A Geography of Australasia |
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Adelaide agricultural Albury arid Artesian Basin Australasia Ballarat belt Blue Mountain Brisbane Broken Hill Canberra Cape York capital cattle Central Lowlands centre CHAPTER chief town chiefly climate coal coast coastal region continent Coolgardie Creek crossed dairy Darling desert district divide Divisions drained east Eastern Highlands elevated explored exported Fiji Fitzroy Flinders flowing Gippsland gold goldfields Goulburn granite Gulf of Carpentaria harbour important inches industry Kosciusko Lake Eyre land Melbourne miles long miles wide mineral mining Mount Murray Murray-Darling Murrumbidgee north-east north-west northern Northern Territory Papua pastoral plains population Port portion of Australia Queensland railway rain rainfall Ranges Rockhampton rocks route rugged sandstone SCALE OF MILES settlement sheep slopes South Australia South Island South Wales south-east south-west southern spinifex Sydney Tableland Tasmania temperature timber Townsville tributaries tropical valleys Victoria Wanganui Wellington western Australia wheat wind Zealand
Popular passages
Page 75 - But the most remarkable point of structure in these valleys, is, that although several miles wide in their upper parts, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a degree, as to become impassable. The Surveyor-General, Sir T. Mitchell,* in vain endeavoured, first on foot and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the...
Page 75 - These valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform ; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses. To descend into some of these valleys it is necessary to go round twenty miles...
Page 75 - To descend into some of these valleys, it is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others, the surveyors have only lately penetrated, and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their cattle. But the most remarkable...
Page 130 - Beyond this a few low sandstone ranges and hills were found, and occasionally in the valleys belts of bloodwood and a few shrubs edible by camels, but most of the country was a continuous waste of sand ridges. They reached Hall's Creek and returned south along the South Australian border. He thinks that a stock route from the MacDonnell Ranges to the Coolgardie railway is possible in winter.
Page 136 - As soon as the northern boundary of the Cretaceous area is passed (near Chamber's Pillar) a striking difference appears in the configuration of the country. The rocks consist of sandstones and limestones, which have been folded at some ancient period into series of ridges and valleys running east and •west. These, after being worn down to a level surface, were elevated in quite recent geological times, and the rivers have cut out the extraordinary series of gorges and lateral valleys which form...