PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS. 365 



The Snowy River is the most important of all the streams 

 draining the liigher regions of the Australian Alps. Traversing 

 the tine Monaro Table-land, its course becomes torrential east of the 

 Kosciusko plateau, and has excavated a valley at lower levels, which 

 presents features of great interest. To attempt anything like a 

 fair description of the leading topographical features of this mag- 

 niiicient valley would extend the scope of this paper to too great 

 a length. A few remarks concerning the principal affluents of 

 the stream can only be ottered here. 



Leaving out of consideration the many important eastern and 

 northern affluents which ilow through the fine Monaro Plains, 

 the tirst alpine stream is the Crackenbac River, rising at Mount 

 Kosciusko. At first traversing the grassy and mossy uplands 

 abounding in sphagnum beds, as at the Boggy plain (where the 

 writer has recollections of sudden and somewhat ungraceful 

 movements over his horse's head during youthful days, when the 

 latter almost disappeared underneath a treacherous moss bed), 

 the Crackenbac afterwards flows over rocky ledges forming 

 numerous cataracts of great beauty to lower levels. 



From Mount Kosciusko to Mount Pilot, several similar moun- 

 tain torrents presenting similar features enter the main Snowy 

 River from the west. Rising at Mount Pilot and draining the 

 Cobboras, the Toonginbooka and its affluent the Ingeegoobee, forms 

 a deep valley excavated fi'om the eastern slopes of these important 

 mountains. The difference between the apperance of the lower 

 and upper valleys of this during midsummer has been eloquently 

 described by Mr. Howitt.* From the Toonginbooka junction the 

 Snowy River forms a deeply excavated valley past the Gelantipy 

 plateau .for over forty miles. From Turnback Peak over which 

 the road to Bendock passes a magnificient view of the upper valley 

 is obtained. A number of unimportant affluents such as the 

 Mountain Creek, Broadbent or Yalmy, and Rodgers Rivers enter 

 from the east. The principal affluent is the Buchan, entering 

 from the west. This stream rising in the Cobboras mountains, 

 winds through the interesting area of Buchan, where a belt of 

 Middle Devonian limestone country is found — to be hereafter 

 more particularly referred to. 



METEOROLOGY. 



The importance of obtaining meteorological observations from 

 the highest elevations over South-east Australia, can, I think, 

 hardly be over estimated, from the fact that there is probably no 

 other country wliere the necessary conditions for studying weather 

 phenomena are more favourable. Surrounded by oceanic expanses, 

 and with just sufficient vertical relief to cause obstruction to wind 



* Devonian Rocks of North Gippsland, p. Ib5. 



