THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 9 



away, for, not many miles to the west, the older rocks rise up to 

 the Main Divide. The prevailing dip of the rocks for many miles 

 northwards along the Macallister valley is slightly to the south of 

 west and at angles ranging from 20° up to 40°. This is a marked 

 contrast to the much less angle of dip to the east along the 

 Wellington valley. At the " Crinoline," and to the north and 

 north-east, for many miles the strata are almost horizontal, while 

 to the west of this area a sudden change takes place, pointing to 

 the existence of an extensive irregular fault, running more or less 

 parallel with, or coinciding with, the Macallister Valley. From 

 below the junction of the Barkly, northwards, for many miles, the 

 western side of the river is overlooked by steep scarps, rising in 

 many places almost as sheer cliffs, to over 600 feet in height. 

 On the eastern side the slopes, though higher, rise more gradually 

 to the " Crinoline " ridge. 



The river valleys of all this area possess several features worthy 

 of attention. The long spurs from the higher ranges which 

 confine the main valleys end for the most part in steep and 

 abrupt shoulders overlooking narrower steep-sided valleys some 

 five or six hundred feet below. The lower parts of the valleys 

 are, in fact, almost canyon-like. Very narrow alluvial flats are 

 found on one side or the other of the valleys, and steep 

 projecting shoulders of the spurs in many cases leave little room 

 for even the bridle path along the river. Further down the 

 Macallister, towards Glenmaggie, the Blanket Hills form a lower 

 ridge in the main valley and on the western side of the present 

 river. This ridge runs parallel with present valley, and is capped 

 with basalt and river gravels at a height of from 400 to 500 feet 

 above the present river bed. It marks, in fact, the ancient river 

 bed. The present river channel is confined in a steep-walled 

 valley, cut down on the eastern side. 



The Barkly River joins the Macallister through a narrow clifif- 

 walled gorge. At the junction, on the south side of the Barkly, 

 there is a very instructive cliff j it is flat at the top, with water- 

 worn boulders on its surface marking the old bed of the river ; 

 deep below, the swift-flowing waters rush along to join the main 

 stream. Further evidences of this nature could be cited, all 

 pointing to the same fact — namely, that the river system of this 

 region has been revived, causing its channels to be entrenched 

 some four or five hundred feet. This result is due to a general 

 uplift of the country, the last probably of a succession of such 

 movements which have taken place since Tertiary times. 



Another interesting feature in the drainage system of this area 

 is an elevated and almost deserted stream bed of considerable 

 extent running parallel with the Macallister River for a number of 

 miles, and only separated from it by a narrow, sharp ridge. This is 

 the Glencairn Valley (see section); it exends from the Barkly River, 



