Babar MD and Jadhav Snehal
The Pleistocene formations in the Sindphana River, a tributary of Godavari River in Beed and Parbhani district of Maharashtra are represented by the fluvial deposits having a maximum thickness of about 15 m as revealed from data collected for foundation studies at the dam site on river Sindphana near Majalgaon. The surface of the alluvium, generally about 10 to 15 m above the modern bed level of the Sindphana river, forms a conspicuous terrace surfaces in the valley. This alluvial flat, covered by black soil, merges gradually into valley flat pediments. The slope deposits formed at foot of major divide ranges are 6-8 m thick and rarely merge into the Sindphana alluvium. The three main types of fluvial formations in the upper Sindphana basin are as follows: 1. Sandy Silt – weakly calcified, 2. Silty Sand – moderately to strongly calcified and 3. Pebbly gravels sediments. Sandy Silt (weakly calcified) Quaternary sedimentary deposit is represented mainly by less calcareous, faintly laminated brownish silt or sandy silt with thin (~ 2m) intercalated with patches of pebbly gravels, has developed a distinct terrace (4 to 4 m above modern bed level) cut into the older terrace surface developed on the calcareous alluvial fill at an average elevation of about 8 to 10 m above modern bed level. Silty Sand (moderately to strongly calcified) deposits are generally 8 to 10 m thick and are the most prominent Quaternary formations in the valley. However, only the upper 8 m section is generally available for examination on the banks of the Sindphana river and along its tributaries. It is observed that these deposits are laid down in channels, near channel and floodplain environments. Pebbly gravels sediments are bouldery-pebbly, sub-rounded, crudely stratified, well-consolidated gravels with a maximum thickness of about 5 m. They occur on an eroded valley flat surface of basalt at an elevation of about 20 m above the modern bed level of the Sindphana.
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