Charnockite, St. Thomas Mount, located to the south of the

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

city, in

Pallavaram Pallavaram (originally Pallavapuram) is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. It lies in the district of Chengalpattu, situated within the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Tamil Nadu state. Formerly a Municipality under Alandur taluk, it was ...

suburb,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, is a characteristically profuse exposure of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

–

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

–

hypersthene Hypersthene is a common rock-forming inosilicate mineral belonging to the group of orthorhombic pyroxenes. Its chemical formula is . It is found in igneous and some metamorphic rocks as well as in stony and iron meteorites. Many references have f ...

rock, illustrated by occurrence of two

pyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents ions of calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron ( ...

facies In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with distinctive characteristics. The characteristics can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or con ...

metamorphism Metamorphism is the transformation of existing Rock (geology), rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or Texture (geology), texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated ...

. The name "Charnockite, St. Thomas Mount" originated from the use of the rocks quarried from a central band in the St.Thomas Mount for the

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

Job Charnock Job Charnock (; –1692/1693) was an English administrator with the East India Company. He is widely regarded by historians as the founder of the city of Calcutta (Kolkata); however, this view was challenged in court, and in 2003 the Calcutta ...

, the founder of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in 1679. Several incidents in Charnock's life are linked to

Charnockite Charnockite () is any orthopyroxene-bearing quartz-feldspar rock formed at high temperature and pressure, commonly found in granulite facies’ metamorphic regions, ''sensu stricto'' as an endmember of the charnockite series. Charnockite seri ...

rock, Chennai city (formerly

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

) and the St. Thomas Mount.

Geography and topography

Charnockite rock series is an ancient formation, similar to

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, which has intruded into igneous rocks. It is found not only in St. Thomas Mount but also extends south of the

Chingleput Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput or Chengalpet, is a town and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district a ...

in Tamil Nadu. It is also traced to the Nilgiri hills with southern trend extending to the

Malabar district Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

, and former feudal states of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

and

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, princely towns in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It rises further above the

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

to form the great mass of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

). The massive formations are more in the form of

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

(some of them at elevations between and ) that facilitates formation of lakes.

History

One of the earliest memorials in Chennai is the peaceful little

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

chapel on top of the hill (a flight of 132 steps leads to the summit) and built at the site where St. Thomas, the

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

of India, was martyred in 72 A.D. and thereafter the hill has been famously known as the

St. Thomas Mount Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the neig ...

. The earliest recorded history related to the Charnockite is of an announcement made in 1892 by

Thomas Oldham Thomas Oldham (4 May 1816, Dublin – 17 July 1878, Rugby) was an Anglo-Irish geologist. Early life Thomas was born at Dublin on 4 May 1816 as the eldest son of Thomas Oldham and his wife, Margaret Bagot. Educated at a private schools, he beg ...

of the

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

, of the occurrence of hypersthene granite in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. In 1893, Dr T.H.Holland, the then Chief of the Geological Survey of India reported that the Hypderstehene granites found in Madras (Chennai) was associated with large masses of

norite Norite is a mafic Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed largely of the calcium-rich plagioclase labradorite, orthopyroxene, and olivine. The name ''norite'' is derived from Norway, by its Norwegian name ''Norge''. Norite, also known ...

. It was also noted that the same type of stone was used for the tombstone of Job Charnock and that it was extracted from the neighbourhood of St Thomas Mount. Following the above finding, in 1893, Holland, had read a paper at the Asiatic Society of Bengal titled "The

Petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous ...

of Job Charnock's Tombstone" and suggested that the rock which was of a new type be named as the ‘Charnockite rock’ in honour of the founder of Calcutta who had become the unaware means of bringing this rock to Calcutta. Thus, 200 years after his death the rock from Pallavaram (suburb of Chennai) was named Charnockite. Recent studies in 1950 by Pascoe suggest that the material used in Charnock's tombstone was quarried from a central band in the St. Thomas Mount. In 1975, the

declared the monument "Charnockite, St. Thomas Mount" in memory of Job Charnock for whom the stone from this hill, (which was then called the Pallavaram

Gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

) was shipped to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

for building his

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

. Since then "Charnockite" is also prefixed with the famous "St. Thomas Mount". Job Charnock, a servant and administrator of the

English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South Asia and Southeast A ...

, is credited for founding the city of Calcutta in 1686, 50 years after the city of Madras was founded. Picture of Baptisaml Font of Charnockite

Several incidents of Charnock's association with Madras and the St. Thomas Mount have been cited. In 1655, he arrived in Madras and proceeded to

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

where he was to serve in Cossim Bazar. Subsequently, he went to

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

(1657), in

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and in 1686 he became the Agent of the Company. He fled to Madras in 1689 as he was thrown out by the local

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

rulers during the Anglo–Moghal war. He was given protection by Governor Elihu Yale at Madras for 18 months and who also supported him fully to return to

. This subsequently resulted in establishing

Kolkatta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary fin ...

in 1690 by Job Charnock. He rescued an Indian women from

, who was about to commit

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

on the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

pyre A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...

of her husband, by gallantly blazing with guns, and later married her and renamed her as Maria. They had one son (who predeceased them) and three daughters –Mary, Elizabeth and Catherine – who married men of the reputed John Company Establishment in Bengal –. They were baptized on 19 August 1689 in front the Baptismal Font (picture of the Font and the plaque in the gallery testifies the dates) of black Pallavaram granite that existed on the Mount since 1680 (but shifted to the St Mary's Church at

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

in 1885).

Geology

The constituents of the rock suggests of its origin in particularly dry and high temperature conditions which is deduced to have an important bearing in explicating prehistoric crustal development of the earth. From the time Holland, named the rock as Charnockite, its characteristics have been extensively studied by several researches in

Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

s over the

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

. An analysis of three charnockites in the region, extending from St. Thomas Mount –

–

Tambaram Tambaram is a city located within the Chennai Metropolitan Area in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The city is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation. Etymology Tambaram is an ancient town referred to as Taamapuram in an inscrip ...

, south of the city of Chennai, carried out on the compositional characteristics of coexisting

orthopyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents ions of calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe( ...

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

and

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

has established several

petrographic Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The classi ...

varieties within the charnockites– enderbites such as the

granulite Granulites are a class of high-grade metamorphic rocks of the granulite facies that have experienced high-temperature and moderate-pressure metamorphism. They are medium to coarse–grained and mainly composed of feldspars sometimes associated ...

s and

gneisses Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

corresponding to

adamellite Quartz monzonite is an intrusive, felsic, igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. It is typically a light colored phaneritic (coarse-grained) to porphyritic granitic rock. The plagioclase ...

monzonite Monzonite is an igneous intrusive rock, formed by slow cooling of underground magma that has a moderate silica content and is enriched in alkali metal oxides. Monzonite is composed mostly of plagioclase and alkali feldspar. Syenodiorite is an ...

, granite and others. Another study on the general characteristics of the rocks of this series has recorded that the rocks are in general bluish gray or darkish in colour and extremely fresh in appearance with an even grained granular structure. The mineral composition shows an unvarying presence of

pleochroic Pleochroism is an optical phenomenon in which a substance has different colors when observed at different angles, especially with polarized light. Etymology The roots of the word are from Greek (). It was first made compound in the German term ...

rhombic

. The other femic minerals noted are

augite Augite, also known as Augurite, is a common rock-forming pyroxene mineral with formula . The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees. Characteristics Augite is a solid soluti ...

and

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

with minute grains of opaque

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

s and these minerals have been noted to cluster together. Plagioclase

feldspars Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocla ...

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

and quartz are the sialic minerals present in this series of rocks. Chranockite exposure at Pallavaram quarry

In order to determine the geological age of the charnockitic region of the Pallavaram area in the Madras (Chennai) Block, palaeomagnetic investigations were carried out at 12 sites, which suggested an age of magnetization in the Pallavaram charnockites as 2600 Ma while in the St. Thomas Mount the period of emplacement was assessed as 1650 Ma (

Mesoproterozoic The Mesoproterozoic Era is a geologic era that occurred from . The Mesoproterozoic was the first era of Earth's history for which a fairly definitive geological record survives. Continents existed during the preceding era (the Paleoproterozoic ...

). There was a further inference that the Madras block granulites indicated crustal evolution similar to those in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

belt with identical palaeopoles from both the areas. The study also noted that "pressure, temperature and the chemical potential of water were constant for assemblages separated by large distances."

Trivia

An interesting

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

memorial monument erected in the year 2000 on the centenary of his death, seen in

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square on the Southside Dublin, southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1762 to a plan by John Smyth and Jonathan Barker for the estate of Richard Fitz ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

opposite to his childhood house, is reclining on a 35-ton boulder of quartz from the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

. The statue (pictured) is splendidly sculpted out of semi–precious stones with blue pearl granite trousers (

larvikite Larvikite is an igneous rock, specifically a variety of monzonite, notable for the presence of thumbnail-sized crystals of feldspar. These feldspars are known as ''ternary'' because they contain significant components of all three endmember fe ...

known as blue granite from the western shores of

Oslo Fjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows south t ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. Jackets without sleeves are vests. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and ...

nephrite Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite or actinolite ( aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is Ca2( Mg, Fe)5 Si8 O22(O H)2. It is on ...

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

riginally a block from the Yukon">Yukon.html" ;"title="riginally a block from the Yukon">riginally a block from the Yukon Canada, the red cuffs and collar (clothing), collar made of thulite from

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

and

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

made of black

charnockite Charnockite () is any orthopyroxene-bearing quartz-feldspar rock formed at high temperature and pressure, commonly found in granulite facies’ metamorphic regions, ''sensu stricto'' as an endmember of the charnockite series. Charnockite seri ...

(a type of

) from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and holding a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

to his breast.

Access

The charnockite rocks at St. Thomas Mount (about high above ground) is located in the southern part of Chennai city. Chennai, as the capital of Tamil Nadu, is very well connected by

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

with rest of the country and the world. The Chennai International Airport is away from the Mount. Within the city, it is in the neighborhood of

Guindy Guindy is a neighborhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and GST Road meet here. It is one of the important nodal points of ...

, from Fort St. George, from South west oif Santhome-de-Meliyapore (burial ground of St. Thomas), and close to the flying range. Chennai Suburban Railway South line has a railway station at St. Thomas, from starting point.

Gallery

File:Charnockite dykes Jibbeheia.JPG, Typical Charnockite dykes File:Plaque on Baptismal Font at Mary's Church at Fort st. George.JPG, Plaque behind the Baptismal Font in St. Mary's Church in Chennai gives history of the Font and Job Charnock File:Charnockite exposure below the St. Thomas Hill.JPG, Rock quarry at

St Thomas Mount Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the nei ...

File:Charnockite exposure in St. Thomas Mount.JPG, A Closer view of Charnockite from St. Thomas Mount

References

{{reflist Geology of India Kanchipuram district National Geological Monuments in India