BY RICHARD HELMS. 353 



Many of the valleys are flat at the l)ottom and filled with rock 

 debris, which is exposed to observation wherever a watercourse 

 passes through them. Extensive flats occur in places, with large 

 rocks sticking out of the surface here and there and bogs all over 

 them. These flats have all been formed by ice, and the bogs in 

 them are the result of deficient drainage owing to the blocking of 

 the natural incline by remnants of terminal moraines. Some of 

 these terminal moraines are well-defined, and the packing of the 

 boulders near them frequently plainly visible. All the moraines 

 observed by me end towards the east or south-east ; at any rate 

 it is plainly demonstrable that the ice moved from a westerly 

 direction. It is reasonable to presume that in former ages as 

 now the westerly winds predominated in these regions, and 

 probably were the strongest as well. In consequence of this, 

 great masses of fallen snow would be blown in an easterly direc- 

 tion and heaped up on the eastern slopes of the ranges, where the 

 greater accumulation of it would be the means of forming more 

 massive, and consequently longer lasting, glaciers than on the 

 western slopes. 



To the west of the Snowy Mountains the valleys are very deep 

 and the ranges much steeper than on the eastern side; on account 

 of this it may be more difiicult to trace the glacier action in that 

 direction, nor may they ever have assumed here such proportions 

 as on the other side. There is, however, })lenty of scope to 

 discover evidences particularly at the lower end of Wilkinson 

 Valley and to the south-west of Mount Townsend, as well as near 

 the lakes to the south of it. 



It appears that the ice-streams taking an easterly direction 

 precipitated into the Crackenback Valley at almost every break 

 in the Ramshead Range, and wherever this took place terminal 

 moraines more or less distinct are to be found. Such at least is 

 the aspect of it as presented to the observer at the present time, 

 which almost leaves the impression of the glaciation having been 

 confined to the highest portion of the ranges. It was not possible 

 for me to visit all these interesting spots, but a great number I 

 have more or less closely examined, and with the help of the 



