140 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Feb. 



Carpentaria, by Mr. Brown, who accompanied Capt. Flinders in 

 his survey of the coasts of New Holland. 



The land visible from the sea on the north-east coast, is in 

 general mountainous, as far north as Cape Weymouth, between 

 the latitudes 12° and 13° (South): — A high and rocky range 

 especially, which begins aboutlatitude 25°, being continued north- 

 ward in a direction nearly parallel to the shore, for more than 

 150 miles without interruption. The outline and aspect of this 

 range, and of several other groups of mountains, are irregular, 

 and resemble those of primitive tracts; peaked summits also are of 

 freauent occurrence both on the main land and the adjacent 

 islands. Mount Dryander, about latitude 20° 12', one of the 

 chief mountains, is nearly 4500 feet high ; Mount Hinchinbroke, 

 lat. 8° 22', more than 2000 feet ; and several other mountains 

 in this quarter are of considerable elevation. 



Along this part of the coast, granite has been found, in de- 

 tached points, through a space of about 500 miles : and rocks 

 of the floetz-trap formation occur in several of the islands off 

 the shore. 



The coast-line, on the north of latitude 14°, is thrown back 

 about 40 miles to the westward of its previous course ; and, 

 about the same point, the elevation of the land declines : the 

 general height of the main land about Cape York, the north- 

 eastern point of Austraha, is not more than 400 or 500 feet. 



The eastern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria, occupying a 

 space of about 500 miles from north to south, is very low, and 

 very uniform in its outline. The rock on the shore at Coen's 

 River, the only point examined upon this coast, was found to be 

 calcareous sandstone of recent formation. The western shore of 

 the gulf is more broken, and of higher level ; and the speci- 

 mens from thence consist of granite and primitive slaty rocks ; 

 upon which repose quartzose sandstone and conglomerate, 

 identical in character with the rocks which are found in great 

 abundance further to the west on the northern shore, and on 

 the north-west coast, and with the most ancient sandstones and 

 conglomerates of Europe. Clink-stone also, and other rocks of 

 the trap-formation, occur among the specimens from the islands 

 in this part of Australia: but the chains of islands which form 

 the north-western verge of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and are 

 remarkable for the similarity of their structure, and their uni- 

 form direction, appear to consist principally of quartzose sand- 

 stone and conglomorate, reposing upon primitive rocks. The 

 main land of the north coast, from about longitude 135°, to 

 Melville Island about 131°, is in general low, and is inter- 

 rupted by two considerable streams named Liverpool and 

 Alli""ator's rivers ; the last of which consists, in fact, of three 

 separate branches. The specimens from Goulburn's Islands oa 



