Geology of Karnataka

Geology of Karnataka is a fascinating subject.Oldest rocks exposed in

Gorur area,Hassan district, Karnataka date back to about 3300 million
years.The Precambrian craton of Karnataka is made up of western and
eastern segments. The Precambrians of Karnataka have been divided into
older Sargur supracrustals (about 3300 to 3000 million year old) and
younger Dharwar supracrustals(about 3000 to 2600 million year old.The
Dharwar supracrustals Supergroup has been further divided into older
Bababudan Group(ca.3000 to 2700 million years) and younger Chitradurga
Group(ca.2700 to 2500 million years). The schist belts of the Eastern
craton,like Kolar,Hutti,Sandur etc., appear to be approximately equivalent
to the Chitradurga Group.
The Karnataka craton has been extensively intruded by granites and
granitoids of the ca. age 2600 to 2500 million years.The eastern Karnataka
abounds in these granites and granitoids.
The northern part of Karnataka is made up of Kaladgi and Badami and
Bhima Group of sediments,approximately of Proterozoic age.
Further north the terrain is covered by extensive volcanic flows known as
Deccan traps of Cretaceous -Tertiary age.
The geological map (shown below) was prepared by this blogger for
presenting along with the review volume "GeoKarnataka" [editors: Dr B.M.
Ravindra & N. Ranganatha ] published by the Karnataka Assistant
Geologists Association, Department of Mines & Geology, Karnataka, on the
occasion of Centenary celebration of Mysore Geological Department in the
year 1994.
 A Granite inselsberg : Gadaikallu,Dakshina Kannada

There are many imposing inselbergs of granite in Karnataka, like Nandi

hills, north of Bangalore: Shivaganga hills ,west of Bangalore; Chamundi
hills, south of Mysore city and so on.
A huge dome shaped inselberg near Ujire,Belthangadi taluk, Dakshina
Kannada district, shown above is quite imposing. It is also known as
Jamalabad fort, since it was used by brave warrior king Tippu Sultan in his
battles against the British during the pre-independance days.
On the backdrop we can see the charming Sahyadris or the Western
Ghats.

Sahyadri Ranges
Sahyadri ranges mentioned in our Puranas refer to the Western Ghats.
Sahyadri ranges seperate the elevated peninsular plateau mainland of
southern India from the sunken west coast.
A mighty geological event during the Miocene period ,that is about 20
million years ago, did this magic of elevating the peninsular mainland and
relatively sinking the west coast.

Beaches of Karnataka
Mainly two types of beaches can be recognised in Karnataka . Thebeaches
of Uttara Kannada are generally crescentic in shape whereas those of
Udupi and Dakshina Kannada are mostly linear.
Crescentic shape of Uttara Kannada beaches are due to extension of
alternate bands or strips of hard(granites and gneisses) and soft(schists)
rocks at an angle into the coastline.The softer schistose rocks have
weathered off leaving the hard rocks. The beach intervening between two
projections of hard rocks takes a crescentic or semicircular shape.
Such projections of hard rocks are very limited in Dakshina Kannada and
Udupi, therefore these beaches are mostly linear in outlook. A few
exceptions are Someswara, Surathkal (Dakshina Kannada) and Kapu
(Udupi) where exposures of granitic rocks in the beach have produced
semi-circular beach morphology.

The Iron Ore Resources of Karnataka

Karnataka is endowed with rich deposits of iron ores; with approximately 9.03
billion tonnes or about 41% of Indias estimated total haematitic and magnetitic
iron ore resources (Table 1).Iron ore mining industry is on the fast track growth in
recent years consequent on high demand for iron ore in the global market
especially from China.

Basically there are four mineralogical types of iron ore resources in Karnataka:
Haematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), titaniferous magnetite (Fe2O3 with admixed
TiO2 and/or V2O5 impurities) and goethite and limonite (hydroxides of iron and
aluminum).Based on the process of ore genesis four genetic types of iron ores can
be distinguished.

1. Volcanosedimentary Ores: Banded Iron formations (BIF) are characterized by

alternating bands of iron oxides (magnetite/ haematite) and silica (quartz
/chert).These are formed by Volcanosedimentary processes. Iron oxides and silica
liberated from submarine volcanic sources get precipitated in early Precambrian
depositional basins in alternating fine layers due to specific seasonal and chemical
variations in Eh- pH conditions. Precambrians of Karnataka, especially of
Bababudan and Chitradurga Group of formations abound in BIFs. These have
been metamorphosed and occur in magnetite form and contain 45 to 55 % Fe.
The Kudremukh iron ores belong to this category.
2. Magmatic Ores: Titaniferous Magnetite bands associated with ultramafic
intrusives are formed by magmatic processes. These ores limited in distribution,
being confined to layered mafic-ultramafic intrusives. These ores are valued for
the associated TiO2 and V2O5 content, since Fe % content as well as the restricted
ore abundance is not suitable (uneconomical) for iron ore mining under present
day circumstances.

3. Supergene enriched iron ores: Weathering, alteration and enrichment of

Precambrian BIFs under surface conditions during Tertiary and Quaternary
periods have produced abundant haematite rich supergene iron ores especially in
Sandur and Chitradurga schist belts. These ores are friable, powdery and easily
extractable form and contain 62 to 68 % Fe. These are the most preferred iron
ores at present in domestic as well as export markets.

4. Laterites: Laterites are iron and aluminum enriched products derived from the
desilication of weathered rock material under humid tropical conditions. Coastal
Karnataka and parts of Bidar and Kolar districts evince extensive laterite
formations. However, the iron content in laterites range from 25 to 40% and
hence is not suitable for iron extraction under present metallurgical technology.

Iron Ores of Karnataka

Haematitic iron ores: In the spindle shaped Sandur schist belt rich
concentration of iron ores are confined to two prominent bands: the western
Sandur belt and eastern Copper Mountain belt. The banded iron formations in
these ranges have been weathered, altered and have undergone supergene
enrichment of ores forming rich haematitic iron ore cappings analyzing 62 to 68%
Fe content. Some red oxide bands are also found associated with these enriched
ores. The supergene iron ores are associated with manganese ores of similar
origin.

Iron Ores of Sandur region encompassing Sandur, Hospet and Bellary taluks of
Bellary district can be grouped under eight ranges namely (a) NEB range [includes
Bharatarayanaharavu, Gogga property, Ingligi, Jambunathanahalli and
Sankalapuram] (b) Ramandurga or Ramgad range [includes Ramandurga, Ramgad
and Vyasankere] (c)Timmappangudi range (d)Donimalai range (e) Ettinhatti range
[includes Ubbalagandi, Rajapuram and Konanharavu] (f) Devadri range (g)
Kumarswamy range [includes Subrayanahalli] and (h) Copper Mountain range
[includes Halkundi, Belegal, Vibhutigudda and Haraginadona mines].Total iron ore
reserves of Bellary-Sandur-Hospet sector has been conservatively estimated
around 1000 million tones, but in reality it could be about 2000 million tonnes
considering the deeper unexplored ores.

Table1. Estimated Haematite and Magnetite Iron ore resources of

Karnataka (IBM, 2005)

Type of Reserves in thousand tonnes (as on 1.4.2000)

Iron Ore
Proved Probable Total Remaining Total
Resources
Reserves Resources
STD111 STD121 STD122

Haematite 394839 25865 107263 527967 620357 1148324

Magnetite 202125 - 18375 220500 7663347 7883847

Total 596964 25865 125638 748467 8283704 9032171

In the southern part of Chitradurga schist belt, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, rich with supergene enriched
haematitic iron ores occur. The Megalahalli sector in Chitradurga district and several ranges in
Chiknayakanahalli sector like Sondekoppa, Karekurchi, Janehar, Kondli and others in Tumkur district are
endowed with massive haematitic iron ores.

In Chikmagalur district some of the Banded Iron Formations have undergone supergene enrichment
producing mine-able haematite type of ores. Smaller workable haematitic ore deposits also occur in
Bagalkot, Belgaum, Dharwad, Shimoga and Uttara Kannada districts.

Magnetite iron ore: The Kudremukh and partly Bababudan iron ore belts represent massive
magnetite type of ores, occurring in the form of banded magnetite quartzites. In banded magnetite
quartzites, layers of iron oxides (magnetite) alternate with those of quartz. The Early Precambrian BIFs
have been metamorphosed to greenschist to amphibolite facies and the ores occur mainly in the
magnetite form. Most of the estimated 7.8 billion tonnes of magnetite ores reserves of Karnataka are in
the Kudremukh and Bababudan ranges falling within the limits of Chikmagalur district. Magnetite type
iron ores are harder compared to haematitic ores and are amenable for underground type of mining.
However, in Kudremukh area, KIOCL designed a large open cast type of mine to extract the low grade
magnetite ore.

Table 2.Districtwise Production of iron ores in Karnataka (in metric tonnes)

District/Year 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Bagalkot 60,140 31,045 331,378 882,334 1,150,350

Belgaum 100 0 0 500 450

Bellary 5,955,728 15,925,769 25,413,044 31,494,682 36,301,615

Chikmagalur 5,572,265 5,759,722 5,241,459 4,458,760 2922

Chitradurga 1,281,116 1,277,321 2188942 2,324,037 2,326,454

Dharwad 0 0 13,300 261,827 0

Shimoga 0 900 222,500 0 0

Tumkur 8668 205,222 1,114,005 1,687,638 1,625,481

Total 12,878,017 23,199,979 34,524,628 41,109,778 41,407,272

Posted 18th April 2007 by Ravi Mundkur

Labels: Iron Ores geology Karnataka magnetite haematite

 1

Granites around Bagepalli

Granite outcrops of Nandi and Bagepalli area, in the southeastern part of Karnataka( ie bangalore
and Kolar districts) belong to the Closepet Group and type of granites and granitoids. There are pink
granites, grey granites and gray granitic porphyries. Dark gray granitic porphyries with white feldspar
porphyroblasts make an interesting textured ornamental rock. Geology and landscape around
Kotikondam near Bagepalli, but falling within the limits of Andhra Pradesh are presented in photos
here. On the way to Bagepalli an image of Nandi Hills was also captured.An image of relics of gate
of Kotikondam fort is also there.
Irde hot water spring: Bendr Tirtha
In Karnataka two hot water springs have been reported from Dakshina Kannada district so far:
1.Irde, in Puttur taluk and 2.Bandaru, in Belthangadi taluk.
Irde village is located in the proximity of Bettamapdi village on the Puttur to Panaje road. Puttur is a
taluk headquarters and is about 55km from Mangalore, the coastal port city and the district
headquarters of Dakshina Kannada district.The Irde spring is locally known as "Bendru
Tirtha"(bendru or bendir or bend'r(Tulu language)= boiled water)
Geologically, the area around Irde consists of early Precambrian gneisses granulites and smaller
bands of schists. The Precambrian rocks are covered under a blanket of laterites and clays. The
laterite-clay cover ranges from less than 10m to about 30 m at different places. The hot water spring
at Irde is located on granitic gneisses covered by a two meter thick cover of lateritic soils. Eminent
geologist Dr B.P.Radhakrishna has made a short note on this spring in the Journal of Geological
Society of India as early as 1963.
Three minor streams namely Bettampadi, Bailadka and Cheladka join at right angles and flow into
the west flowing Baddanthadka (also known as Seere) river. These four streams join at
approximately right angles. This intersecting configuration is suggestive of the fact that the streams
are controlled by tectonic factors that have produced mutually intersecting fractures. Close to the
intersection of streams (known as sangama) on the southwestern quadrant is the thermal spring.
(see map).
A pool has been constructed around the pool to visitors to wash or experience the warmth of the hot
spring. The flow of water from the spring is quite weak and often dries up in the summer because of
lowering of the groundwater table. Air bubbles releasing from the outlet of the spring can be noticed
within the pool. The pool temperature in general is 37 C. (see photo).
During 1992 a farmer living in the proximity of the hot spring has drilled a borewell 30m from the hot
spring. He tapped hot water (about 39 C) at a depth of 25m from the surface. The depth of the
borewell is 30m. (see photo).
The area set in Karavali-Malnad setting is picturesque and soothing, full of greenery and flowing
streams especially during the monsoon. The streams develop small waterfalls adding to the charm
of the locality (see photo).
The district administration of Dakshina Kannada is drawing up a plan for the development of the hot
spring area for recreational and tourist centre.

Bandaru hotspring

Bandaru is a scattered village located about 12 km east of Uruvalu and Kuppetti on the
Guruvayanakere-Uppinangadi road,in Belthangadi taluk,Dakshina Kannada district.The second
reported hot spring in Karnataka is situated inside a modest forest setting at Ankaramajalu near
Panikallu in Bandaru village.
The lineament/tectonic setting of the hot spring suggests that it is on the western flank of a major
curvilinear lineament that controls the Nethravathi River.
The hot water spring measures about 35 to 36 degrees Centigrade and has an outflow of about 100
gallons per hour.

11.A minor earthquake at Tottam

On 22nd August 2009, a minor seismic shock (earthquake) approximately of the magnitude 2
occurred around 2.30 PM at Tottam area near Malpe, in Udupi Taluk. People sensed minor shock
vibrations and rattling of vessels in their kitchens.
Minor earthquakes are commonly reported from the Karavali region especially during the rainy
season. The coastal rivers that carry lean flow into the Arabian Sea abruptly change their form and
content during the monsoons as a result of copious addition of flood water. The coastal rivers
generally have angular (or coast-parallel drainage) routes that prevents them from easily disgorging
water into the sea. Besides, the silting of the river beds also reduces the water carrying capacity of
these rivers. The flood water causes extra burden on the coastal alluvium and absorption of
additional water by the pore-spaces within sand and silt rich alluvium leads to increase in pore-water
pressure that makes the beach zone susceptible for abrupt and severe sea erosion against the
attack of storm waves onto the beach.

The satellite imageries show the presence of a major weak zone in the form of EW fault line near
Udupi - Manipal region. This calls for special management of water flow in the coastal rivers
especially de-siltation of clogged river beds to ease flow of water when the rivers run in spate. If this
weak zone is overlooked it may lead to major disastrous earthquakes in the future.

12.Fossiliferous Clays of Kukkehalli

(Above) Plant leaf imprints in the Kukkehalli clay.

(Above) Chert fragments in Kukkehali Clays.

Kukkehalli village (N 13.40184 E 74.83771)is located to the North- East of Udupi town. The village
is bound on the north by the west flowing Madisal River that joins the drainage network of Seetha
and Swarna Rivers before disgorging into the Arabian Sea.
Unusual clays of greenish gray in color have been found to occur in the Kukkehalli region under a
cover of about a meter thick, reddish brown lateritic soils. Clay is found below the Lateritic soil. The
thickness of the clays range from six to ten meters in the pits studied so far. None of the pits have
been completely explored hence actual total thickness of deposition cannot be estimated at present.
There is a sharp contact between the layers of lateritic soil and the underlying clays. The clay area is
gently sloping towards North towards the Madisal River. On the surface of the clay area coarser
rounded quartz pebbles ranging in size in size from 1 cm to 8 cms in diameter .The presence of
rounded and oblong quartz pebbles indicate that the area forms a paleo river bed. In other words the
River Madisal was flowing in the Clay area several years ago.
Plant fossils
It is interesting to report here that remains of plant leafs have been preserved in the Kukkehalli clays.
In the Clay pit owned by Anantayya Hebbar in Cholebettu hamlet of Kukkehalli imprints of large
leaves have been preserved at a depth of about six to eight meters below ground surface. Besides,
dark colored fragments of chert have also been found strewn within the clay deposit. The occurrence
of plant leaves within clay suggests that the plant remains were brought by the river flow and was
deposited along with the clays. The association of chert fragments within the clays signifies that the
provenance was a volcanic or volcanogene terrain.
Significance
In the Karavali region, clays are spatially and genetically associated with the laterites and are usually
whitish and kaolinitic in composition. In this area, the clays are fluvial deposits of sedimentary in
nature and are different from the typical kaolinitic clays (associated with laterites) in the region.

13.Kadwada Landslide

Fig.1 A view of the massive Zariwada landslide, Kadwada village, Uttara Kannada district.
Fig2. A closer view of the Zariwada landslide, Kadwada.

A major landslide has struck in the Zariwada locality of the Kadwada village, north of Karwar port
town, on October 2nd,2009. The ominous landslide that killed 19 people and devastated 9 houses
was also followed by a couple of subsidiary landslides in the adjoining areas of Kadwad.
Kadwada village is located north of Karwar town. Infact, the toponym Kadwada was the original
name of the town Karwar. It is said that the British administrators found it easier to pronounce the
modified word Karwar instead of Kadwad or Kadwada. Thus a portion of the former Kadwada
village was designated as Karwar and converted into a town during the pre-Independence period of
British administration.
Inundation
There has been unprecedented heavy rainfall in the coastal regions of Karnataka during this year.
During the end of September 2009, heavy rains in the Karwar town and adjacent areas, inundated
low lying regions. The low lying areas on the either side of NH 17, Amdalli village and Karwar town
were filled with surplus runoff from the continued rains. The heavy compound wall constructed by the
Sea Bird project prevented easy flow of excess water into the Sea resulting in blockage and
inundation of flood water.
Zariwada landslide
Zariwada as the name suggests was a low-lying valley region characterized by seepage of ground
water Geomorphologically, the valley area can be recognized as a old stream (paleo-river) channel
that formerly drained into the Kali River that flows in the north of Zariwada. The paleo-river channel
is still connected to the Kali River and the groundwater seepage into the channel increases or
decreases rhythmically according to high and low tides in the River. The Konkan Railway track
passes through this Zariwada paleo-river valley connecting Karwar town with Goa and other places.
The Zariwada colony of houses was located beside a huge clayey-laterite hill. The hill consists
largely of reddish clays and was topped by thin cap of laterite. Granitic material underlies the clayey
hill as can be seen in some cuttings. The clayey material from the hill was in demand for using as
filler material in construction sites. The removal of clays from the eastern flank of the hill had created
a vertical scarp on the eastern flank of the hill that increased the instability of the hill flank.
On 2-10-2009, due to rains, people in the Zariwada colony were inside their houses spending time in
indoor games like carom. Around 4.15pm, the eastern scarp flank of the Zariwada suddenly gave up
and ruptured with a thud of sound. The massive quantity of loose clayey material abruptly rolled
down the gradient and settled on the 9 houses burying the 19 inmates alive. The whole process of
landslide ended by 4.30 pm.
On 3-10-2009, early morning about 3.30 am, another clayey hill on the western side of Zariwada
also collapsed blocking the road leading to Kadwada. However there were no human casualties
since the houses were located at a distance from the affected hills. It is reported that similar
landslides had occurred in the Kadwada area, during the year 1959.

Mechanism of landslide
The laterite capped clayey material in the Zariwada hill were densely soaked in water due to
persistent rains in the area. The basic character of the Clays allow them absorb water easily into
their intergranular pore spaces, but the inherent nature of poor permeability prevent them from
discharging the excess water held in the pore-spaces. Added to this, the seepage of water into the
Zariwada paleo-river valley from the Kali River backwaters render the area excessively saturated
with water, preventing any discharge from the equally saturated clayey hills of Zariwada.
The excessive pore-water pressure in the clayey material of Zariwada hill when crossed the optimum
limit led to disruption of unstable scarp slope leading to the massive landslide. The massive
landslide brought down huge quantity of clayey soils from the hill with landslide collapsed area
measuring about 90 m wide, 150m long and 10 to 30 m high along the eastern flank of the Zariwada
hill.
The derived huge quantity of loose material covered the bottom of the hill where there were several
houses with people inside. The sudden fall of the massive material that lasted bearly 15 minutes
between 4.15 to 4.30 pm on 2-10-2009 buried alive the people inside the doomed houses. The
direction of flow of the fallen clayey soil material was blocked by the Railway track in the east and
was diverted towards north. One house was dragged northwards for some 10 meters along with the
moving material derived from the landslide.
Precautions
Similar landslides have been reported from other parts of coastal Karnataka, important ones being
Bengamale, Sullia (~ 1980), Mallur (1992), Kethikal, Mangalore (1996-98), Neria, Belthangadi
(2008), etc. However none of the landslides reported earlier were devastating in terms of human
tragedies like the Zariwada landslide.
Lesson from the Zariwada disaster is that clayey hills beside river zones in Coastal Karnataka are
susceptible for sudden landslides during the rainy season and the people should be prevented from
constructing houses or living near the susceptible clayey hills located near the rivers.

Fig3. The Zariwada paleo-river valley that connects to west flowing River Kali in the north.

Fig4. A house that slided horizontally northwards by some 8 to 10 meters by the landslide.
 14.Mittabagilu ranges
Mittabagilu area in the northeastern part of Belthangadi taluk offers scenic panoramas showcasing
the enchanting southern view of Kudremukh hill ranges containing massive reefs of banded iron
formations.
For an additional note on the meaning of the name Mittabagilu browse:Mittabagilu
16.Om Beach, Gokarna
Gokarna is located ( N-14 31 03 and E- 74 19 10) in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. The
name Gokarna (=ear of cow) is a metaphor for the landscape carved out in the shape of cows ear
by the rivers Aghanashini in the south and Gangavalli in the north. River Aghanashini flows towards
west and takes a sudden north turn near N 14 26 43 49and E 74 25' 59 and then boughs before
joining the sea. in Several islands have been formed within these rivers. At the river mouth touching
the Sea, the river channel widens further north. It is observed that the river is tectonically controlled
throughout its course. Most of the turn it takes follows a straight alignment for some distance,
inferring the existence of faults.

Precambrians:
It is also interesting to note that the beaches of Uttara Kannada are closely associated with gently
sloping hills, known as headlands, jutting into the beaches. The average ground elevation in the
beach area is less than 5m above mean sea level (MSL) that increases gently to almost 60m
towards rocky hills. The rocky outcrops are made up of low grade schists and gneisses. The schists
belong to the Chitradurga Group of Dharwar Supergroup of schist belts. These rocks trend north
east and southwest and have been folded.
Pegmatitic veins of potash feldspar and quartz stand out in the gneissic outcrops, appearing as a
delicate art carved out by the sea. In between the major rock types Dolerite dykes were noticed near
Gokarna beach.
Tertiary Cover:
It is interesting to note Laterites caps these schistose and gneissic rocks. The thickness of these
laterites measures from few meters to 40m in the coastal hinterland. In some places Iron rich
concretions are noticed within the laterites. These laterites can also be found sporadically near the
beaches.
Recent formations

Depositional banding is noticed in the beach sand dunes. Black sands, consisting of mixtures of
magnetite, ilmenite and garnet, etc, are found near the Gokarna beach in small quantities. The black
sand deposition is still going on sporadically along with quartz sands by the winnowing action of the
sea waves. They are also found on the beds of the creeks joining the Sea in the nearby Kudle
beach. Many natural seasonal springs can be seen flowing out from the headlands.

Coastal geomorphology

One of the characteristic features of Uttara Kannada is that the beaches are semicircular or arcuate
in morphology, unlike the linear beaches of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The arcuate shape of
beaches can be attributed to the presence of hard (gneissic) and soft rocks (schists) transposed
across the beaches as angular headlands. With differential weathering, the softer schistose rock
bands are eroded, leaving headlands of hard, relatively resistant rocks. Thus, the twin arcuate
morphology of the beaches formed by the weathering process described above, the near Gokarna,
mimic the shape of Sanskrit letter and auspicious symbol Om.
Similar, Om or half Om shaped beach arcs can be seen in the beaches near Ankola and between
Ankola and Karwar.

17.Metamorphic schist fragments in Laterites

Metamorphic schist fragment with pink Garnet porphyroblasts included in hardened Laterite material.Paduvannur (Photo: MC Kumar).

Laterites occur normally as indurated rocks consisting of mostly homogeneous hydrous iron
oxides.Though they are considered to have been developed over assorted rock types in the West
Coast of India, the contacts between the laterites and the underlying rocks are usually sharp
suggesting absence of genetic relationship. We present here an example of distinct presence of
relatively fresh,unaltered, un-lateritised fragments of underlying rocks in the laterite, that indirectly
connotes that the fine grained, weathered precursor material for the laterite formation was not
derived from the underlying rocks.

Undigested (ie. not lateritised) conspicuous metamorphic rock fragments of Garnetiferous Quartz
Mica Schist have been found within laterites within the limits of Ishwaramangala hamlet (12 37
44.71 : N 75 14 34.21E) in Paduvannur village of Puttur taluk, Dakshina Kannada District. This
type of interesting exposure was found in a laterite quarry leased to Shri. Abdul Azeez. Some of
such un-lateritised exposures of the Garnetiferous Kyanite- Mica Schist, with sharp contact, are
also found along with Laterites in the neighbouring area.

The presence of such relatively fresh,large metamorphic rock fragments within laterites, suggest that
the transported precursors materials of the laterite formations, derived from external sources, other
than the local exposures, carried the local rock fragments available along the flow path in the area,
before deposition and consequent lateritisation. Thus, the precursors for the laterites are possibly
transported, detrital material and not derived in situ from the native metamorphic schists.
The area deserves further detailed field studies, especially with regard to specific features of
lateritization and correlation of metamorphic schists (consisting mainly of Quartz-biotite-garnet-
kyanite-sillimanite-corundum schists) of the area with the adjoining region of Sulya Taluk.

18. Neriya Landslide, 2008

Geological and Tectonic setting of the region:

Neriya village in Belthangadi taluk forms a hilly flank of the Sahyadri ranges. The area is largely
composed of lateritic and lateritoid soil cover that forms a blanket over Precambrian rocks,with
Dharwarian NNW trend in general and mainly composed of Granitic Gneiss, Mica schists and Mafic
to Ultramafic schistose rocks. Fairly extensive formation of Corundum (especially of ruby red
variety) has been found in bands of schistose ultramafic rocks intruded by pegmatitic veins.
Vermiculite and margarite altered products can be seen within the ultramafic schists.

Corundum prospecting pits in Neriya hills

 Lateritic clayey hills of Neriya, Belthangadi taluk.Dakshina Kannada district.

Some of the hills are composed of massive unindurated lateritic clayey soils. The highest elevation
attained by the clayey hills in the area is about 154m above MSL. A rivulet called Neriya holey
flows along NE - SW direction in the valley. The area receives heavy rainfall during monsoon. The
region is associated with a lineament/fault that runs NS and corresponds with the Neriya Hole.

Event:

The landslide event occurred on August 13th 2008 at around 3 A.M. in Neriya village of Belthangadi
Taluk, Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state. One of the lateritic clayey hill soaked in rain
water as a consequence of continuous rains in the catchment area collapsed with bang leading to a
massive landslide. Huge amount of debris collapsed from the top of the hill and spread downhill in a
short span of time.

The mudflow resulting from the landslide consisted of abundant red lateritic soil mixed with water.
The debris slided, from a height of 30 meters, down the river valley, flowing from east to west for a
distance of almost a kilometer long, covering a width of about 25 meters. The event lasted for 12-
15minutes. Although there was no casualty, there was massive damage to the agricultural
property. The mudflows occupied the cultivated fields and damaged the areca plantations.

Mechanism of landslide:

It rained heavily during the first fortnight of August 2008. The lateritic clays have the property of
high porosity and low permeability. The lateritic clays absorb rain water as well as impounded water
from the streams but as a consequence of poor permeability, the absorbed water content, unable to
be released, increases the pore water pressure in the clayey media. The increase in pore water
pressure within clays beyond a point of tolerance leads to rupture and landslide. The ruptured
clayey muddy material soaked in water flows down the gradient along stream channels, damaging
low lying plantations on the flank of the river.

19.Micro Seismic Activity at Eliyarapadavu , 2010

Location map of Eliyar Padavu.

Geological and tectonic setting:

Eliyar padavu area (N12 50.569 E74 54.126) is a part of Amblamogaru village located to the south of
Mangalore and the south of Netravati river). River Netravati flows on the northern flank of area at a
distance of 1 Kms. The valley is covered by the waterlogged fields running north south.

The area is underlain by granulitic- granitic mass of hard rocks covered with a blanket of laterites
and lateritic clays to the tune of about 40m thickness forming a high plateau, with steep slopes on
the margin of the plateau , bounded by deep valleys, suggestive of fluvial erosion. The hard rocks
in the neighboring areas, show intensively developed vertical and horizontal joints , implying the
intensity of earth movements undergone by the rocks There is a sharp contact between the hard
rock and the laterite overburden. The affected area is densely vegetated.

Event:

Abrupt earth movements struck the residential colony on the eastern flank of Eliayar padavu plateau
of Amblamogaru village on 1st August 2010 at about 3 A.M in the night. Some of the inmates of the
colony report that they heard a bang in the night that shook the terrain. The residential colony has
some 8 houses and a Panjurli spirit shrine (daivasthana) enclosed within walls of compound. The
laterite walls of the compound were broken and disoriented along East West direction as a result of
seismic vibrations. Similarly three houses located along EW axis were severely damaged due to the
ground vibrations. The vibratory event lasted for 10-15 minutes. There is a lateritic hill by the side of
the residential colony. A number of cracks were developed in the soil surface of the hill. The cracks
widened as if initiating a massive landslide. However probably due to the presence of dense
vegetation on the flanks of the lateritic hill the possible landslide was averted.

The alignment of damaged houses and the shrine along a specific E-W direction suggests that the
zone is traversed by a fracture that was reactivated by the micro-seismic activity.

A house with a corner sinking along with upwelling of clays

Cracks developed on the wall of a house as a result of micro-seismic activity

Cracks developed on the soil /ground surface of a lateritic hill.

Cracks developed on the floor of a house along the fault plane.

 Cracks developed on the floor of a house

Cracks developed on the floor of a house.

Mechanism of the Microseismic Activity:

There was intensive rainfall in the coastal area during the end session of July 2010. Consequently
there was additional surge of fluvial discharge in the Netravati River that resulted in flood conditions
in the flanks of the Netravati River. The residential colony of Eliyara padavu is located on the
southern flank of the Netravati river valley and is bound by a lateritic hill. At right angles to the
colony, there is a blind paleo-stream connecting to Netravati at northern end and terminating at the
laterite plateau. The blind stream containing agricultural fields were soaked in flood waters. The
consequent impounded water in the fields of the blind stream could not be released due to flood
condition in the river.

Impounded water in the blind stream caused the pore water pressure in the surrounding zones to
enhance leading to development of ruptures and triggering of micro-seismic activity along the EW
fault zone that underlies the residential colony.

20. A Natural cavern structure in Laterite, Mudipu

During a roadside work for laying lines BSNL staff encountered a cavity in the laterite bedrock near
Kambal padavu, Pajir village, Bantval Taluk, on Konaje to Mudipu road side between Infosys
campus gate and Kurnad temple area.
 A view of the interior of Natural cave in laterite, Mudipu, Bantval Taluk.Dakshina Kannada.

Laterites

The Laterite formations, in general, are produced by the leaching of alkalis, calcium and
magnesium and Silica from the precursor material by the agency of ground waters seeping through
the precursors. As a consequence the hydroxides of iron and aluminum concentrate to form the
laterite. With passage of time the surface of the laterite becomes hard (indurated) on exposure to
atmosphere, generally by the chemical transition of ferrous hydroxyl ions to ferric state. The
hardened laterite cover is usually referred to as duricrust.

Natural Caves

Below the indurated surface of duricrust, the laterite material remains soft and rich in clays and
susceptible for further leaching. The laterite formations have also under gone structural disturbances
that have produced fractures.

The seepage of waters along fractures leads to removal of softer material underneath the hardened
duricrust forming empty spaces or caverns. These caverns are at places are exposed in the margin
or slope of plateaus. Therefore such caverns are natural structures and can be called as natural
caves. For example the cave at Nelli-teertha, Tenka Yekkar village, Mangalore Taluk is a natural
cave partially modified by human interventions.

Mudipu cavern

The laterite cavern exposed on the roadside, near Kamblapadavu, Pajir Village, on the way to
Mudupu, Bantval Taluk, was hidden under the top cover of laterite duricrust and was accidentally
opened for public view as result of digging the topsoil by BSNL workers.
The newly discovered cavern in interior sections shows dipping extensions along easterly and
northerly directions parallel to the surface slopes. The interior also contains fragments of laterite
separated from the duricrust top due to breakages along the fractures.

21.River action on rocks

Pot holes developed in Gneissic rocks in the river bed of Kumaradhara around Urumbi ,near Kuntur, Puttur Taluk.

A rounded pot hole in River bed, Urumbi, Kuntur.

Pegmatite veins in Gneiss, River bed of Kumardhara, Urumbi, Kuntur.

 Pot hole architecture: carved out by river action on rocks at Urumbi, Kuntur

Rugged features in Gneisses exposed in the river bed, Urumbi, Kuntur.

Complex apparent structures resulting from fluvial erosion of bed rocks, Urumbi.
Minor fold patterns preserved in the Gneisses exposed in river bed, Urumbi, Kuntur.