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tB +3

GEOLOGICAL REPORT
 2tQ 7tt

OFFICE OF ASSISTANT ENGINEER

cor{sTRUcTtoN DtvtstoN, pUBUC WOR(S DEPARTMENT, POKHARI

(Dlst. - Chamoli)

Geological lnvestigation Report

Gc ological Investtgatton Report of 11 ftm tong road Allgnment ,rcln pokhari

to K€ndat, pokhari, Dist. Chamo .
 :6
7s
ABSTMCI:

It is proposed to con3huct 14 km section of motorabJe road

from Vishatkhat io rrishula,
Pokhart,Disu.chamoti,bypubticWorksDeparrmenr.
ltwasrequredasperthewofkorder
@ con0ucr a €eo osicatiivestigarion atonS the pfoposed ahernative
atisnmentsro setectthe
best alignment on ihe basis ofthe said jnvestigation.Ihe
aim ofCeol03icatinvesrigatjon isto
collect suitable data and intormalion regarding generatropog.aphv
and seo8raphy ofihe
area including type of rock fofmation atong the aticnment.
The Jocaiion and direcrion ol
rau h and joints fanr have atso been recorded.
on the basis ofrhe dara co ected from the
srte, best dlignment has been setected considering
the stabitity as the prime requirement.
while seledingrhe a ignment, it has been kept tn mind
that ecologicataid envronnenral
rmodance h nota6ed in the concerned area
durinc the connruct,on ot the roadand even
afteMards when rhe road becones operational. Necessa
wth some su33e5,ons have a,so been mentoned so as lop;::i,::in:j.::::T:::i
motorable road on thit part of the nation.

tocaTtoN:
chamoli disktct jes jn the northeastern parr of uttarakhand
state. tt is bounded by North
Lattude 29r 55 0o" &31e03'4s, and East Longitude
79s 02 39,,& aOE 03,29,,and faits in
sutueyofrod€ topsheet n6.53o, M and N. ThegeoSfaphicatarea
ofthe disiricr is 7320 5q
kfr, chamolt district rhe s€cond targest disrrtct ot uttarakhaid,
is ako important frofr
5lrateslc poinr ofview as itshares irs nonhern boundary
with riber (china).

ThisroadatignnentstartsfromN30.33,ETg.22atviJlageV6hatkhal.
2. The alignment ends ar N 30.35, E 79.25 arwesr bank ofRiver Nimotf€arvilage

GENERAL GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY:

R'GIONAT GEOTOGY AND SIRUCTURE OF THE HIII,lAI.AYAs:

The geologicat lornation in Himatayas takes sharp torn formins

han pin at the
frsl.ii a"d Weslern p.r,pnr,e\ ot Ine dr ond (olrr1,e southwards into bends
Burmere and
Saluchktan afcs respectively. These two points
of acure inaexion consttute rh€ haior
syntaxiar bends in the Hidatavas.

The le** Hihalavs r€ @mposed of tectonicaly .ompressed

btocks o, pateozoic and
Merozoic crystattin€s, heranorphic an.l sedimentary
rocks. The main cenvat thrust ij a
major tedmk t*ture of the Himatayas and har brought
rhe c.ysra ine rocks of Hi8her
Himalayas ove. th€ Vounger Sedtmenreiiies.

Th€ High4 Himatayas coroktj of a singte ra.ee wirh

an avefag€ height €xceedine 6,000
Ihe width ol thjs zone, mostJy cohposed oI Granite and cneisses, i5
24kn. The cenr
 :,1

..ystalline occupy the core olthe atis otthe ranee and are considered as rertiary inlrusive
atmoveme.a r€sponstbla forthe uptift ofthe Himatavas.

GEOIOGYOF CHAMOIIAREA

The main itholoaical units in this regton are: Vaik.iata Aroup, Musiari, Tejam, Serinag and
Damtha fornation. The Vaikrita group ot rock are part ofhigher Hima ayas and consists
of
higher g.ade metamo.phic ro.ks ot€fanite and gnekses. precambrians are erposed in rhe
area Nonh ol Chamoli, The Ramsarh Croup consGts of crynatine rocks of predoninantty
Quadztes ahd sediments exposed Southward of chamoti. The crysta ine rock of
hetasediments and acidlc inrrusiv6 are exposed near Siraupaiiand Norlh ofChamoti. The
Klippen Zone ofAlnora are m€diln grade metamorphic cove.ing tar8e part ofthe a.ea and
torm the border located South of vaikriia group of rock.

The boundary between the hi8h grade metamorphic rocks olVaikrita group and tow€.ade
metamorphic rockr ofAlmorasrolp is vaikrita thrust, deined 6s Main CenraiThrust (Mcr).
Ihe McI has also been tdentified as a zoie ofductite sh.aring and thrust ng dipptnS aboui
300, Nor.hward mahitesred essentialty in abrupt chan8e rn srructures and grade ol
metamorphkm. The wellmapped fautts in this region are the Ataknanda fautt near
Kafanprayag a^d rhe Gop€shwar lauh €rtending MNW-SSE direction from Nandprayag io

Geolo8ca y the area belongro ihe Lesrer Himatayas and ties in a tecronjc fore deep. The
Lesser Himalayas are comprised oI fangtom€rater fo owed by bedd€d quanzte, stares,
phylires and low-Brade schists The fock types are fanging trom gfeen schisr
to tower
amphibolite fa.ies. The main rocklyp€s areschktr phy[ites and quarrites.

The centralcrysralline rocks are wellexposed in the Hisher Himataya ofAtaknanda valey
oi
district Chanoli. The rocks of Centra Crystat tne Group form the oldesr crvstaIine basemenl
ol the Himalaya The gneks.s, micmattes, crysralljne schh! rhick quarrzite with
conspicuous horizons ofcatc{ilicares with pemmite gneksej in the upper part form
buik oi
the m.tasediments. The majorBeotosica forhations otthe CeniratCO5ta nes atongwtrh
the lfthology are Sivei in Tabte 1.

Garhwal Grolp (supersequence): palaeoproteroioic

The GarhwalGfoup foms the dost ext.nsive 6roup otrocKs In dkvict Chaholi. The rocks
or oula400 0rero?o'. riac .prn c.e g,oupeo r cd.n*ai c.oup. It forms the msjor part
of
the Lesser Hihalaya and i5 represented by rhick sequence of row.erade melaedimenis/-
consirtnc ot quartzire wth p€necontemporaneous mafic metavokans and olbonaie i
-rY^Ue
rocki.6arhwalGroup s limited in the north byth€ Man central r,-u -o . -*r1$,fto
'r,"
\i'l t -:,'''
 i,t 77
the Main Boundary Fault. The Garhwal Group consjsts ot quart:ite, phylhe, slate and
limestone. Acid and basic ign€ous rocks lntruderh€ GarhwalGroup.

l"olelMr.o'B.oloBi_dlfo'mdtion,o'rrrecellrdcry-rallinp\alo-Switrlhehrrrolog'

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION
Galdet, siLjmanite, Mu5covjte and
kyanit€, migmatites, calc{ilicates.
Leucogranite, p€gmatite and garnet

Sanded quartrte gneiss and inl€rbedded

quarlz mica-s.hht, para anphibolite

Gahet mica gneks, staurolite and

kyanite eneisses, Aarnet amphibolile.

Quartzite Whit€ quartzile with €neGs and

Vaiknla Grolp: Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic

Vaikrita Eroop (Supers€quen.e)of rocks represents the highergrad€ metamorphics ofthe

High€r Himalaya pervasivelv penekated by young Teruary granite. Ihe rocks conprising,
this group, are mlcaceous schistr ialcos6 rocks, phyllit€5 and gneisses oveflying nainlythe
granite Snekses. Spatialenension wke the vaikrita Group includes the metasedinenraries
exposed between th€ eraniteSnei5ses co.stitutinS the central crysralline and rhe overlyinS
MartoiGroup and its eqlivalents, The granite invudes both the vaikfira and t\t.doli
Groups and includes biotite granite, tourmaline granodio te, to!rmaline aplite and

Lesser Himalaya (SupeBequence): Mesoproteroroic to Neoproteroroic

rhis supe6equence, in Lesser Himaiaya, k represenrad by two g.oups, viu. the olderlaunsar
6roup and theyounC€r Dudatoli Group. ThetelwoEroups a.e brietly described below

The rocks oIthi5 group are continuousy exposed in the outer Le$er ttmataya. h chamoti
dstrict it is exposed in the southwestern part. lt G divlded into rhree formations, vD.
Mandhali, Cahndpur & Nagthat, and.onsGts ma nly olphylite, quartzite and slate
 78

Ma.(oli Group isr€plesented by a thic[ sequence of unm€tamorphos€d ro feebly

metamorphosed rocks in dktrid chamoli. The rocks ofthis group are exposed Alaknanda
Rver basin. The main rock Vpes are silver ar€y phyllit€ with interbedded thln quartzite,
sameril€rous Srey phyllite, foliated quart:ite with biotne beaflns phyllite, thin lamlnated
Creenish grerbrownpurpleq!rnziteslatewiththincalcar€ouslenses,

ordovician to carboniferous {supereequen.€)

The development of lhis slpeEequence G rest cted to the Tethys Himalayan zone only.
There is no record from Le$er Nltualaya where therocks ot Maftoli Group are
unconformably overlain by the rocks ofearly Permian period. ln the Tethys Hinalaya this
sup€rsequence comprises the Sumna and Kanawar Groups. The rocks ofthe Sumna Group
range in age from Early Ordovician 1o Oevonian and it is divided into Ralam and Garbyans
fo.malions. The rock iypes ar€ purple conAlomerate, purple to ereenkh erey quartzite,
quan?ite wilh bands of calcllurite, calc*iltstone and browf dotomictic timesrone with
chlorite layers in the lowef part. Thesequence ofllhenone and black shale unconfomaby
overlylng the Sumna Group constitute the Kanawar Group. The ro.k types aie sandy
dolomite, carbonaceous shale, lim€stone and quartzite, which conformably le over the

BarilnE the a !uvialdeposits along ihe river courses and flood plains, entre a.ea of District
chanol s covered by hard rocks.Ihe main rock types are quartzites, phylites, states,
gnei5ses otvarying desre€ of metanorphism alonCwith granite intrusives and metabasics.
The topography is hlghly undulating and geological fofmarion5 are moderatety to steepty
dipping. Due ro fr€quent undularions of high ma8nttude a conrinuous waterrable doesn,t
exist. Howeve., permeabl€ formatroh overlays an impermeabte one, the watertabte exists,
It5extenson depeddsuponthedktribution ottheaquifertormingrocksandtopography.

The focks have uidergone intensive metamorphkm and r€crynatftation. The preexkting
rocks got frineraloBlca yandphyslcalyreairansedattemperarureshisherthanrheonesar
which the rocks were originally formed. Thh resuted in sealng the pfimary porositvofrhe
rocks The .rea of uttarkashi dknicr wa5 f$haped by r€peated recton. activilies, which
save r se to the development olioldr, fauhs aid joints. There sfuctures hetped devetopins
the secondary porosilyand permeab litv.

GENERALTOPO6RAPTIY

TheareawhereroadistobeconstructedshittV.Chamotidktrictcomprisesofhighhikand
frountains wlth very nanow valleys, deep gorges having very high gradient. The northern,
northwestern, eastern and nonhaan€rn paJ1 of the d strict comprkes ferhyan Hinalaya
wth rnow covefed throughout the yeaf. phyrioSraphicaty the catchment oi Aaknanda
Rver comes und€r Gangov Badinath-(edaharh comptex (i,e. Himadri,Gfeater Himata
 -^t
uone)shows RadialDrainage panern. ataknanda Riverflows
towards Eas! Bhjlancana Rjver
towardssouthwest,MandakiniRiverrowardssourheasrandBhagirarhiRiverflowstowards
Nonhwesr. This zone is abour 50 kfr.wide and ranAes in ejevation
lrofi 4gOO-7B2Om above
msl. Ihe topoeraphy is highty p.ecipitous, consisung of serjes
of peaks tjke Nandadevi,
Kamet, Mana, Trishut, chaukhamba, Dona8.i, Nandakot,
Hathiparyar, Neetkanrh, Nar &
Narayan parvat, The slopes of these peaks are covefed wtth
Ctaciers. These peak, are
separat€d bythe rrave*e, d€ep, natrowsors4ofA akn.nda,
saraswati, DhauliGanga, Sirhi
can8a, nishi Ganea, (att, pindar, Nandakini etc. dver. Gtacie6,
horn€d peaks, cnques,
hangldevalley€tc,sculpturethlszone.ThamoratntcnatenaFoccupythevaleysareas.The
pfevalent iandforms are tat€ralmoraines, end morain€s,
Ujhaped atacier va/ieys, V shaped
I uvialvalleys, riverter.ces and Denudationat Strucrurat Mountain.

The cllmate varies lrom sub-tropicat monsoon type (mitd winter,

hor suhm€r) to tropical
upand type (mlld winter, dry winrer, ,hort warn sumne.). The norrhern, nonhwestern,
northeasrern and western parr ot the d strict k perennia y under
snow .ov,"r, here the
crimate is sub.arctjcrype a5 the area is repre5ented by tofty H,matayan
Ran8e,severewinrer
and comparativety h sher fainfa are the characterktic fearures
of th€ norrhern pa|t The
yearhay be divided into lour seatons vD. the cotd winter seasor, (D€cembe.to
February),
the hot wearh€r season (March ro May), southwest honsoon season (lune
to septenbe,
folowed by post loctobef to Novenbef). The nornal naxinum and
mininumtemperatur€varies between3land-2.gscrespectvety.

Larger pan ot the disvict is siruated on the soulhern stope,

of the outer Himalaya,
monsoon cutrehtscan p€netrare throueh henchedva ey, the rainfa|
reachesits marimal
rn the honsoon season rhat spans betweensrun€ ro
septembe.. Rainfa , spatiaity, ishishly
variabre dependin8 upon the ahitude. rn ihe Less€r Himatayan
zone (1oo03o0om anst)
maximun rainfall occurs about 70 to go% in southeri han Aususr is
rh€ rainiest nonth.
Ra ntall rap dly decreares after September and tr G the teasi
rn November. About 5s to 5s%
rainfal occu6 in the northeh hatf in centrat Himatayan zone. about
17% of the annual
precipitation occuB in winter season. The winter precipitation
G in associaton with the
passdge ot the wesreh dkturbances and is mostty
in the form of snowfa , particutarJy at
nrgher elevatons, The pr€cipitaton durtng the prefronsoon month,
which is about 7% ot
the annual total and the post fion5oon months, is frequenrty associated with
thunderstorms. ltsaveragenornatannoal.ainlal islIO.amm.

GEOLOGICALSTATE:

This roadalignmenthrpreadover launsargroupolLe$arHimatayan

Region
mainly ot phyltite, qua11zite dnd slate euartzite .ockr are visjbte
at ,ome
raler of sol and debrir of varyins thickne$ ovef then. rhes€ rocks
have
drrection of EW and rhrlsts as shown nrhediag.am. t_rppershalaottherocktormauonl
 ?
8o
of medium hddies. Ihis upper formation i, mainty or phy jtes
and
Quanz te fo'mauon i5 appareni with ro.ks ofheavy hardness.

sequeniiat Geoto8icat tedonic forhation at

the site under consrderanon

Layerofsoil

Debris

phytJite orState

aD.d?ire
Ihe hilltope ransesfrom mediun to steep a[ atonsthe
arsnmeit.
OESCRIPTION OF fHE ALIGNMENT:

Thts road ati8nfrent itspred over 14.2 km tensih stading near vitJage Vhhatkhaiand
ending
near vinage Trishuta. Afte.raking offt om the poini
as m€ntioned above, th€ atignhent
alonS the Wst€m hilt stope ahd
tun;
soes up io soom in Nonh direcuon. After thG, the
dr8omot tuhs tow4ds East and Soes up to 1.5 km. atiSnmenr
rakes a haif pin bend ar km
2.s and tuhstowafds easr then towads south
moving up to km 3.s. Atisnment takes han
pin bend ar km. 4.25 and mov€s towards 5
- E up to km 5.4s. Aft€r this, the ajignment
oo*$ a ialah at km 5.7. afterrhir,lhe atignment take, sman rurns towards
Norrh, and
takes a HP bend at km 6.13nd crosses ihe same
nalah aga,n d km 64s. Atianment rurns
towaidi s - E, N - E and nonh and then sourh ofs, E,
betore cro$ins a naitah at km 7.9.
Alterthk, the a tgnh€nt tu.ns N-Eand then towards North and reach€s
km 9.0. Ffon here,
alisntoqttum5 towaids asr and negotiates a ridge before
rakrnsa Hp bend at km 10.7s.
Arignment backtract<s and crosses a na ah at tm
11.9. Aftef rhis the atisnnent runs rowards
N'W and takes a Hp bend at km 13.25. Altgnnent runs
towards S-E aft€rthis and goes on to

Ihere are no unsbbte

stretches.nd tand stidelones are v sible a tohg the atignmenr.
The.e
re.no majoi mlhh or rtve. crossinss r€quirine huse warerways. averaSe
hil stope is
mediuhandproposedgradientsaton€theatignmentarewithtnspecifiedtimits.

TwoalighnenkhavebeenexptoredandproposedforlheconstiuctionofthGroad.Thefi6t
atrgnnent keeping srabitity into consideration on the bask
's.ecommended ofSeologi.at
and eivronfrentatconditjons This approved aligntoent
Grne one d scussed above. Second
ali8nm€nt hs been rejected on rhe basis ot
Eeolosicat and envnonm€ntai constfain$
posingp.oblems nstabitityof rheroad.
 i L?
Bt
STAEILITY CONSIDERATTONS:

stabilityis the pr,ne consideBtion while proposifg and desiAning a hi y road

due io tough
weather condiuons atmosr during the entire span
of a year, somenmes due to rains and
somerimes due to snow 0n the basis of the fina y setecred
and approved aliSnment, it is
necessary to give due considerations to loltowinS porns
regardrng consrruction of
moto.able road, keepinS topqraphicat,
ceotocicat, e@to8rcar, sesmic and environnenral

1. Ihe site is in hilyt€(ain.

2, Th€ area lalls in rheseismi.roneV.
3. There arevittag€s nearsrartiiB and end points ofthc rrgnmenr,
4. Many dry nattahs are cfossed bythe atignment,
s. Ecolo8yand envirohmentofthearea should bekeptin
mind white construction o,

Most ofthe atignm€ntta s in ocky taid.

Slopeof hillfangestromnormattomediun.

SUGGESTIONS:

keepinC geoto8icat, seismic and ecotogicat conslraints

n mind, and to ensuie overaI stabitity
of the constructed road in padicutar ahd rhe con.erned area in
generat, totowin€
sugcestionsaremadeforrheconskucuonof theproposeo motorabE
road:
1. Adrain shoutd be conshucted bythe side ofrhe hita along the road in
cutting.
2. sreast/rerainins wa should b€ consrructed a5 per
shape of the rock and site

3. scruppe/doubte siupper /cutverr/caus€way shourd be consrruct€d

at the Jo.ation

4. outeredge ofthe road shoutd be kepi hisherrhan ihe innerone

at th€ tocarions of
debrk/mud, so that water does nor cross the roao ounns rarny
season and road

5. Road should be consrructed keepins€cotosy and envnonmenr

In io consideration,
6. Ure of Explosives should be avoided nearviita8es.
Provkions shoutd be mad€ as per specincations s€t
for consrudron or nororabte

a. Suitable provi5ions shoutd be fradetoreadhquake

9. othef pfovkions as tound necessary shoutd bemade.
 {LB
6e
coNclustoN:
keeping the polnts dis@sd abo@ Into .dstde6don, tt *ems .ddrabte and feasibte to
conlnruct a notorablo road h rhis area atmt the proposed alignment,

Mtltnd (un:r)
Geotogbr
GPS Engl.erlnSca$ttant plt Ltd.

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