bengal to Anchra Pradesh, punctured by such rivers as the Subarnareka, Nowhere else would you find such a zone where the entre lateral with of Indéan Geology has been squeezed by such a narow pincer The present books a compendium off photographs from West Bengal Between the blue sky above, the red earth in between and he blue sea beyond, West Sengal beckons he earth scintsts. May be one day t would yield even more secrets about he. Dr. Sujit Kumar Mazumdar Sr, Deputy Director Ganeal(Retd)Pe oa siltstone bed in rene eeu ole emir ta) Ce eee eet ees cee ene ron] ee eee ee eee CTT rere ace ene) eee nn a ae eon Ee eee eee ed Cee ee eas eLetter ERY Se eer ear an eeu ees) Peon rr eres Oe eee to toe ator y cihors mapped te ent call on 4 inch = 1 mie scala which was BEN cen err a ee eee eerie ee Ce ter eae ced Pate tee erect lal Permian Ranga Formaton surpasses that ofthe Early Permian Ce eo eee eer Re ene ter te ee eae etd Reet ote ee ce tas ern te een aaa ener ee Ce heey ee nentEST BENGAL tsWEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination forthe Geosclentists Pe uaCced essCoos ee : Pause Let cebad WEST BENGAL:Coal mine in Raniganj coalfield.Broa iS ee Coren Darjeeling Himalaya (=) Standing high Touching the sky! Tote north; The mighty Himalayas Fell Every rok has a sory, When walked across the attude! Al the way fom South to North; Witnessed the metamorphosis wit spiky attitude T: Dayjeeing Himalaya crowns the northem extremity ofthe state of West ‘Bengal. long the joumey from south to north acoss the Daneeling Himalaya, it reveals Qualematies (Matai-Chalsa Formation), Sub- Himalayan rocks (Siwalk Group, Gondwana Supergroup, mosly shale, sandstone and coal), Lesser Himalayan rocks (Daling Group, mostly phyla, aw grade schist, quartzite), Higher Himalayan rocks (Darjeeling Gneiss, mosty high grade granite agneiss-migmaite) tothe eyes ofthe beholder, Darjeeling Himalaya a pat of the youngest oid thrust belt (Himalayan mountain bell) presen in India. The structural {scontnuties separating the major ithount rom south to north are: Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) separating quatemaros in south from Siwabks in north, Main ‘Boundary Thrust (BT) separating Swalks in south and Gondwanas in north, Daiing Trust separating Gondwanas in south and Daling Group of rocks in north, Main Central Thrust (MCT) separating Daling Group of rocks in south and High grade gneisses in the noth, Besides, a mylonitsed granite named as ‘Lingtse Geis is present near to MCT. Darjeeling Himalaya isan unique eptome for kippe, nappe, window, bitle-ductle truss etc. Tho famous Gorubathan Pb-Zn depos is hosted by the chore schist of Gorubathan Formation of Daling Group. Areas covered by Daling Group of rocks are most wulnerable to landslides. Svalks of Darang Himalaya isa storehouse of plant fossis and casscal sedimentary structures ike ichnofossis, penecontemporaneous srucures. Darjeding Himalaya is a hotsptfor advanced scintic researc, It chalenges geologists to work on “inverted metamorphic sequence DARJEELING »Ea eebd WEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination for the GeoscientistsFolding in migmatite band in Darjeeling gneiss, exposed near Dudhiya-Bungkulung road section.nl iS ee Landslide prone zone near Kalijhora-Latpanchar Roada Pannibaie: ee alWEST BENGAL: TO eneEST BENGAL SOU cen ts Lmprnt of leaf fossil in Mudstone, exposed near Lish river section, Darjeeling District, West Bengal. SIWALIK >fy WEST BENGAL ‘An Ultimate Destination for the Geoscle Wood fossil within siltstone exposed along Lish iver section, Darjeeling District, West Bengal.enecontomparaneous deformation structure within’sandstone/afUsh river section Darjeeling)Distich West BengalBroa iS ee Role of Engineering Geology in GSI for development of the country velopment of a country depends upon its mineral resources, tigation and power projects, industes, communication, technological development. and R&D projects. To adopt a pro-active role inthis regard, Engineeting Geology Division was invoduced in GSI to unravel 1 eove ts challenges of Geiogy in development of major water resources projects, investigation fo ral as wel as road ‘communications ard contol natural hazarés Ike landslide, Is immense contrsaion is visbe inthe construction of engineering marvels Eke Baka Hirskud, hana, Teh, oukk), Tungabhadra, Srisalam and Nagarun Sagar Dams, Sala and Un HE projets, Napa Jair HE Project, Mane ha |, Yamuna HE Projects, Damodar Valey Corporation Projects (lover India). Chukha and Tala HEP in Bhutan - fo nar Many rallzoad alignment tunnels, ridges, arport runways, thrmal as wall as clear power projects, urban agglomerations and mutstored bung complexes and associated etuctures have boon completo wih acive palpation of GSI “The slant revolution in liferent fields of engineering geology has established the unquestionable leadership in this ald of geclogy and GSI has. become te pioneer and premier organization i Ind “The contbuton of GSI in West Bengal is enormous for perspectve developmental acbvites. GSI was actively associated from feastbity study Construction ofa number of hyare-electreprojecls, namely SOOMW Purua Pumped Storage Project, S2MWW Rammam Hydro-slecc project (HEP), 35MW Jalahaka HEP, dam for Bakreshwar Thormal Project and a numberof min and micro HEPs, Similarly, GS rendered is experts i ‘construction ofa numberof iigaion and water ways projec including Kangsabali dam and Farakka barrage. A numberof waler supply roe have also boen constructed in Darooling dtc with active association of GS, Proparan of Detaled Projet Report (DPR) of 1000MW Turga Pumped Storage Project has been comploted and constrution wil stat soon, DPR of Manae-Sarkosh,Toosta-Ganga Ink canal has been ‘completed In cogard of slope stably studies, Landslide Hazard Zonation map on 1:50000 scale of Darjeeling district has boon prepared for perspective project planing. Sina, large scale Landside Hazard Zonation map on 1:1000/5000 scale of aferent towns in Dagjeeng district have also been peepared to mitigate slope instability. Stabilty study has also been made for andsldes in ily train to suggest remedal measures 10 ‘coma te slope. In addon, stability stay of extension of urban agglomeration, defense instalation etc nave also been cated out in hily {errain. GSI has aleo rendered ts experine to mitigate Dank erosion of varousrvers 2g Carga bank eraion in Muranidabad an Valea dri (GSI was part and parcl for he development ofthe country and wil be conibutng in future also Determination of geotechnical properties of rock and soll has immense importance asthe data acquired isan essential input for designing @ project. GSI has a well equipped rock and soll mechanics laboratory at Eastem Region, Kokata where various engineering properties of ock a ‘ol are being determined. GSI rendered these services not only to the projects associaied with GSI but also to private entrepreneurs to meet th Semande ENGINEERING GEOLOGY »a: Feiner en er - - Darjeeling District, West Bengalie Toa TeN 7 w E yulueamieasae a4 yess el oat is9 c<EST BENGAL: 1 t | es i" PS. it eT | | Plomaela | Y ii al A = yyDigital sol triaxial machine ‘The machine is used to determine cohesion and angle of internal friction of undisturbed soilWEST BENGAL 7 Direct shear test apparatus ‘The machine is used to determine the cohesion and angle of internal friction of disturbed sol,Soll triaxial machine (manual) ‘The machine is used to determine the cohesion and angle of interna friction from undisturbed soll sample. 7 APiao Pray Na iN i er ci ros Dee ae) Pee ere eer {eran is reflected upon by geosints right fom the British pero ote Independent Ina. The legendary fim maker Satyat Ray also tracted to the beauty ofthe Serene ioe mcns ee nee rescence ne ented See ton Seen or ee ral ed Cee eee Cc See c Neue UU er ee aacelececcd eee eto Se eect) Ree ere] CR NGre eae eee erase ee Co ee uecuut eaten cae! et nee oe ceo ee eer eres Pee ener eh teenies Cae ean eee ee ae Sree pcrsneee itieePiao Pray NaEST BENGAL Detached and flded amphibole bands within chamockte exposed in Pabalyahllok, Bankura Disek.Pena Grenier nananme SS atid [=cu puauueeict at Saragdanga, BankuraEST BENGAL ts 8 ‘a i Folded garnet rich layer in layered anorthosite. Ths is F2 exposed in Bamnishola, Bankura District.Piao Pray NaSake iS ee yA‘Angular-hexagonal shaped pyroclasts, in and around Chilgo, West Bengal Jharkhand border. CST ey POC} eevee Seem Boacilgeeeccues) Puts Sorat aces Pee ua Peron) Cec ee! Ce meats Pe creer ee aed Seer eee et A teeoukc) Se erate Peet wth Singhbhum Craton and nohom Perera en cel on eran Ee es CC ec Cee tailed ECM acerca) Due here ciccd peer NORTH SINGHBHUM. MOBILE BELT‘Ash bed exposed near Malti, Purulia, West Benga nl iS eerock exposed near Taladih area Purulia, West Bengal; Piao Pray Na eeKyanite bearing mica schist exposed at Sijadih village, Puruli, West Bengaloes ea fe of (ee sara Seen irs ag. i p PE ESundarban, Rr eee Deed largest deta inthe worl, the Bengal Det. thas the mos fertile Rose kei raed Tees hosl Ck estilo tolubalico Mua teal dak abit eat Serer Se cn ee ea edd Py md Data is rather jvende, taking frm nthe late Miocene times. The deta ie = ord ee ee rr Pec Pee Sey gn nea eee eae ry Ce ee eu er Cree ek a a nce eee Pee en re rr ee ee ee ee err er er ea Der eae eer es et ee Lo eer cee es DR AS ra elles ie cana el heel eee a a Cad Fe Sn een een en ee ee ee ee ecg ut Ce ene ede I ee ea um) Coo a eee ec ee Mae Coo one ea eee ge Oe a ea era Cert ee ee no eae ee Ee Le a neh a Ene Me eter et te ee rs See ee hee ee ee ae aE a een) See tea reer rect en nn tec error nS ar at Sue sn te eee ieee cas Se Ce ee Ce ee ee ey Sa Gree re Re ane eo ie ect Oe Se eeu ee eee ere eee Postini rena Meet en ee ent ni Ge ee net ne omr rierEST BENGAL ts Exposed Mangrove root, Sundarban, West Bengalba) WEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination forthe Geosclentists Channel accretion, Sundarban, West Bengalfy WEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination for the Geoscientists ‘Submerged mangrove during high tide, Sundarban, West Bengal‘Channel accretion, Sundarban, West BengalEST BENGAL ts a ‘Snake roots in mangrove, Sundarban, West BengalErosion of island, Gosaba, Sundarban, West Bengalbd WEST BENGAL: ‘An Ultimate Destination for the Geoscientists ‘Channel accretion and development of new mangrove, Sundarban, West Bengal<= A seBroa iS ee COC) Orme erent teat rid Cone et aes Petes ers Poon net Sony ort Seen ora Src Madhusmita Samal Corr Pe eee Pe) rey Sa eee ec rl Pere tt ey aan) rd ee Secon Eee porn] RC re ee) Anindita Chakraborty Assistant Geologst con pars a ne Cee Bicone Cr Ee ee bei) PesanGEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA MAY 2018