36 



action in the form of grooved or scratclied rock surfaces. It 

 is possible, however, that powerful meteorological conditions 

 during the past have removed by denudation evidences of 

 glacial action such as those referred to bv Prof. Tate as existing 

 in South Australian territory. The orographical features of 

 the main watershed line which constitutes the central chain of 

 the Australian Alps is most varied, rising into dome- shaped 

 heights as Mount Hotham, 6,015 feet above sea level ; opening 

 out at lower levels into flat, although somewhat limited, ex- 

 panses of table-lands, as Paw-Paw and Precipice Plains, 5,000 

 feet above sea level, forming thence an anticlinal ridge ; again 

 descending into low gaps or saddlebacks ; rising again as a 

 well-defined ridge, which gives place to rugged mountain peaks, 

 as Mount Tambo and the Cobberas, the latter over 6,000 feet 

 above sea level; and finally culminating in the towering heights 

 of Mount Koscuisko, 7,808 feet above sea level. Connected 

 with this main watershed line by ridges of varying width and 

 surface contour are lofty plateaux, snowclad during winter for 

 many months, such as Bogong High Plains, at an elevation of 

 6,000 feet above sea level, north of it ; and the Snowy, Dargo, 

 and Gelantipy tablelands, at 4.000 to 5,000 feet, south of it. 

 These plateaux. form the gathering ground of some of the prin- 

 cipal streams flowing northerly into the Murray Elver and 

 southerly into the Gippsland lakes and Southern Ocean. 

 During the midsummer these lofty plateaux, with their verdant 

 aspect, rich carpetings of alpine flowers (princij^ally of the 

 order Composita^), mosses, and lichens, form a striking and 

 most agreeable contrast with the burnt-up, browned appearance 

 of the lower lands and valleys, languishing in excessive dryness, 

 at this time of the year. The surrounding scenery, as observed 

 from the summit of one of the low rolling ridges intersecting 

 the Bogong High Plains, is very grand and impressive — seas 

 of mountains rising wave-like on every side, presenting in the 

 distance almost infinite shades of blue and purple colouring ; 

 while the extreme rarity of the air and other conditions all 

 tend to ]yroduce a scene of wild mountain grandeur charming 

 beyond description, r'nfortunately, the severity of the winter 

 months and the accumulated snow render these high lands 

 practically inhospitable at that time of the year. 



Geologically considered, the Australian Alps may be 

 briefly described as consisting of highly-inclined Lower PahTO- 

 zoic strata, on the denuded edges of which rest isolated tracts 

 of either Upper PahTOzoic strata or Tertiary volcanic sheets. 

 The Lower PalcTOzoic formation, showing in many places as 

 highly metamorphosed schists surrounded by, or surrounding, 

 more or less central granitic masses, the latter being in all 

 probability the lower portions of the Lower PahTOzoic strata 



