Rocks of the Hoivqua River. 37 



3. — Physiogpaphical Features. 



Physiographically, the Howqua area is in an interesting posi- 

 tion. It lies near the northern edge of the great central highland 

 belt of Victoria, close to the ^Yide and striking sunkland of the 

 Mansfield district, the development which has had such a remarkable 

 and interesting effect on the history of the river system of this 

 region, the details of which have been ably discussed by Fenner.6 



Standing on the commanding viewpoint of Mount Timbertop, 

 at about 4500 feet, the general survey of the phys.iography is 

 particularly interesting, and is scenically both grand and varied. 

 (See Fig. 1.) To the south and east especially the view is most im- 

 posing, looking out over the deep Howqua Valley, across the fretted 

 .and dissected northern portion of the central plateau, the highest 

 portions of which rise to close on 6000 feet. Mount BuUer, the 

 nearest, about four miles to the east, at 5911 feet, present a pre- 



■ cipitous front to the west, and forms, with its basalt capped summit, 

 a striking remnant of the old plateau, with the valleys of the Dela- 

 tite and the Howqua on either side 4000 feet deep. At Timbertop 

 the observer is standing in a small outlier, of the flat lying Upper 

 Palaeozoic strata, with the frequently associated rhyolite at the 

 base. To the east and south-east he looks over a vast extent of 

 deeply dissected country, from which the great overmantel of 

 hard, almost horizontal, rocks has been removed, exposing the 

 underlying highly inclined Lower Palaeozoic rocks, chiefly slate 

 and sandstone. The central watershed of the State, known as 

 the Main Divide, lies about 20 to 30 miles distant in this direc- 

 tion, and presents a precipitous and ledged front, due to the same 



.more or less horizontal strata as those on Timbertop. Mounts 

 Magdala, Clear and Macdonald, are the most noteworthy points, 

 while the Bluff of similar structure, distant about ten miles, adds 

 to the rugged character ol the scene. Should these mountains be 

 snow-covered, as they frequently are in the winter, the ledged 

 character is generally emphasised. 



The whole view in this direction, and as far round as Mount 



■ T'orbreck to the south-west, about 25 miles away, overlooks the 

 basin of the Upper Goulburn and its tributaries. It may be de- 

 scribed as a mountainous region of high relief in an advanced 

 stage of dissection. The original plateau character has been almost 



■ obliterated, only restricted ridges within the basin, which rise to 

 . about 5000 feet, remain to indicate its former features. The old 



