GEOLOGICAL FIELD

REPORT
ON

Jaintapur-Tamabil Area, Sylhet, Northeastern

Bangladesh.

Submitted By

Ayesha Siddika Ema

Roll No: 16 GLM 002

Department of Geology and Mining

University of Barishal
 ABSTRACT
The goal of this research is to characterize the geology of the Janitiapur-Tamabil-Jaflong area
in Sylhet. It's a summary of our research. The physiography, geomorphology, structure,
stratigraphy, and economic geology of Jaintiapur-Tamabil-Jaflong, Sylhet, Northeastern
Bangladesh are all covered. It also covers facies analysis and interpretation of the
paleoenvironment and depositional history of the Janitiapur-Tamabil area in Sylhet. Our main
purpose is to create a geological map of the Janitiapur-Tamabil area in Sylhet.
The investigated area is a hilly region with irregular topography. The highest elevation of the
investigated area is 301 feet above the MSL along with dendritic drainage pattern.
Structurally, the area is an outer reflection of a homocline that trend nearly E-W along with
some anticlinal structure, super imposed F2 type fold, joints, faults, and unconformities.
These F2 type anticlinal folds are more or less oval shaped. These folds were produced due to
“Neo-tectonics”. The investigated area comprises of some geomorphic features such as
pothole, point bar, stream, meandering river, point bar, and floodplain.
The constituent rocks of the investigated area are of Sedimentary origin where the age range
of Middle Miocene to Pleistocene and indicates marine and fluvial depositional environment.
The area exposes both fossiliferous and non-fossiliferous thick sequence comprising of a
succession of limestone, sandstone, shale, siltstone, and claystone. Lithostratigraphically, the
sedimentary sequence of the area is divided from bottom to top as Sylhet Limestone
Formation, Kopili Shale Formation, Barail Group, Surma Group, Tipam Sandstone
Formation, Girujan clay Formation, Dupi Tila Formation, Dihing Formation and Alluvium
that are reflecting marine, deltaic and fluvial depositional environment.
The area possesses an important role in economic geology as the limestone exposed in the
investigated area and the gravels carried by the rivers are economically valuable which is
used in industrial and constructional purposes. Since the invested area does not have a good
structural trap so it has no hydrocarbon prospect.
The purpose of the study was not only studying the stratigraphic succession of the area but
also to know about the associated natural hazards environmental problems of that area. The
study helped to know the common hazards of this area (landslide, mudslide, flashflood,
earthquake etc.), their causes and effects on the inhabitants and environment, which will be
helpful in designing an adequate and appropriate disaster management system for these areas.
 ACKNOLEDGEMENT
I'd like to begin by expressing my gratitude, devotion, love, and respect to Almighty ALLAH
for making this possible. This fieldwork along the Jaintiapur-Tamabil-Jaflong route was both
exciting and memorable. By doing fieldwork in Sylhet, I was able to become more friendly
and open to my friends and teachers.
 List of Contents
Page No

Abstract
Acknowledgement
List of Contents
CHAPTER: 01 Introduction
 Purpose and Scope
 Location, Extent and Accessibility
 Previous Work
 Topography and Relief
 Drainage and Water Supply
 Climate
 Vegetation
 Population and Culture

CHAPTER: 02 Regional Geology

 Tectonic Setup
 Regional Structure
 Stratigraphic Set Up

CHAPTER: 04 Description of Individual Section

 Lithology
 Lithologic log of Studied section
 Attitude of Beds

CHAPTER: 05 Structure
 Fold
 Homoclinal Fold
 Drag Fold
 Faults
 Dauki Fault System
 Local Fault
 Joint
 Unconformity
 Disconformity
 Angular Unconformity
 Local Unconformity

CHAPTER: 06 Geomorphology
  Geomorphic Features
 Hillocks
 Meandering River
 Braided River
 Stream

CHAPTER: 07 Stratigraphy
 General Stratigraphic succession of the Sylhet Trough
 Lithologic description
 Stratigraphic Correlation

CHAPTER: 08 Sedimentology
 Sedimentary Structures and Features
 Depositional structure
 Post-depositional deformed structures

CHAPTER: 09 Economic Geology

CHAPTER: 10 Conclusion and Summary
 CHAPTER 01

INTRODUCTION

 Location, Extent and Accessibility

 Objective, Purpose and Scope
 Methods of Investigation
 Field Investigation Equipment
 Previous Work
 Physical Features
 Topography and Relief
 Drainage and Water Supply
 Climate and Weather
 Soil and Agricultural Condition
 Population and Culture
Theoretical knowledge is useless until it is put into practice. Geologic surveying is the
foundation of all geological knowledge. It is commonly used to conduct a systematic
examination of any region using accessible geologic data.

 Location, Extent and Accessibility

Jaintiapur is located 45 kilometers north-east of Sylhet town and is one of the district's
easternmost thanas. The area under investigation is in the northeastern part of Sylhet district
(Fig. 1) near the India-Bangladesh north-eastern region.

Figure 1: Satellite image of Jaintiapur, Sylhet.

Sylhet is located between the latitudes of 24°36 and 25°11 North and the longitudes of 92°30
and 91°38 East.. Our specific study area (Jaintiapur–Tamabil–Jaflong section) lies between
25°04′ and 25°11′ North Latitudes and in between 92°00′ and 92°12′ East longitudes. This
area lies on the southern foothills of Khassia-Jaintiapur Ranges of Meghalaya and is mapped
between latitude 25°0′ North and 25°12′30″ North and longitude 92°0′ East and 92°27′30″
East.
 Figure 2: Location Map of Jaintiapur, Sylhet.

The area comprises about 147 square km, 14 km in the east-west direction from Balla Ghat to
Afifanagar and 11 km in north-south direction from Tamabil to Shari Ghat. Jaintapur is
linked with Sylhet town by a metaled road (Fig:3).

Figure 3: Map of Jaintiapur Upazila

The Sylhet town is well communicated from Dhaka by three ways- train, bus and air.
Jaintiapur Thana is connected with the Sylhet town by the metalloid road. The same road is
followed for going to Jaflong, Sripur and Sonatila area. Nayagang section is well
communicated very near from the base camp and easily accessible by footpath. The Lalakhal
Tea Estate is linked with Jaintiapur by non-metalled road. It is also accessible by boat
upstream along the river Shari, locally known as ‘Shari’, from the Shari ghat. This area is
accessible throughout the year.

 OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The study of Geology is very much dependent on field investigations because theoretical
knowledge is not sufficient to fulfill its demand. The field work performed in Jaintia and its
adjoining areas is included to our study to enrich our practical knowledge. Field work is an
important way that gains practical knowledge about geology. Knowing about geophysical
hazard of a area field work is important one.
Fieldwork was done for the following work:
• Producing Geological map.
• Identification of lithology.
• Identification of Sedimentary structures.
• Construction of Stratigraphic Column.
• Sampling.
• Grain size analysis.
• Study of major structures and other structural features.
• Interpretation of Geological history.
• Determination of economic importance.
The main purpose of the field work is gain knowledge about geological settings and
identification of hazards of that area. Also familiar with methods of geological mapping as
well as systematic sampling covering aspect of geological hazard profiling and management
of geological and hydrological disaster.
The studied area includes Jaflong, Sripur, Jaintiapur and its adjoining area and also Shari
River in Sylhet district. This area is a paramount place for geological study because in
Bangladesh it is the only place where the whole Tertiary sequences except Tura Formation,
are well exposed. It’s an ideal place that knowing about geophysical hazards.
This report shows the preliminary information of that area. It may be helpful in further
investigation of the area in future.

 METHODS OF INVESTIGATION
The investigation was carried out in the field by adopting very usual “traverse method” that is
walking on foot through road-cut and stream-cut sections. Field investigation involves the
following procedures:
• Taking location and bearing
 • Lithology investigation
• Structural investigation
• Stratigraphical investigation
• Collecting samples
• Construction of geologic maps
• Taking photographs.
Taking Location and Bearing
Location of the suitable sections and different spot heights of the area were determined by
help of the base map and our instant positions were plotted on the map by the clinometer and
a remarkable point on the map. Bearing of the sections were measured by the help of a
clinometer.
The Lithologic Investigation:
Good exposures were studied for the lithological information of the rocks which were
subdivided through observing different color, composition and distinguishable contacts of
different rock strata. General grain size, sorting and mineralogy of the rocks (those are
determinable in the field) were determined approximately by the necked eyes or by the help
of the hand lens
Structural Investigation
Attitudes of the beds were measured by the clinometer and for the rough, disturbed
andvegetated beds; hammer was used for breaking the rock and getting fresh bedding planes.
Stratigraphical Investigation
The thickness of the exposed rock strata were measured by taking pacing and from the map.
The stratigraphic succession of the beds was made by observing their positions to apply the
"Low of Super Position" and by the study of their lithology and thickness. Unconformity was
determined by observing the presence of erosional surface, soil and distorted bed of lateritic
conglomerates between two different rock units.
Collecting Samples
Samples of different rock strata of different sections were taken in sample bags for further
study.

Tacking Photographs
The important photographs of physical features, sedimentary structures, important rock units
and structural features (fault, fold, joint, unconformity, hazardous place etc.) of the area were
taken by the camera.

Construction of Geological Map

The measured attitudes and lithology of different beds were plotted on the base map with
proper reference points to prepare a geological map of the area.
  FIELD INVESTIGATION EQUIPMENTS
By adopting the usual “Traverse Method”, the investigation was carried out on the field that
is walking on foot through the road cut section and stream cut section with the common
instruments used by a geologist in the field. The common instruments we used are -
1. A base map of the investigated area- Locating different outcrops in the investigated
area.

2. Clinometers- For measuring the attitude of the beds.

3. Hammer- For breaking the rocks and digging for bedding planes.
4. Pocket lens-to examine the grains.

5. HCl acid- Identifying the nature of rocks.

6. Sample bag- For collecting the rocks of the investigated area.

7. Field note book- To note the collected data.

8. Measuring tape of 100 feet.

9. Camera: We used both mobile camera and professional camera for taking photos.

10. Wooden pencils, color pencils, diagonal scale, pocket knife etc.
Previous Work
Since 1933, a great number of exploration and drilling projects have been carried out in
Sylhet. Burma Oil Company was the first to do so. During 1964-66, M. A. Maroof Khan of
the Bangladesh Geological Survey conducted a geological study of the eastern and
northeastern parts of the Surma Basin.
J.F Holtrop and J Keizer published a correlation of Surma Basin wells in 1960. K.M. Wallid
and Dr.Reimann carried out Palynostratigraphic analyses of Oligocene outcrop samples. M.
Hoque studied the development of the Surma Basin and its relation of Hydrocarbon
accumulation. Khan published a geologic map with a scale of one inch equals two miles that
covered the entire Tertiary succession of the region. In the Surma Basin, Haque (1982)
established a palynologic zone concept for a Cenozoicsuccession. He also looked at the
surface and beneath. The Surma Basin stratigraphy. D. K. Guha examined the area as well.
Teachers and students of research of the geology of the area every year.

 Physical Features
Topography and Relief
The Khashi-Jaintia hill range borders the exaborders it from the northeast. The terrain is
almost hilly in this area. There are numerous low to moderately raised hillocks in this area.
The average elevation of the area is about 60 to 340 feet. Maximum elevation is found at
Lalakhal area and minimum in northwestern region. The hilly area does not comprise
continuous heap of rocksbut also furrowed by numerous vallies giving the landscape of a
rugged mined region from west to east, and an abrupt scarp of the 4000 to 6000 feet high
Shillong plateaulook. The area embraces two major types of landforms. The investigated area
exhibits moderately hilly topography that has shown in geologic map and contour map.
The hills in the examined area are almost East-West oriented and have a low to moderate
elevation. These are referred to as "Tila" in the area. Dupitila is located in the southwestern
section of the study area, and it isworth mentioning because it is the hillock called after which
the Dupitila formation was named. The elevation of this hilltop is approximately 301 feet.
The rest of the terrain is alluvial flatland.
 Drainage and Water Supply
In a broader sense the investigated area is lack of any remarkable stream of Bangladesh, but
the area is wedrained by a network of locally important streams most of which are both
structurally lithologically controlled and dendritic in pattern (Map 1.4). The relatively major
streams are fewer in number and are of perennial type, that is they flow even in the dry
season, but during rainy season they flow with their full strength and become able to carry
large boulders to distant places whereas the minor streams are large in number and of
intermitted type, that is they are seasonal in their flow, and water ceases to flow during the
dry spell.
Figure : Drainage pattern of investigated area Jaintiapur

The river Shari (Fig 1.3) which acts as the main source of water distribution of the eastern
portion of the area originates in khasiaJainta Hills near Jawi in India and maintaining more or
less meandering course flows south westerly to some extent and then bends abruptly towards
west and ultimately falls in the Surma River near Kalaruka. Among the mentioned four
rivers, the Dauki(Fig 1.4) is the most prominent. The Dauki which is a fault controlled river
originated in the southern part of the Shillong plateau, flows by the western side of the
hillocks and enters into Bangladesh at the foot of the Indian Dauki Town in the N-S direction.
Inside Bangladesh it is replenished by a number of seasonal small streams which are locally
termed as 'Chara'. 'Piyan' is the main tributary of the river Dauki.
 Figure : Shari river and Lalakhal Sylhet.
 Climate and Weather of the Study Area
Climate is average condition of weather over a long period of time in a specific area. It covers
a very large area. As our study area is in Sylhet so it mostly follows the climatic condition of
Sylhet. The climate here is humid subtropical with a pre dominantly hot and humid summer
and a relatively cool winter. It is situated in a monsoon climatic zone. The area is very
susceptible to heavy monsoonal rainfall. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of 3,334
mm occurs between May and September. (Source: wikipedia.org)

Figure : Average monthly climate and weather condition in Sylhet region .

The climate of the area can be divided in to three distinct seasons in a year. The summer
starts from March and continues up to May having high temperature and moderate
precipitation. The monsoon begins in June and lasts till October and is characterized by gusty
wind and occasionally Because of geographical location, the investigated area generally falls
under the tropical to subtropical climate. But as the influence of the humid north-eastern
monsoon wind over the general climate of the area is noticeable, the overall climate of the
area is termed as ' Humid Tropical to subtropical cyclonic storm. The winter begins from
November and exists up to February with a pleasant, Calm, cool and dry weather. (fig)))))

 Soil and Agricultural Condition of the Study Area

Soils of the area are grey silty clay loams and clay loam on higher parts that dry out
seasonally and grey clays in the wet basins. The soils have a moderate content of organic
matter and soil reaction is mainly acidic. Fertility level is medium to high. (S.M. Imamul
Huq, Jalal Uddin Md. Shoaib; The Soils of Bangladesh). The pH of the soil of Jaitiapur is less
than 7(low) which means the soil is acidic. It hinders the crop production. The content of
nitrogen and boron is low. Probably, denitrification process leads to the loss of nitrogen in the
basin soil.Rice is the main crop of this area as the floodplain lands are useful for the
cultivation of paddy.
The low lying areas are used for Boro cultivation. Tea is also very important cash crop of the
area and a series of tea gardens are situated in hillocks and valleys from Jaflong to Afifanagar
(Figure 1.7). Jantiapur and it’s surrounding places have three agricultural season. During
monsoon they cultivate "Aush" rice as the lands get flooded with water and it is proved to be
a favourable condition for cultivating rice crops. In winter they grow various types of
seasonal vegetables, fruits such as pineapple, water melons, oranges, banana, papaw, jackfruit
etc. Several fields near river bank are under water melon cultivation as observed during our
investigation. But in summer the lands remain barren because the scarcity of water becomes
severe (Figure 1.8). Under this condition cultivation becomes quite impossible for the
inhabitants.

Figure : Vegetation in hilly areas at Jaintiapur, Sylhet

When we investigated this area, we saw a lot of tea gardens. A series of tea gardens are
situated in hillocks and valleys from Jaflong to Afifanagar. A lot of fruits such as jackfruit,
papaw, banana is also grown here. Other seasonal crops like tobacco, oilseeds and vegetables
such as pumpkins, beams are also grown in this area.
  Population and Culture
The total population of this area is about 98,370 (source U.N.O. Office, Jaintiapur) and the
Jaintiapur Upazila covers an area of 99.98 sq miles. The lifestyle of these people are not so
easy, they are living along the foot of the hills and in plain land. These people are socially
and economically undeveloped. They have no adequate facilities of civilization. Their
education rate is 21%. Most of the people depends on agriculture. Other depends on
gardening, fishing, teaching, weaving etc, some of them are engaged in gravel and sandstone
quarrying, trade and commerce.
A little percentage of the population is employed in government services. Most of the people
are Muslims, some are Hindus, Christian and Buddhists. The migratory Khashia and Shaotal
are the tribal people. In the tea garden there are some Oriyas, Nunayas and other people from
Chotto Nagpur plateau, India who brought before 1947 and settled here. The Khashias have
their own language and mainly Christian. They live in a group of 10-30 families. They work
hard and the women work with men. The people of investigated area have the culture almost
similar to the other parts of Bangladesh, except the tribal people, they have their own culture.
The people in this area have their culture according to their respective religion. Hindus
influenced the culture of the area during the region of Jaintia raja. So this area has a long
historical background. Once upon a time Jaintiapur was a part of Oohomia Promilla-Empire
of Assam.

 History of Jaintapur
Jaintapur is famous for its megalithic remains. It is located 40 kilometres north of Sylhet
divisional town and at the foot of the Jaintia Hills. Due to its geophysical condition the region
remained independent for a long time and was well known as Jaintapur Kingdom. As such it
was mentioned in Epic, Puranic, and Tantric literatures. However, a number of local legends,
folk tales, and inscriptions suggest that from approximately the 7th/8th century AD Jaintapur
came under the control of Kamarupa Kingdom and that later it went under the control of the
Chandra and Varman rulers. After the fall of the Varmans, Jaintapur was again ruled for
some time by the Deva dynasty.
Jayanta Ray, the last ruler of the Deva dynasty, had a daughter named Jayanti, who got
married to a son of a Khasi chief, named Landowar. Due to this matrimonial alliance,
Jaintapur kingdom went under the control of the Khasis in c 1500 AD. Subsequently, Khasi
kings ruled over the kingdom independently till the British occupied it in 1835.
The palace, which was built by the Jainta King Laxmi Sinha (1670-1701) in 1602
Shaka/1680 AD, is now completely ruined. The superstructure of the Jaintesvari temple is
also badly damaged. Though the enclosure wall of the temple complex is in a better state of
preservation, it has been crudely ornamented with plastered relief, representing horses, lions
and winged semi-divine beings.
 CHAPTER 02
GEOLOGY OF STUDY AREA

 Tectonic Evolution of Bengal Basin

 Tectonic Setup of Sylhet Trough and Surroundings
 General Stratigraphic setup of Sylhet Trough
  Tectonic Evolution of Bengal Basin
The Bengal basin, a complex foreland basin south of the eastern Himalayas, exhibits dramatic
variability in Neogene sediment thickness that reflects a complicated depositional and
tectonic history (Ashraf Uddin, Neil Lundberg). The Bengal Basin is the northeastern part of
Indian subcontinent, between the Indian Shield and Indo-Burman Ranges. The Bengal Basin
includes, in addition to Bangladesh, part of Indian state of West Bengal and Tripura. The
Bengal Basin is bordered to the west by Precambrian Indian Shield, to the north by Shillong
Plateau and to the east by the frontal fold belt of Indoburman Range. It is open to the south by
Bay of Bengal (Figure 2.1).

Figure: Location of Bengal basin

About 110 million years ago during Cretaceous time, the Gondwana Super continent began to
break up and India began drifting towards north. The Bengal basin was initiated during that
time however; the basin did not become the center of deposition of thick clastic sediments
until the northward drifting Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate. The collision
between Indian plate and Asian Plate took place in stages beginning in Eocene (55 million
years ago) when an initial uplift of the Himalayan occurred.(Fig 2.1) By late Eocene (40
million years ago) the last remnant of the intervening Tethys sea between Indian Plate and
Asian plate probably disappeared as a result of collision. During this time the direction of
Indian Plate Convergence changed from north to northeast with increasing collision with
Asia.
With the breakup of Gondwanaland in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and northward movement
of the Indian Plate, the basin started downwarping in the Early Cretaceous and sedimentation
started on the stable shelf and deep basin; and since then sedimentation has been continuous
for most of the basin. Subsidence of the basin can be attributed to differential adjustments of
the crust, collision with the various elements of south Asia, and uplift of the eastern
Himalayas and the Indo-Burman Ranges. Movements along several well-established faults
were initiated following the breakup of Gondwanaland and during down warping in the
Cretaceous.

Figure: Break up of Pangea through passes time and collision of India and Eurasian plate.

 Tectonic Setup of Sylhet Trough and Surroundings

The Sylhet trough, a sub-basin of the Bengal Basin in northeastern Bangladesh, contains a
thick fill (12 to 16 km) of late Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata that record its tectonic
evolution. Stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and petrographic data collected from outcrops,
cores, well logs, and seismic lines are here used to reconstruct the history of this trough.
By Eocene, because of a major marine transgression, the stable shelf came under a carbonate
regime, whereas the deep basinal area was dominated by deep-water sedimentation. A major
switch in sedimentation pattern over the Bengal Basin occurred during the Middle Eocene to
Early Miocene as a result of collision of India with the Burma and Tibetan Blocks. The influx
of elastic sediment into the basin from the Himalayas to the north and the Indo-Burman
Ranges to the east rapidly increased at this time; and this was followed by an increase in the
rate of subsidence of the basin. At this stage, deep marine sedimentation dominated in the
deep basinal part, while deep to shallow marine conditions prevailed in the eastern part of the
basin.
By Middle Miocene, with continuing collision events between the plates and uplift in the
Himalayas and Indo-Burman Ranges, a huge influx of elastic sediments came into the basin
from the northeast and east. Throughout the Miocene, the depositional settings continued to
vary from deep marine in the basin to shallow and coastal marine in the marginal parts of the
basin. From Pliocene onwards, large amounts of sediment were filling the Bengal Basin from
the west and northwest; and major delta building processes continued to develop the present-
day delta morphology.
Since the Cretaceous, architecture of them Bengal Basin has been changing due to the
collision pattern and movements of the major plates in the region. However, three notable
changes in basin configuration can be recognized that occurred during Early Eocene, Middle
Miocene and PlioPleistocene times, when both the paleogeographic settings and source areas
changed. The present basin configuration with the Ganges - Brahmaputra delta system on the
north and the Bengal Deep Sea Fan on the south was established during the later part of
Pliocene and Pleistocene; and delta progradation since then has been strongly affected by
orogeny in the eastern Himalayas.

Himalayan Mountain
Himalayan Range
Mountain Range
ShillongPlateau
Shillong Plateau

N Mikhir
Mikhir HillsHills

Sylhet Trough
Indian Shield
Indian

Chittagong
Chittagong HillHillTracts
Tracts Burmese
Burmese Mountain
Mountain Range
Range

Figure 2.9: Sylhet Trough and it’s Surroundings

The major structures described below are:

 Shelf zone,
 hinge zone,
 Bengal foredeep,
 Mobile belt, and
 Sub-Himalayan Fore deep.

 Shelf zone
Shelf zone is a major tectonic element of Bangladesh lying in the western. The Indian shield
and Shillong massif are connected by the Rangpur platform. The width of the platform is 100
km. Here, the slope is fairly smooth according to the seismic data. The sedimentary deposits
of this area form homoclinal beds with dips of 1–2°. Towards the northern portion of the
platform the plunge of the basement is about 3–4° and the depth of the basement is over 2000
m. Southern slope of the Rangpur platform is gently plunging towards the southeast and
extends to the Calcutta-Mymensing hinge zone. The thickness of sedimentary rocks is
increasing towards the southeast. The thickness of the sediments over the shelf is about 8000
m and they are marked by several unconformities. The basement complex near the western
margin of the shelf is marked by a series of buried ridges and normal gravity faults. The east-
west trending Dauki fault separates the stable shelf and the Shillong massif. The shelf
experienced the first marine transgression during the Late Cretaceous. The second major one
was in the Miocene generated by the uplift of the Himalayan and Burman ranges.
 Hinge zone
Hinge zone is a narrow zone of 25 km in width. Here, the homoclinal dip is 5– 6°. The bed
dips over 20° along the hinge-line (Guha 1978). The hinge zone in the northeast seems to be
connected with the Dauki fault by a series of east-west trending faults. It is also marked by
deep basement faults probably started with the breakup of Gondowanaland. Parallel to the
hinge zone is the Bengal foredeep, which consist of several smaller troughs and structural
highs. the Indo - Burman ranges mark the eastern boundary of the Bengal foredeep
 Mobile belt:
The eastern side of the Bengal Basin is bordered by a mobile belt known as Tripura -
Chittagong fold belt, which extends north south as part of the Indo - Burmese mobile belt. In
Bangladesh, this belt is represented mainly by the hills of the Chittagong Hill tracts,
Chittagong and Sylhet, which appear to be analogous to the Sub-Himalayan or Siwalik
ranges.

 The Sub Himalayan Fore Deep:

The Sub Himalayan fore deep is a continuous east - west Indo – Gangetic geosynclinal belt
extending along the south foot of the Himalayas. Part of it cuts into Bangladesh in the
northwest corner. The sediments of this unit include coarse to fine clastics that are derived
directly from the Himalayan uplift and are essentially of fluvial mollasse in character. The
north margin of this fore deep is strongly folded and faulted (Alam 1989).
Figure: Tectonic Setup of Bangladesh.
  General Stratigraphic setup of Sylhet Trough
Stratigraphy is the scientific discipline concerned with the description of the rock successions
and their interpretation in terms of a general time scale.It provides a basis for historical
geology, and its principle and methods have found application in such fields as petrology and
archeology .Stratigraphic studies deal primarily with sedimentary rocks but may also
encompass layered igneous rocks (e.g. those resulting from successive lava flows) or
metamorphic rocks formed either from such extrusive igneous material or from sedimentary
rocks. A common goal of stratigraphic studies into mappable units, determining the time
relationships that are involved and correlating units of the sequence or the entire sequence
with rock strata elsewhere. A regional topographic satellite image showed the stratigraphy of
Sylhet trough.
The stratigraphy of the area has been differentiated into a number of formations. Sylhet
limestone formation is found as the oldest in the normal sequence.The normal sequence of
the studied formation is given below according to the law of superposition.
1. Dihing formation
2. Dupitila formation
3. Giruja clay
4. Tipam sandstone
5. Surma group
6. Barail sandstone
7. Kopili shale
8. Sylhet limestone
Table 2.1: Stratigraphic Succession of NE Bangladesh, Sylhet Trough (sources: Khan, 1980,
Reimann 1993, Uddin and Lundberg, 1999).
 CHAPTER 03
Description of individual section
 Lithology
 Attitude of beds
 Lithologic log of studied sections
Lithology
We studied north eastern part of Bangladesh. Here the older lithology of Bangladesh is found.
The southern part is relatively younger than the northern part because at the time of collision
of Indian plate with Eurasian plate the northern part was initially jointed. The southern part
was later deposited by the large river systems. Jaintapur-Tamabil generally ranges from
recent to Oligocene period deposits which posses Alluvium, Dihing formation, Dupitila
formation, Girujan clay formation, Tipam formation, Bokabil formation, Bhuban formation,
Renji formation, Kopili shale formation and Sylhet limestone formation.

Figure: Lithologic Succession of Day 2

Attitude of beds

Attitude of bed includes Dip direction, dip amount and strike direction. We measured dip
amount and it’s direction together. But we did measure strike azimuth instead of strike
direction. These process is simple and easy to use.
Shari River Section

Day -1, 13.3.2018

Weather: Cloudy & Drizzling

Stop Lattitude & Lithology SD DD AD Symbol

Longitude
1 25°5’49”N Alternation of sandstone and mud 270° S18° 30°
92°07’04”E stone.Sandstone is light brown to W
deep brown, fine to very fine
grained. Mudstone is light gray to
gray in color , hard and
compacted ,composed of
dominantly clay.
2 25°5’46.4” Dominantly mudstone interbedded 240° S60° 77°
N with sandstone and intercalation of W
92°07’4.7”E iron. Mudstone is light gary to gray
in color and sandstone is light brown
to brown in in color
3 25°5’44”N Dominantly fine sand with
92°07’26.2” intercalation of mud. Mudstone is
E light gray to gray and weathered to
brown. Quartz pebble and clay galls
may be present.

4 25°5’42.1” Dominantly fine sand with

N intercalation of mud. Mudstone is
92°07’30.2” light gray to gray and weathered to
E brown. Quartz pebble and clay galls
may be present.

5 25°5’50.67” Very fine grained yellowish brown 270° 90° 68°

N sandstone with interbedded S
92°08’18.6” mudstone.
E
6 25°5’52”N Dominatly sandstone which is very 288° S18° 70°
92°08’21”E coarse with cross bedding. It is W
cemented by Fe- cement. It contains
about 60% of quartz.
7 25°5’50.6” Contains dominantly coarse sand 288° S18° 47°
N with trough cross bedding. It W
92°08’39”E contains enough clay galls and
quartz pebbles.

8 25°6’15.65” Coarsed grained yellowish Tipam 274° S 28°

N Sandstone. It represents the top of 4°W
92°08’53.24 the Tipam.
”E
 9 25°6’37.6” Yellowish brown sandstone with 275° S 5° 72°
N laterite bed. Laterite contains W
92°09’6.5”E pebble size particles as a
conglomerate.
Lalakhal Section

Day -2, 14.3.2018

Starting Time: 9.15 AM

Weather: Sunny

Stop Lattitude & Lithology SD DD AD Symbol

Longitude
1 25°6’26.4” Outcrop is covered by vegetation,
N contains matrix supported
92°10’30.2” conglomerates, cross-bedding might
E be present here as this is a fluvial
deposit.
2 25°6’21.2” Yellowish brown in color, fine to
N medium grained, compacted,
92°10’32.3” friable, angular to very angular,
E poorly sorted sandstone.

3 25°6’19.3” Medium to coarse grained, 274° S 4°W 68°

N yellowish brown color, moderate to
92°10’32.5” highly friable, angular to sub
E angular, poorly sorted wavy bedded
sandstone. This exposure shows
very large scale cross bedding.

4 25°6’46.4” Yellowish Tipam sandstone, dip joint 302° S32° 70°

N and strike joints are present. W
92°07’4.3”E
5 25°6’25.4” Yellowish brown Tipam sandstone at 288° S18° 60°
N right bank of the river. W
92°10’34.7”
E
6 25°6’33.9” Yellowish brown Tipam sandstone 292° S22° 62°
N with liesegang ring and large scale W
92°10’38.6” cross bed.
E
7 25°6’36”N Yellowish brown Tipam sandstone at 78° 70°
92°10’49.1” left bank of the river.
E
8 25°6’41”N Thinly bedded sandstone, siltstone 290° S20° 38°
92°10’49.5” with inter-bedded shale. Thick W
E natural vegetation, shale and less
thick sand beds are present. Wavy
bedding and micro-cross lamination
is also present.
 9 25°6’45.5” Thinly to thickly laminated, very 102° S78° 52°
N hard and compact , fissile bluish gray W
92°10’52”E shale. It contains conchoidal
fracture.

10 25°6’45.8” Yellowish, Friable, hard and 280° S10° 48°

N compacted, fine to medium grained W
92°10’56”E sandstone.
11 25°7’30.2” Composed of Dominantly bluish gray 110° S70° 35°
N Shale W
92°11’14.8”
E

Nayagang-Mahishmara Section

Day -3, 15.3.2018

Starting Time: 8.30 AM

Weather: Bright & Sunny

Stop Lattitude & Lithology SD DD AD Symbol

Longitude
1 25°7’59.8” Alternation of silt, shale and 280° S10° 42°
N sandstone with gravel beds above W
92°07’51.6” with an unconformity between
E them. Siltstone is yellow in color,
laminated.

2 25°7’58.4” Alternation of silt, shale and 278° S8° 35°

N sandstone with gravel beds above W
92°07’49.2” with an unconformity between
E them. Siltstone is yellow in color,
laminated.

3 25°7’56.2” Highly weathered fine grained 274° S4° 40°

N sandstone. Also some igneous and W
92°07’47”E metamorphic rocks like weathered
granite, Quartzite are present at the
road side.
4 25°8’8.6”N Sandstone with tilted gravel bed 252° S 50°
92°07’58.6” with an unconformity between 72°E
E them.
 5 25°8’15.4” Alteration of yellowish sandstone 247° S 55°
N and bluish gray Shale. 67°E
92°08’5.8”E
6 25°8’18.3” Thin to very thickly laminated black N78° S15° 42°
N shale, highly jointed , fissile, hard E W
92°08’6.9”E and compacted.

7 25°8’26.1” Fine grained, laminated to thin 90° Due 60°

N bedded sandstone with laterite sout
92°08’02”E band h

8 25°8’24.5” Laminated siltstone,shale and 88° S12° 40°

N sandstone W
92°07’31.3”
E
9 25°8’24.1” Alteration of sandstone and shale 86° S14° 52°
N with in situ lateritic band. Micro- W
92°07’17.9” cross lamination, planar cross bed in
E shale and trough cross bed in sand is
present.

Tamabil-Jaflong Section

Day -4, 16.3.2018

Starting Time: 9.15 AM

Weather: Cloudy

Stop Lattitude & Lithology SD DD AD Symbol

Longitude
1 25°10’54.5” Thin to thickly bedded, well sorted, 308° N28° 28°
N highly jointed, yellowish brown E
92°04’21.8” Barail sandstone
E
2 25°10’4.26” Dominantly composed of thinly 106° N16° 20°
N laminated, superimposed, organic E
92°04’29.9” matter rich dark shale
E
3 25°10’35.5” Yellowish Sandstone with 324° S34° 10°
N interbedded shale W
92°04’21.7”
E
4 25°10’59.3” Yellowish brown, thinly bedded 320° N 50°
N Sandstone with interbedded gray 50°
92°01’56.7” shale E
E
5 25°10’55.3” Yellowish brown, thinly bedded 280° N 38°
N Sandstone with interbedded gray 10°
92°01’58.5” shale E
E
6 25°10’51.4” Thin to thickly bedded sandstone 284° N 4° 50°
N with interbedded shale E
92°01’59.9”
E
7 25°10’45.9” Thin to thickly bedded sandstone 248° S 10°
N with interbedded shale 68°E
92°02’02”E
8 25°10’46”N Composed completely of bluish gray 276° S 6° 12°
92°01’0.3”E shale. W

9 25°10’53.3” Hard and compacted fossiliferous 220° S 40° 32°

N limestone. E
92°01’05.3”
E
 Chapter 04
Structure

 Fold
 Anticlinal Fold
 Drag Fold
 Faults
 Dauki Fault System
 Local Fault
 Joint
 Unconformity
 Disconformity
 Angular Unconformity
 Local Unconformity
The researched location and surrounding area are located in the Bengal Foredeep's Sylhet
trough. The Sylhet Trough is located on the Shillong Massif's southern side and corresponds
to the huge lowlands of Surma Valley, which include large wetlands (haors) with absolute
elevations well below sea level. It is a sub-basin of the Bengal Foredeep in Bangladesh's
northeastern region. The Shillong Massif defines the northern limit of the Sylhet Trough,
while the Great Indian Ocean constitutes the southern boundary.
The dip is separated from the Massif by the Dauki Fault. During the Miocene and later
periods, faulting along the Shillong shelf zone coincided with rapid subsidence of the Surma
basin. Two brief phases of erosion and non-deposition have occurred in the basin. The first is
due to uplift and folding in the east at the end of the Oligocene, with ongoing subsidence in
the west; the second is related to the uplift of the Shillong plateau, which was accompanied
by faulting in the late Miocene and later.
Because of its proximity to the E-W trending fault zone that runs along the Shillong Massif's
boundary, this area is dominated by E-W structure. In the examined area, numerous large and
minor geological features have been discovered. Folds, Faults, Unconformity, and Joints are
the major structures in the studied area.

 Fold
A geological fold occurs when one or more originally flat and planar surfaces, such as
sedimentary strata, bend or curve due to permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are
those caused by slumping of sedimentary material prior to lithification. Rock folds can range
in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They can be found singly as
isolated folds or in extensive fold trains of varying sizes on a variety of scales.
 Homoclinal Fold
The major structure of Jaintiapur and its adjoining area is a Homoclinal fold. The strike of
the fold is almost E-W and dips towards the south. The amount of dip increases towards
dip direction. A homocline is a step-like geological fold without a change in dip direction
across the fold hinge because the layers dip in the same direction. This is contrasted with
anticlines, in which limbs dip away (curve downward) from the hinge, and with synclines,
in which the limbs dip toward the hinge (curve upward). By differential compaction over
an underlying structure, particularly a large fault at the edge of a basin due to the greater
compatibility of the basin fill, the amplitude of the fold will die out gradually upwards.
 Figure 30: Homocline at Studied area

By mild reactivation of an earlier extensional fault during a phase of inversion causing

folding in the overlying sequence. As a form of fault propagation fold during upward
propagation of an extensional fault in the basement into an overlying cover sequence.

Anticlinal Fold

There is a small scale or local anticline (Fig-35) present in the studied area. We got that all
the strata were dipping towards south but near the Rangapani river section we observed that
the beds are dipping towards north. But after some distance we again got southward dipping.
This proves that there was a small scale anticline present. The studied area represents an
asymmetrical E-W to NW-SE trending anticlinal major F1 type fold. The axis runs from
Dauki to Sripur and truncates against Dauki fault to the east. There is some superposed F2
type fold on the major fold. The trend of the superposed fold is NE-SW. Our work is mainly
carried out in southern flank as the northern flank is not well exposed in Bangladesh, which
continues in Meghalaya of India. Only in Sripur and Tamabil - Jaflong road cut area, little
part of northern limb is exposed in Bangladesh. Amount of dip in southern flank varies from
20° to 50° towards south, in Dupitila and Shari River almost vertical beds are found. The
northern flank dips more steeply.
Evidence favoring the concept of anticlinal fold:

 From Sripur-Tamabil to Dauki fault bed dips in opposite direction. It is not only in
few faulted block as illustrated by some authors assuming homocline.
 Older rocks are found in the axis of the fold. If it is not an anticlinal fold, younger
rocks like Tipam and Dupitila is usual to found in Jaintia–Tamabil road cut section.
 At Rangapani river section, we found bed dips at different direction such as NE, SE
and SW following a distinctive phase. So, we can tell that they were occurred at the
later phase of superposed folds. It makes easier in deducing anticlinal folds.

Drag Fold

Prominent drag folds are observed in Nayagang river section. A minor fold, usually one
of a series, formed in an incompetent bed lying between more competent beds, produced
by the movement of the competent beds in opposite directions relative to one another.
Drag folds may also develop beneath a thrust sheet. They are usually a centimeter r to a
few meters in size. Drag folds in the silty shale bedare formed due to movement of the
competent sandstone bed in the opposite direction with each other.

Figure 31: Drag fold at Nayagang river section

Fault
The major regional fault in the area is the Dauki fault. Besides, few other local faults were
observed in different formations. In fact, our studied area comprises a zone extensively affected
by the movement of Dauki fault system, which is responsible for the present physiography of the
area. The local faults were evidenced by displacement of different formations.

 Dauki Fault System

The Dauki fault is a major fault along the southern boundary of the Shillong Plateau that
may be a source of destructive seismic hazards for the adjoining areas, including northeastern
Bangladesh. The fault, inferred to go through the southern margin of the Shillong Plateau, is
an East–West trending reverse fault inclined towards the north.
Dauki Fault is an important structural feature that is prevalent in NE India, Shillong. The
Dauki Fault lies in the Dauki town of Shillong Plateau. The great Assam earthquake of 12th
June, 1897 was responsible for the formation of major tectonic disturbance along Shillong,
Meghalaya.The Dauki Fault according to Evans (1964) is a tear fault (transcurrent or strike
slip fault) that trends transverse to the strike of the deformed rocks of the Shillong Mikir Hills
Palteaus. Mathur et. Al. opines that Dauki fault (Fig-37) comprises of a system of east-west
trending faults

Figure 36: Dauki Fault.

These faults are similar to upthrusts but occurrence of seismic activities, and the presence of
two different regimes i.e. thrust dominated on the north and fold dominated on the south
suggest that the nature of the Dauki Fault, can be a compartmental fault comparable to
transform faults in continental settings, at least during the Indo-Burma orogeny, if not earlier.
The Dauki fault is exposed along the southern margin of the Shilong plateau.
Evidence those support the existence of the fault are as follows:
 Sudden topographic changes and high relief difference was noted within few hundred
meters. Lower elevation in Bangladesh and higher elevation in India. The present height
of the Shilong plateau is due to repeated uplift along the Dauki system of faults over a
long span of time. According to Evans (1964), the amount of structural relief on both
sides of the Dauki faults range up to 13,000 meters.
 Faulting is also evidenced by the presence of fault breccias and mylonites in the fault
zone in the Sylhet Limestone.
 Irregularities in the attitude of beds and the straight course of the Dauki River.
 Terraces at river bank indicate major faulting.
Local Fault
The force that activated the Dauki fault also activated some other faults through which small
blocks of rocks such as the Sylhet limestone might be up thrown in to the surface but this is
merely a speculation as evidences are rare. We identified a reverse fault at Tambabil (Fig.
4.4). In fact, our studied area comprises a zone extensively affected by movement of Dauki
fault system, which is responsible for the present physiography of the area. The local faults
were evidenced by displacement of different formations.

Figure:Reverse fault at Tamabil

Figure: Micro fault

Joint
As joints are typical associated structure of faults, the joints observed in our investigated area
can be assumed as the result of Dauki fault movement. Moreover, if we review the regional
setting of the area it can be seen that multidirectional forces with variable intensities were
responsible for the development of the investigated area. As a consequence, joints having
different orientation and extension are scatteredly available throughout the investigated area.
Generally, joints are the common features formed in more resistant part of sandstone,
siltstone and silty shale of different formati

Figure: Dip joint at Lalakhal

Figure 39: Large scale inclined joints with low dip found in surma group,( Tetulghat,
Afifanagar).

As a consequence, joints having different orientation and extension are scatteredly available
throughout the investigated area. Generally, joints are the common features formed in more
resistant part of sandstone, siltstone and silty shale of different formations. The location of
some remarkable joints is mentioned: -
- We found dip joint, strike joint and oblique joint together at Lalakhal.
- We found very large scale joint near the Lalkhan BGB guard post.
- Large scale vertical to sub-vertical joints is found in the Sylhet limestone near the Dauki
River.
-Highly jointed Barail sandstone is observed along the road-cut section in Sripur.
-Some inclined joints with low dip are also found in the Surma Group in Tetulghat.
-Very closely spaced parallel joints seem to be Strike joints are found in DupiTila sandstone
near the area Sharighat.
- Numerous sub vertical joints were observed in shale of Surma Group at Rangapani
section.
 Figure 40: Well-developed joints at Sharighat primary school section.

Figure 41: : Joint set at Rangapani river section.

 Unconformity
Another recognizable structural feature, unconformity is a surface of erosion or
nondeposition that separates younger strata from older strata. In the working area two types
of unconformity have been recognized.
 Disconformity
 A major unconformity exists between Barail and Surma group. Near the eastern bank
of Nayagang stream (in the north of Jaintiapur) at lat. 25 0 08/ 25.4// N and long 920 7/ 17.9// E .
It is represented by a thin band of lateritic conglomerate, as observed in the field.Laterite also
found in Najimghar. The band of laterite is of red to dark brown color and is composed of
pebbles, cobbles, granules and other ill-sorted materials. The nature of the unconformity is
non depositional i.e. the laterite might have formed by the hardening of the weathering
products of the Barail group of rocks (hematite cemented sandstone) during prolong exposure
before deposition of the Bhuban sediments. According to the field investigation it can be
categorized as disconformity. This is because the laterite band was continuous along the
contact and parallel to the strike of both of the formations.

Figure 42: Disconformity between Barail Formation and Bhutan formation exposed
in
Nayagonj section.
 Angular Unconformity
Gravel beds overlie most of the hillocks. This gravel bed makes an unconformity with
the Barail and Surma group of sediments. The underlying beds are inclined and the recent
gravel beds are laid horizontally over it, suggest an angular unconformity. In the field such
kind of unconformity is noticed at near the dry Rangapani river section in Sripur, where the
gravel beds lie over the Barail sandstone. In the Uzaynagar village near Jaintiapur, gravel
beds are found to make angular unconformity with the Surma Group.
 Figure 43: Angular unconformity at Ujaninagar section.

 Local Unconformity

A local Unconformity is observed at the bank of Lalakhal (Fig. 4.13) between Tipam and Surma
group. Lithology change suggests the unconformity between these two groups. A significant gap in
sedimentation near Rangapani also suggest a local unconformity (day-4).

Figure: Unconformity between Dihing and Barial.

 CHAPTER 06
GEOMORPHIC FEATURES IN STUDIED AREA
 Meandering River
 Barided River
 Stream
 Flood Plain
 Pothole
 Point Bar
Geomorphology
The study of landforms, their processes, forms, and deposits at the Earth's surface is known
as geomorphology. Deposition and erosion develop landforms as rock is eroded away by
earth surface processes and transported and deposited to various locations. Hillocks,
tributaries, and floodplains are examples of geomorphic features. Natural levee, sand dunes,
arete, moraine, structural terrace, point bar, ox-bow lake, and other features can be found.
The majority of the area we investigated was hilly. The majority of the hills were formed by
the Barail, Surma, and Tipam formations.
Geomorphic features
Geomorphic features are topographic and bathymetric landforms on the Earth's surface. To
model them, high resolution elevation data often are collected using lidar (light detection
and ranging) technology.  Lidar data are useful for many types of analyses including
estimating the heights of river banks and the depths and locations of roadside and
agricultural ditches.

Figure: Geomorphological map of sylhet

Hillocks
Hillocks are mainly small hills. We found huge hillocks. They slope very gently and made of
comparably low resistant rock such as Tipam. The cause behind this are, hillocks are high
gravitational structure. They usually face high weathering due to rain water and high gravity.
If the rock is low-resistant then the weathering rates generally high and hillocks erode. But
we also found hills which were Barail formation.
 Figure 5.1: Hillocks (Tipam)

Pothole:
A pothole is a circular or cylindrical hole in the riverbed which is produced by force of water and
abrasion.  A pothole is formed when a circular current of water carrying small pebbles and sediment
begins to wear away a rock surface. The force of water and the sediment it carries is greater than the
resistance of the rock. Once the process has begun, it continues and the rock in that location
continues to erode away. We found pothole near the Nayagang river section (Figure-42).

Figure 1: Pothole at Nayagang river section

Point Bar:

A point bar is a depositional feature made of alluvium that accumulates on the inside bend
of streams and rivers below the slip-off slope. Point bars are found in abundance in mature
or meandering streams. They are crescent-shaped and located on the inside of a stream bend, being very
similar to, though often smaller than, towheads, or river islands. We traversed across the point bar of Shari
river.
 Figure 2: Point Bar

Meandering River

Rivers that flow over moderately sloping ground begin to bend across the landscape. Rivers
that meander are known as wandering rivers.
Meandering rivers remove silt from each meander bend's outer curve and deposit it on a
downstream inner curve. Individual meanders grow larger and larger as a result of this. The
river Nayagang is a meandering river (Figure-38).

Figure 3: Meandering Nayagang Rive

Braided River:

A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, and often
temporary, islands called braid bars or, in British usage, aits or eyots. Braided streams occur in rivers with low
slope and/or large sediment load. Braided channels are also typical of environments that dramatically decrease
channel depth, and consequently channel velocity, such as river deltas, alluvial fans, and peneplain. Braided
rivers, as distinct from meandering rivers, occur when a threshold level of sediment load or slope is reached
whilst a steep gradient is also maintained. Geologically speaking, an increase in sediment load over time will
increase the slope of the river, so these two conditions may be considered synonymous; and, consequently, a
variation of slope can model a variation in sediment load. Rangapani river is a braided river.

Figure 4: Braided Rangapani River

Stream:
A body of running water or any other moving liquid under the influence of gravity to lower levels in a
narrow, clearly defined natural channel.
 Figure 5: Stream
Flood Plain:
A floodplain or flood plain is an area of land adjacent to a stream or river which stretches from the
banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and which experiences flooding during
periods of high discharge. The soils usually consist of levees, silts, and sands deposited during floods.
Levees are the heaviest materials (usually pebble-size) and they are deposited first; silts and sands
are finer materials.

Figure 6: Flood Plain

 CHAPTER 06

Stratigraphy
 General Stratigraphic Succession
 Lithologic description
 Stratigraphic Correlation

Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is the study of rocks to determine the order and timing of events in Earth history: it
provides the time frame that allows us to interpret sedimentary rocks in terms of dynamic evolving
environments. The stratigraphic record of sedimentary rocks is the fundamental database for
understanding the evolution of life, plate tectonics through time and global climate change.

General Stratigraphic Succession

Table 1: Stratigraphic succession of the studied area [Paul, 1988 and field investigation]
Thickness in
meters
Age Group Formation Lithology
Recent Alluvium Unconsolidated sand, silt and clay.

Sonatila gravel Well rounded, smooth cobble to

boulder sized gravel with high
Pleistocene
sphericity.

Coarse grained, yellowish sandstone

with subordinate Claystone containing
Pliocene Dupitila 300+
quartz pebbles.
Sandstone

Girujan Clay Whitish colored, massive sticky

(?) Claystone containing ferruginous specks
400
sparsely.
Mio-Pliocene Tipam
Tipam Yellowish brown, medium to coarse
sandstone grained cross bedded sandstone.
1200

Gray colored, moderately hard, fine to

very fine grained sandstone with
Miocene Surma 1600
subordinate bluish gray laminated
shale.

Pink colored, fine to very fine grained,

very well sorted Sandstone with
Oligocene Barail Renji 1180
subordinate laminated shale.
Kopili Black, fissile, splintery shale with high
shale clay content.
50+

Sylhet Light colored, very hard and compact,

limestone massive fossiliferous limestone.
Eocene Jaintia 35+
The stratigraphy of the area has been differentiated into a number of formations. Sylhet limestone
formation is found as the oldest in the normal sequence.The normal sequence of the studied
formation given below according to the law of superposition.
 Alluvium
 Dihing Formation
 DupiTila formation.
 Girujan clay.
 Tipam sandstone.
 Surma group
 Barail sandstone
 Kopili shale
 Sylhet limestone

The names of the formations are established by Evans (1932) for the Tertiary successions of
Assam. Although it is difficult to correlate formations separated by hundred of kilometer
without the support of palaeontological data and also because of frequent facies changes.

Lithologic description

The oldest rock exposed in Bangladesh is Tura Sandstone of Early Eocene age in Takerghat area in
Sunamganj district in Sylhet division. But this are not found in our investigated area. The Sylhet Limestone
Formation is the oldest rock exposed in our studied area, the middle unit of the Jaintia Group of sediments.
They are overlain by, from older to younger, the Barail Group, Surma Group, Tipam Group, DupiTila and
Dihing (Sonatila Gravel) sediments.

Sylhet Limestone

The term “Sylhet limestone” as a rock unit was first used by Khan (1963).The formation is exposed on the
east bank of the Dauki River near the Bangladesh-Meghalaya border. The outcrop forms an inlier surrounded
by recent deposits and rock of the Barail group. It is the oldest (Eocene) rock of the investigated area.
The block has been subjected to severe forces which produced the crush breccia.
Slickenside preserved in Limestone. The grey, fossiliferous Limestone offers a variety of fossils from disk
shaped Discosyclina to elongate lens shaped Nummulites. The hard limestone is highly jointed and fractured
(Figure-44). The brecciated limestone occurs due to large Dauki Fault. The assemblages of dominantly large
microfossils indicate a shallow water, continental shelf zone and a clear water environment is also documented
by total lack of planktonic remains(Sarwar,1679). A fault found in our investigated area due to the Dauki fault.

Though much work had not been done in the area, the similarity of nummulites assemblage with the Eocene
of Garo Hills and Assam makes it likely that this unit is of Middle Eocene age.

Figure 7: Hard fossiliferous Limestone at Jaflong

Kopili Shale
The name of Kopili shale was given by Evans (1932) to the beds forming the upper stage of the Jaintia group
after the Kopili river of Garo Hill in India. It gives a minor outcrop only on the west bank of the Rangapani
River. It is dark gray to black coloured, very much fissile, thickly badded to paper laminated, highly jointed
shale. Interbedded sandstone with argillaceous matrix is present. It is conformably overlain on the Sylhet
limestone. Base of the Kopili shale is not seen. The top of the Kopili shale are exposed beside Rangapani
River in Sripur tea garden (Figure-45). It also found on the east bank of the Dauki River near the Bangladesh-
Meghalaya border. The approximate thickness is about 30m. Fossil evidence suggests that the Kopili shale is
of late Eocene age (Evans 1932).

Figure 8: Highly Jointed Kopili Shale near Rangapani River

Barail Group

The Oligocene is represented by the Barail group, named by Evans (1932) after the Barail Range in nearby
Assam, India where the unit has its type locality.

The Barail Group (Renji Formation) is well exposed in Mahishmara,Sonatila and near Sripur which is about
3.5 miles NW of Jaintiapur. Most of the exposures are covered by Holocene deposits. The Barail forms high
ridges than the adjacent SurmaGroup .The thickness found in our investigated area is about 1160m.
In the neighboring Assam Barail sediments are divided into an arenaceousLaison Formation, an argillaceous
Jenum Formation, and an arenaceousRenji Formation. In Bangladesh most of the Barail is deeply buried. A
series of outcrops in the area between Jaintiapur in the east and the DaukiNala in the west was described by
Khan (1978) as Jenum Formation. Reimann (1983) who mapped the north-eastern fringe of the Surma basin.

The river Nayagang and exposures along the Jaintiapur – Tamabil Road provide a fairly good section of the
Jenum Formation.
The Jenum Formation composed of sandstone, siltatone and siltyshale. The sandstone is mainly pink in colour
, weathered to light yellow and gray, very fine to medium grained sometimes crossbedded and thin to thick
badded Argillaceous and Ferroginous materials. The block jointed sandstone is found in many places. On the
east bank of the Dauki River near the Bangladesh-Meghalaya border the block jointed sandstone confiused
with bedding plane.
The carbonaceous matters are found in sandstone in east bank of Dauki River and in sonatila Chara.
The siltstone is light gray to yellow in colour. It is thin to thick bedded, fairly hard and compact and well
jointed.

Figure 9: Barail Sandstone at Rangapani river

The Unconformity boundary between Bhuban and Barail group is represented by thin bands of Lateritic
Conglomerate containing which is well exposed in Nayagang river section (Figure.47) Small blocks of
Laterite are widely spreaded on the hilltops and slopes of the hillocks situated on the northern side of the
horticulture garden of the investigated area. Laterite blocks are normally formed on the surface of the iron-rich
residual deposits. It is porous, reddish brown color, has a hard protective ferruginous incrustation on the
exposed surface, which is generally irregular and rough. Sometime it is pisolitic . The pisolites have a
concentric structure and are cemented together by ferruginous and clay minerals. The vesicles of Laterite are
filled up with secondary mineral.
 Figure 10: Laterite Band at Nayagang river section

On the basis of lithology this formation is corrected with that of Renji of Assam instead of Jenam which
appear to be absent in this area. In Assam, the Renji formation is considered to be of Oligocene age (Evans,
1932) on the basis of fossils.

Surma Group
The Surma Group has been named after the Surmaseires of Assam, India (Evans 1932). The sediment
of the Surma group unconformably overlies the Barail Group. Good exposures of this unit were
observed in the east of Jaintiapur and in the Shari River. The change from the Barail Group to the
Surma Group rather sharp and is marked by the decrease of the interbedded sandstone in shales
and siltstones and the general predominance of argillaceous material. The Surma Group is made up
of bedded, laminated siltstone, shale, silty shale, claystone and sandstone, mud clast found in Surma
Sandstone in Afifanagar . Although some sandy shale is also present. Shale of this unit is profusely
jointed and fractured and even small fault were observed in Tetulghat. It is also exposed near
Jaintiapur i.e. Afifanagar, Ujaninagar, Kamarbari, and East Gaurishankar. Most of the sediments are
covered by recent alluvium. The dip direction of the beds of this formation is south-west and the
amount of dip ranges from 42° to 50°. The thickness found in our investigation is about 1600m.

It is composed of yellowish gray sandstone, bluish gray shale, sandy shale, and siltstone. Sandstone
is fine to medium grained, subangular and moderately sorted. The sandstone is hard and is resistant
to weathering and forms the cliffs. It shows micro cross lamination,lamination,trough cross bedding
and wavy bedding .

The shale is bluish gray in colour and weathered to gray and yellowish gray. The shale is well
laminated, hard and jointed .TheSurma Group is generally subdivided into two formations namely
the Bhuban and the Bokabil but in the field it is difficult to distinguish between the two units and
there subdivision becomes impractical. The contact of Surma Group with the overlying Tipam
Formation is conformable. The Surma Group is overlain unconformably by Dihing Formation at
latitude 25°07/59.7//, longitude 92°07/51.1//. This is an angular unconformity.The contact between
Surma Group and Tipam Sandstone found in Afifanagar.

Figure 11: Fiisile Shale of Surma Group

Tipam Group
The Tipam Group has been named after the Tipam Series (Mallet, F.R., 1876) given after the Dihing
River in Assam, India. The Tipam Group is subdivided into two formations from older to younger- the
Tipam Sandstone and the Girujan Clay.

Tipam Sandstone: The name has been used after the Tipam hills in Assam, India (Mallet 1876). The
formation constitutes the lower part of Tipam Group and is conformably overlain by Girujan Clay and
the contact found in the eastern bank of the Shari River is gradual. The river Shari gives an excellent
exposure.

The top ofTipam Sandstone Formation form a conformable contact with the Girujan Clay Formation
is exposed at latitude 25°06/15.7//, longitude 92°08/54.4// in the bank of Shari River where it consists
of alternation of usually bedded to thick bedded and also laminated, fine sandstone and mudstone.
The base of Tipam Sandstone is exposed also in the Shari river bank conformably overlying the
Surma Group at the station- 9 (25°06/36.0//N latitude, 92°10/48.9//E longitude) where it consists of
brown, fine to medium grained, massive sandstone. Overall lithology of Tipam Sandstone consists of
gray-brown to pale-gray, coarse-grained, cross bedded, and massive sandstone. Intercalations of
gray shale, conglomerate horizons, pebbles, laterite bed, mud ball , wood fragments and petrified
trunks, coal lenses also occur.
 Figure 12: Tipam Sandstone at Lalkhan BGB camp

Girujan Clay(?)
The top of Tipam Sandstone Formation forms a conformable contact with the Girujan Clay
Formation is exposed at latitude 25°06/15.7//, longitude 92°08/54.4// in the right bank of Shari River
where it consists of alternation of usually bedded to thick bedded and also laminated, fine
sandstone and mudstone. The formation develops conformably and gradationally from the
underlying Tipam Sandstone Formation. It entirely consists mainly of gray to bluish gray clay and
mottled clay.

The presence of Girujan clay is controversial. Many geologists think that it is not the actual Girujan
clay formation. They opine that it may be normal mottled clay that may be deposited due to tectonic
event. Evidence includes that if it was a Girujan clay formation then we should found its continuation
at the left bank of the river as we found it on the right bank of the river but we didn’t find any kind if
trace of Girujan clay at the left bank of the river.

DupiTila Sandstone

The DupiGaon is the Type locality of the DupiTila Formation. The formation is exposed latitude
25°05’49”N, longitude 92°07’04.0”E at Sharighat behind the Sharighat Primary school. The lithology
is dominantly sandstone and siltstone with interbeds of claystone. At latitude 25°05’50.8”N,
longitude 92°08’39.0”E, the bedding plane is not well defined. The lithology is dominantly fine to
coarse grained, brown to yellowish brown, cross bedded sandstone containing wood log/coal and
quartz pebbles, clay galls etc. The DupiTila Sandstone Formation conformably overlies the Girujan
Clay Formation.
Except fossil wood no other fossils are identified in DupiTila Formation. In Assam it is considered to
be Mio-Pliocene in age (Lexique, 1957).

Figure 13: Dupi Tila sandstone

Dihing Formation
The Dihing formation of Pleistocene age has unconformable contact with the Surma Group at
latitude 25°07’59.8”N, longitude 92°07’51.6”E, Ujainagar The formation consists of yellow and gray,
medium-grained, occasionally pebbly sandstone and clayey sandstone with interbeds of mottled
clay, and boulders of grainitic rock. The rocks are in most part poorly consolidated.
 Figure 14: Dihing Formation at Uzaynagar

Alluvium
Unconsolidated, loose material brought down by rivers and deposited in its beds of alluvial fans or
weathered material. Alluvium consists of sand, silt, clay in various proportions. River born alluvium
are mainly sand, and coarse grained material and weathered alluvium are consists mostly of clay and
silt. They cover various rock formations unconformably and of Recent in age.

Stratigraphic Correlation

stratigraphic correlation of the area of investigation and its correspondence to classification of

Tertiary rock Stratigraphy units of Assam are given below:
Table 2: Stratigraphic correlation of Surma Basin with Assam Valley & Chittagong Hill Tract

Age North Eastern part of Assam Valley, India Mathur Eastern part of Bangladesh,
Surma Basin, Sylhet And Evans, 1964 Chittagong – Chittagong Hill
Tracts
Group Formation Series Stage Group Formation
Holocene Alluvium Alluvium and Alluvium
high level
terraces
Late DupiTila DupiTila Upper
Miocene to Sandstone Sandstone DupiTila
Mid Lower
Miocene DupiTila
Mid Tipam Girujan Clay Tipam Girujan Clay Tipam Girujan Clay
Miocene Tipam Tipam Tipam
Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone
Early Surma Bokabil Surma Bokabil
Miocene Bhuban Bhuban
Oligocene Barail Renji Barail Jenum
Eocene Jaintia Kopili Shale Jaintia Kopili Shale
Sylhet Sylhet
Limestone Limestone
Tura Theria
Sandstone
(not found in
investigated
area
 CHAPTER 07

Sedimentology
 Sedimentary structure & feature
 Depositional structure

 Post Depositional Deformed Structure

 Post Depositional Chemically formed Structure

Sedimentology
Sedimentary Structures and Features:

Sedimentary structures are large-scale features of sedimentary rocks, that are best studied in out
crop in naked eye or hand lens. Different types of sedimentary structure that are encountered in the
investigated area are given below:

Depositional Structure:
(Stratification, Bed forms or Bedding plane markings)

I. Bedding or Lamination: Bedding or Lamination define stratification. Bedding is produced by

change in pattern of sedimentation, may be defined as change in sediment grain size
color,composition.

Figure 15: Bedding

II. Cross stratification: It is an internal sedimentary structure of many sedimentary rocks and
consists of an angle to the principle bedding. It is common in study area.
a. Cross lamination and cross bedding: Cross lamination forms either a single set or
many set with one bed. On size alone stratification is divided into cross lamination
and cross bedding where the set height is less than 6cm and greater than 6cm
respectively. Tabular cross stratification is straight crested and whereas trough cross
stratification is curved crested.
 Figure 16: Cross lamination

Figure 17: Cross bedding

 b. Lenticular bedding: .Lenticular bedding is where mud dominates and cross
laminated sand occurs in lenses, it was found in SURMA GROUP in Shari river
section.

Figure 18: Lenticular Bedding in Shari river section

III. Mud cracks: Shrinking cracks with polygonal structures in fine-grained sediments through
desiccation and dewatering on exposure. It was found in Shari river section.
 Figure 19: Mud cracks

IV. Liesegang Ring: Liesegang rings (also called Liesegangen rings or Liesegang bands) are
colored bands of cement observed in sedimentary rocks that typically cut-across bedding.
These secondary (diagenetic) sedimentary structures exhibit bands of (authigenic) minerals
that are arranged in a regular repeating pattern. Liesegang rings are distinguishable from
other sedimentary structures by their concentric or ring-like appearance.

Post depositional deformed structures:

I. Load cast: Load is formed through differential sinking of one bed into another. Load casts
are common on soles of sandstones beds overlying mud cast, occurring as bulbons structure
and may be on the way to become ball and pillow structure found at Shari river section in
Surma group.

II. Soft rock deformation folding: The soft rock shale and mudstone be deformed in such a
way the folds, in cases overturned of penecontemporaneous type have formed.

III. Slumping: Slump structure may involved many sedimentation units are commonly faulted;
typically occur in mudstones and sandy shales, less commonly in sandstones. It is observed
in the rocks of Barail group in Tamabil area.

IV. Convolute bedding: Convolute bedding forms when complex folding and crumpling of beds
or laminations occur. This type of deformation is found in fine or silty sands, and is usually
 confined to one rock layer. Convolute laminations are found in flood plain, delta, point-bar,
and intertidal-flat deposits. They generally range in size from 3 to 25 cm, but there have
been larger formations recorded as several meters thick.

Figure 20: Convolute bedding at Nayagang river section

Post depositional chemically formed structure:

Concretions: Concretions probably the most common kind of sedimentary structures, formed  by
precipitation of mineral matter around some kind of nucleolus such as a shale fragment, masses
range from peripheral to pipe shaped, common in sandstones and shale. Found in Tipam sandstone,
DupiTila formation, Barailgroup etc. in different section.

Figure 21: Iron Concretions

Sand vein: Vein in sandstone may be formed during earthquake. By releasing energy pore pressure
developed tremendously, then water & grain fluids become same type &injected through weak
zone. It clues about earthquake.

Figure 22: Sand Vein near Sharighat Primary School

Black magic: In the time of limestone deposition, heavy minerals are deposited on each beds of
limestone.

Faultbreccia: At the great depth due to faulting formed angular grains powder etc. At high temperature
and pressure, it forms milonite.

Trace fossil:It is used as environmental detector. The rate of sedimentation is known form it.
 Chapter-8

1. Economic Geology
1. Economic Resources
2. Local Mining Method
 Economic Geology

Economic Resources
There is no commercially exploitable deposit in the investigated area. Economically important
mineral deposits are very rare in Bangladesh. Tertiary rock of the investigated area does not possess
any economically important mineral deposits.

Sylhet Sand:
The sandstones of jenam, Tipam and Dupi Tila formation are very loosely cemented. These
sandstones do not satisfy the minimum standard requirements to be used as building materials. A
huge amount of sand is transported by the Dauki River and Rangapani River, which are being used
throughout the country as building material. This sand known as the Sylhet sand is excellent in
quality. Sylhet sand is used in tubewell construction and construction of the building.

Gravels and Boulders:

Thegravels transported by the Dauki River and Rangpani River are most economically important
geological element of the area. Rounded to sub-rounded boulders, Pebbles are composed mainly
gneiss, quartzite, granite. Hundred of tones this hard rock is transported daily by tracks country wide
for using in building of road, multistoried structure, tail way  balasts etc. The estimated of this hard
sock is about one million cubic feet (khan M, 1978). The gravels are generally 3 to 8 feet long and 2
to 4 feet thick. In Dauki rivers its extends is about one and a half mile long, fifty feet wide and about
4 feet thick  but in Rangpani river its extent is small.
 Figure 23: Gravels and Boulders at Jaflong

Sylhet Limestone:
A very small faulted block of the Eocene Sylhet limestone is exposed in the investigated area at the
eastern bank of the Dauki River. The Chhatak cement factory uses Sylhet Limestone and produces
cement of excellent quality comparable to any cement of the world. This factory has quarried out all
Limestone. Now its reserve is too small to warrant further exploration.

It provides the local people with lime making and other domestic usages.
 Figure 24: Sylhet Limestone

Gas and Oil:

In Bangladesh, there are 22 natural gas fields and 1 oil (well-7 of Sylhet gas field) field has been
discovered so far. Most of the gas field and oil field occurred in the Surma basin. This gas and oil
occurred in sandstone reservoir of Bhuban and BokaBil formation. Surma group of Mio-pliocene age
and lie at depth ranging from surface. These gas and oil reservoirs are situated in the folded belt
with gentle anticlinal fold forming traps (Prof. Badrul Imam, 1984). Sothere has a possibility to find
hydrocarbon in the investigated area for which detailed geological investigation of the Jaflong-
Lalakhal area is highly desired.

Bangladesh Atomic energy suggests that a small amount of Uranium (Ur) might be found in the
investigated area.

Local Mining Method:

In Bangladesh, the main source of sand and gravel is from in-stream quarrying and mining which
come from different parts of Sylhet division. Jaflong is one of the prime zone to practice of both in-
stream and off-channel extraction of sand, gravel, stone etc. During monsoon, the river current wash
down precious rocks and pebbles from India into the jaflong area.
 Figure 25: Stone Crushing Industry near Jaflong

Quarry and quarrying, open excavation from which any of useful rock is extracted for various
purposes, including construction, ornamentation, road building and as an industrial raw material and
the operation required to obtain rock in useful form from a quarry. Rock that has been quarried is
commonly called sand and stone. Quarrying methods depend chiefly on the desired size and shape
of the desired sand or stone and its physical characteristics. For industrial use (e.g. limestone or
preparing cement), as the aggregate in concrete, for road beds, the rock is shattered. Explosives are
denoted in a series of holes drilled in the rock in a pattern designed to yield the greatest amount of
fracturing. The rock fragments may be further reduced in crushing machine and sorted according to
size by screening. For building stone rocks that do not shatter are separated by blasting, for softer
rocks or when explosive cannot be used (e.g. because they would disturb the adjacent working), a
process known as broaching or channeling is used. In this process a line of hole is drilled
perpendicular to the joints or cleavage plane of a formation, wedges are inserted into holes and
hammered until the stone is splits off.
 Chapter-9

9. Conclusion and Summary

 Conclusion and Summary:
The investigated area is situated on the Surma basin of the mobile belt of Bengal basin. The area is a
hilly region. The average elevation of the area is about 100 feet to 125 feet above MSL. The area is
drained by numerous rivers, streams, khal etc. those flow in more or less in meandering pattern and
carries huge amount of sediments.

The prominent structures of the area are a faulted anticline, a major fault named Dauki fault which
runs along the northern margin of the area and has been considered as the west ward continuation
of the Naga – Disang thrust fault system. Besides these few small scale faults, folds and local
unconformity have been identified in the area.

The investigated area consists of thick sequence of sediments from Eocene to Recent. Because of the
exposures of these sedimentary rock units this area is called the geological museum of Bangladesh.
These sediments are divided into several Groups which are from bottom to top Jaintia, Barail, Surma
and Tipam, these Group of sediments are overlained by Dupi Tila , Sonatila Gravel and alluvium. The
principal rock types are limestone, sandstone, siltstone, shale, and conglomerate. Fossils are found
only in the Sylhet limestone. The total thickness of these rock units are about 4110 meters. The
depositional environment of these rocks is shallow marine, marine, fluvial and lacustrine.

As a new department we have limitations like not having enough equipment, enough funding etc.
Four (4) day for the investigation is not enough.

Although with these limitations our field trip was very enjoyable and educative. The support and
guidance that our teacher gave us are highly appreciable. Our department should increase modern
tool and equipments facilities, base map should be modernized.

References

- Geological note book wrote during field work.

- Reimann, K.U.(1993) : Geology of Bangladesh.

- Billings,M.P: Structural Geology.

- Evans, P. (1933): Tertiary succession in Assam, than, geol. Inst. India, v-27.

- Evans , P. (1964): The tectonic frame work of Assam, Geol. soc. India, Jour; vol.5, pp – 80 – 85. -
Alam, M.M. et al (2003): An overview of the sedimentary geology of the Bengal Basin in relation to
the regional tectonics and Basin fill history, Sedimentary Geology, 155, pp 227-270.

- Khan, F.H : Geology of Bangladesh

- Imam, M.B, 2005: Mineral Resources of Bangladesh.

- Khan, M.A (1978): Geology of the eastern and north eastern part of sadar subdivision Sylhet district
in Bangladesh. Record of G. S. B. vol.2, part-iv.

- Wallid, K. M. (1982) : Paleostratigraphy of the Tertiary Sediments as Exposed along the Jaflong
Tamabil road cut section in Sylhet district, Bang. Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, Geology Dept. Dhaka
University. - Banglapedia.org - Wikipedia.org - Dictonary.com