344 THE LAKE GEORGE SENKUNGSFELD, 



the other held much the same position as the Chain o' Ponds 

 (S.E.)does now. These creeks crossed the bed of Lake Bathurst, 

 and entered Mulwaree Creek near the gravel-siding. 



During periods of drought, these lesser lateral streams would 

 probably cease flowing, and their entrance into the main creek, 

 not being scoured by any current, would very readily be choked 

 by material washed down by the parent stream and derived from 

 hills in the immediate vicinity. 



Thus would arise a shallow lake which, given periods of 

 increasing aridity, would serve as a settling ground for the water 

 poured in by the two small tributaries postulated above. 



Talus and pebbles brought down into this youthful lake would 

 be rolled about by the storms (which are still a feature of the 

 lake when flooded) and piled in the angles, giving rise to the 

 gravel mentioned as occupying those positions. Each succeeding 

 period of flood would but serve to isolate the lake more and 

 more, by enabling further material to be piled on the barrier, 

 Avhich would also be strengthened by the talus distributed by the 

 Mulwaree Creek on the outer face of the dam."^ 



Given conditions of increasing aridity, a main stream flowing 

 through a narrow talus-covered gorge, and a lateral valley of 

 circumscribed cross-section receiving the drainage of a much 

 smaller area; these, I believe, constitute the factors which have 

 led to the isolation of Lake Bathurst. 



In conclusion, a few dates in connection with Lake Bathurst 

 may be noted. 



1844. Lake Bathurst dry. 



1870-8. A " banker," as in Lake George. 



1873. The Lake overflowed into the Mulwaree over the gravel- 

 siding. 



1890. The lake rose to the lower rails of the siding. Within a 

 few feet of overflow. Goulburn residents anxious as to 

 danger of flood if the gravel-dam burst. 



* Readers of the National Geographic Magazine will recall the origin of 

 the Salton Sink in California, due to damming up of a lateral valley by silt 

 carried down by the Colorado River. 



