158 The Volcanic Rocks of 



I found the rock as harriers ; being walls running hither 

 and thither, from ten to forty feet in height. The early 

 settlers had great difficulty getting theh^ flocks through 

 these basaltic defiles. They are truly like the Devil's Turn- 

 pike of Mexico. 



Our lavas are not of equal age. Mount Franklin gives an 

 interesting illustration. One stream can be traced from that 

 crater, covering np the ordinary auriferous deposits, and 

 furnishing the bluestone capping of hills, nnder which the 

 Jim Crow miners tunnel. A breaking np of the golden 

 deposit caused a fresh distribution in some of the neigh- 

 bouring gTiUies : and over this newer stratum of gold a second, 

 and therefore newer, stratum of lava has flowed. As has 

 been before stated, a discharge of lava ft-om Mount Noorat 

 covers the ash from Lake Keilambete. At the Moonee 

 Ponds some basalt is considerably yonnger, and of a difierent 

 character, than that upon which it rests. At Portland, or 

 rather the sea cUfls southward, I saw two lavas alternating 

 with beds of Tertiary limestone. I gathered oyster shells, 

 of size and sort different from any on our coast, beneath a 

 huge pillar of prismatic basalt, while beneath me lay the 

 Eocene hmestone. 



We might indulge our imagination as to the physical 

 changes produced by volcanic actions in our western 

 country. 



There is a great sea with granite islets. A column of 

 smoke arises from amidst the heavy billows. Rumbling 

 noises are heard. Flames, like water sprites, leap up from 

 the ocean. The crash of thunders and the flash of lightnings 

 proceed from near the spot. Writhing forms of convulsed 

 matter agitate the waters. There is a seething caldron 

 beneath. Masses of viscid substance gurgle upwards, and 

 fill the caves of the dark sea. A change follows. The con- 

 vulsions cease. The blackened, rugged walls of the sub- 

 marine crater are still and cold. The sea has brought shot- 

 like pebbles and white mud to spread over the bottom. "" The 

 land rises, and shakes ofi" its liquid garment. The granite 

 islets are the mountains of Ercildoun, Emu, and Cole, and 

 the scene of volcanic fury is the gTassy plain of Western 

 Victoria. 



