PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS. 363 



affluents ; in short the Livingstone Valley, and the greater part 

 of the Victoria Valley, includes rich pasture lands, more open 

 and gently undulating along the eastern and south-eastern water- 

 sheds of these streams ; the former comprising the rolling 

 pasture hills stretching from Omeo township towards the Tongio 

 gap, and north-easterly towards the Omeo plains, and the latter 

 the still more open, and gentle grassy slopes of Parslow's Plains. 

 Of the eastern affluents of the Mitta Mitta, the Benambra 

 Creek is by far the most important, embracing an area of two 

 hundred and thirty-three squai'e miles, its upper courses open out 

 into some tine upland flats, marsh lands now partially drained, con- 

 sisting of flats, averaging one mile in width, and treeless except on 

 their margins. The lower part of the Benambra Creek skirts the 

 nox'thern margin of the Omeo plains. The Gibbo and Dark Rivers 

 on the east, and the Wombat Creek on the west ax-e torrential 

 streams intersecting rugged mountains, with flats of limited 

 extexit on their lower courses, as at Dartmouth on the forixier, and 

 Quartpot on the latter. Below the Gibbo River junctioxi the 

 main Mitta Mitta falls into a gorge-like valley fox'med by the near 

 approach to the Gibbo mountains oxi the east, and the Woixibat 

 Creek ranges on the west. Here the coui'se is difficult to follow, 

 steep blutis and rocky sidelings render it difficult to px-oceed even 

 on foot. Below the junction of Snowy Cx-eek (which dx-ains the 

 northei-n slopes of Mount Bogong and enters the Mitta Mitta 

 from the west), the Mitta Mitta winds through a continuous 

 series of pine flats, froxn one to thx'ee miles in width, right down 

 to its juxiction with the ]\Iurray. 



I have given rather detailed descx'iptions of the Mitta Mitta 

 Valley for the pux-pose of assisting the x-eader in followixig my 

 subsequeixt remarks on the metamox^phic rocks which chax-acterise 

 the area. 



The eastern tributax'ies of the Hume Rivex', which may be 

 called the soux'ce affluent of the Murray, dx^ain the Kosciusko x-ange, 

 and the xxearest diWde towards Mount Pilot, as well as the I'ugged 

 Cobbex'as xixouixtains. As might be aixticipated, thex'e ax-e numerous 

 watex-falls and cataracts along these courses. Oxx the most 

 southern affluent of the Liixxestone Creek are some fine caves and 

 marble beds to be hereafter refex^ed to ; some flats of moderate 

 extent occur ; and on the western watershed some fine grassy 

 uplands. Below the junctioxi of Limestone Creek axid the Hume, 

 the latter passes through a naxn-ow gox'ge towards Toxn Groggin, 

 where sonxe undulatoxy foot-hills on the western watershed sex've 

 to break the coxitinuity of the othexnvise x-ock-bouxid valley. It 

 is not until the fine flats and rolling foot-hills near Towong station 

 are reached, that the valley widens, and the Murray becomes a 

 distinctive sti'eaxn. 



The tributaries of the Mitchell River drain a large area of 

 country. The most westerly affluexit, the Wonnangatta, fixids its 



