210 KHAIRAGARH TAHSIL
These hills are of red sandstone, which is valuable for building
purposes. Near the hills the soil is sandy, but after passing a tract
of infertile clay a richer soil is reached. East of the Utangan the
ordinary loam is found, stretching up to the Kbari Nadi, which forms
the eastern boundary of the tahsil and is bordered by deep and
precipitous ravines. There is no canal-irrigation, and in 1903-4 the
irrigated area was only 34 square miles out of 206 under cultivation.
Wells are the sole source of supply, but owing to the faulty substrata
they cannot be made in many places.
Khairi-Murat.-Mountain range in the I+'atahjang tahsil of Attock
District, Punjab, midway between the Sohân river and the Kâlâ-Chitta
range. It rises about 30 miles from the Indus, and runs eastward for
about 24 miles, a barren ridge of limestone and sandstone rock,
extending from 72° 37′ to 72° 56′ E. and from 33° 25′ to 33° 30′ N.
North of the range lies a plateau intersected by ravines ; while south-
ward a waste of gorges and hillocks extends in a belt for a distance of
5 miles, till it dips into the fertile valley of the Sohân, one of the
richest tracts in Rawalpindi District. The Khairi-Mfirat was formerly
covered with jungle; but it is now completely destitute of vegetation,
except where the hill has been formed into a `reserved' forest and
closed to grazing. In these parts the trees are rapidly springing up
again. The hills run nearly parallel to the Kala-Chitta, about to miles
to the south. The formation is chiefly limestone, edged with sandstone
and earthy rocks whose vertical and contorted strata indicate intense
disturbance. The southern portion of the range is extremely dreary,
being formed of rocky ravines and stony hillocks, gradually sinking
into the fertile valley of the Sohân.
Khairpur State.-State in Sind, Bombay, lying between 26° 10′
and 27° 46′ N.. and between 68° 20′ and 70° 14′ E., with an area of
6,050 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Sukkur District; on
the east by Jaisalmer State in Râjputana; on the south by Hyderabad
and Thar and Parkar Districts ; and on the west by the river Indus.
Its greatest length from east toy west is about 120 miles, and its breadth
from north to south about 70 miles.
Like other parts of Sind, Khairpur consists of a great alluvial plain,
the part bordering directly upon the Indus being very rich and fertile,
though much of it is used as viohdiis or hunting-
aspects. grounds. With the exception of the fertile strip
watered by the Indus and its canals, and of a
narrow strip irrigated by the Eastern Nara, the remainder or three-
fourths of the whole area is a continuous series of sandhill ridges
covered with a stunted brushwood, where cultivation is altogether
impossible. The country generally is exceedingly arid, sterile, and
desolate in aspect. In the northern portion of the State is a small