crosses it by an aqueduct near that town, and finally drops into the Bikkavólu drain and the Cocanada tidal creek, and so into the Cocanada bay. Meanwhile the two other branches have both flowed into the Pithápuram division, where, united again under the name of the Górikanadi, they distribute their waters to numerous works of irrigation, and finally reach the sea near Uppáda.
The following table gives the classification of the soils in the Government land in the district excluding the taluk of Bhadráchalam, which has not yet been settled by the Madras Government:—
| Taluk or division. | Total area | Area classified | Percentage of area classified which is | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in sq.miles) | (in sq. miles) | Alluvial. | permanently improved | Black regar. | Red ferruginous. | Arena. ceous. | |
| Plains. | |||||||
| Amalápuram | 506 | 235 | 86.78 | -- | -- | -- | 13.22 |
| Cocanada | 294 | 84 | 86.45 | -- | 5.93 | 7.41 | 0.21 |
| Nagaram | 137 | 120 | 60.64 | -- | -- | -- | 39.36 |
| Peddápuram | 504 | 203 | 6.19 | 0.21 | 11.53 | 82.07 | -- |
| Rajahmundry | 350 | 230 | 0.20 | 0.23 | 28.36 | 71.21 | -- |
| Rámachandrapuram | 296 | 194 | 91.08 | 0.02 | 0.22 | 8.68 | -- |
| Total Plains | 2,087 | 1,066 | 50.56 | 0.09 | 8.82 | 33.17 | 7.36 |
| Agency (excluding Bhadráchalam) | |||||||
| Chódavaram | 715 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 100.00 | -- |
| Pólavaram | 564 | 67 | -- | -- | 0.19 | 99.81 | -- |
| Yellavaram | 950 | 25 | -- | -- | 4.33 | 95.67 | -- |
| Total, Agency | 2,229 | 94 | -- | -- | 1.26 | 98.74 | -- |
| Grand total | 4,316 | 1,160 | 46.48 | 0.09 | 8.21 | 38.46 | 6.76 |
It will be seen that the delta taluks are mainly covered with alluvial soil, though there are sandy areas along their coasts, while the uplands are chiefly made up of red ferruginous earths varied by small areas of the black regar.
The ultimate foundation of the country above the gháts,[1] as of most of peninsular India, is gneiss. Various other kinds of rock of less but varying antiquity have been superimposed upon different parts of the district. The gneiss is usually
- ↑ The geological formation of the country above the gháts is described in some detail by Dr. W King in the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, xviii, pt. 3, and that of the area below the hills in Memoirs, xvi, pt. 3.
