Rocks of the Hoivqua River, 37 



3.— Physiographical Features. 



Physiographically, the Howqua area is in an interesting posi- 

 tion. It lies near the northern edge of the great central highland 

 belt of Victoria, close to the wide and striking sunkland of the 

 Mansfield district, the development which has had such a remarkable 

 .and interesting effect on the history of the river system of this 

 region, the details of which have been ably discussed by Fenner.6 



Standing on the commanding viewpoint of Mount Timbertop, 

 at about 4500 feet, the general survey of the physiography is 

 particularly interesting, and is scenically both grand and varied. 

 (See Fig. 1.) To the south and east especially the view is most im- 

 posing, looking out over the deep Howqua Valley, across the fretted 

 and dissected northern portion of the central plateau, the highest 

 portions of which rise to close on 6000 feet. Mount BuUer, the 

 nearest, about four miles to the east, at 5911 feet, present a pre- 

 cipitous front to the west, and forms, with its basalt capped summit, 

 a striking remnant of the old plateau, w4th the valleys of the Dela- 

 tite and the Howqua on either side 4000 feet deep. At Timbertop 

 the observer is standing in a small outlier, of the flat lying Upper 

 Palaeozoic strata, with the frequently associated rhyolite at the 

 base, lb the east and south-east he looks over a vast extent of 

 'deeply dissected country, from which the great overmantel of 

 hard, almost horizontal, rocks has been removed, exposing the 

 underlying highly inclined Lower Palaeozoic rocks, chiefly sla^e 

 and sandstone. The central w^atershed of the State, known as 

 the Main Divide, lies about 20 to 30 miles distant in this direc- 

 tion, and presents a precipitous and ledged front, due to the same 

 more or less horizontal strata as those on Timbertop. Mounts 

 Magdala, Clear and Macdonald, are the most noteworthy points, 

 while the Bluff of similar structure, distant about ten miles, adds 

 to the rugged character of the scene. Should these mountains be 

 •snow -covered, as they frequently are in the winter, the ledged 

 character is generally emphasised. 



The whole view in this direction, and as far round as Mount 

 T'orbreck to the south-west, about 25 miles away, overlooks the 

 basin of the Upper Goulburn and its tributaries. It may lie de- 

 scribed as a mountainous region of high relief in an advanced 

 stage of dissection. The original plateau character has been almost 

 -obliterated, only restricted ridges within the basin, which rise to 

 about 5000 feet, remain to indicate its former features. The old 



