Geology of the Lower Mitchell River. 35 



Tlie cliff itself is almost vertical but above it the ground slopes 

 gradually and shews 20 feet of sand to the hill top. Details of 

 this section are also given in Fig. 10. There are innumerable 

 casts of small shells right through the sandy drift material, but 

 they cannot be identified. 



It is seen from the several sections in the neighbourhood of 

 Moitun Creek that the strata exposed consist of fine sediments, 

 with which layers of fossiliferous ironstone, and also heavy gravel 

 washes are interstratilied. Since the shore line here during the 

 deposition of the eocene was evidently formed of the devonian 

 strata, the drifts and conglomerates may in some measure be 

 accounted for by coastal action. They must, however, be mainly 

 due to mountain streams, including the Mitchell itself, which 

 brought down both tine and coarse sediments and distributed 

 them near the confines of the subsiding sea. The Mitchell River 

 in eocene times probably discharged near Moitun Creek and the 

 sediments which came down are represented by the silts and 

 gravels constantly disclosed in the river sections. The ironstone 

 forms only a small proportion of the total material in the cliffs. 

 Not only the ironstone, but also the cemented sandy drifts are 

 sometimes fossiliferous and we may conclude that in part, at 

 least, they are altered representatives of shell beds similar to 

 those at Dreir's and Skinner's. 



With regard to the more elevated sands and gravels displayed 

 in the same sections fossil evidence for the determination of their 

 age is so far wanting. They rise by a gentle slope from the 

 main terrace on the south bank of the river up to the general 

 level of the country. 



VIII.— Dreir's. 



Reference to the map (Fig. 1.) will shew that this section is 

 situated about midway between Bellevue and Boggy Creek. It 

 consists of a thickness of 70 feet of typical Bairnsdale limestones 

 at the top and beneath them 30 feet of calcareous sands and clays 

 full of well preserved gastropods and lamellibranchs. The two 

 sets of strata are separated by a shelly band. A dip varying 

 from 5° to 10° was noted in the limestone ; in most outcrops of 

 such strata on the Mitchell the bedding is horizontal. A sketch 

 of Dreir's cliff is supplied in Fig. 11. The sequence of the 



