76 



CHAPTER II. 



From ihe Evemrd Baiu/e, 



S. Alt. 'it.. 

 W. Aust. ' 



to the Barrow Range, 



I. PHYSIOGRAPHY. 



The Bverard Range extends westwaixl as far as Ferdinand 

 River, a distance of 50 miles reckoned from Mount lUbillie. 

 Several strong creeks discharge themselves along the southern 

 base of the range; and between its main mass and the outlying parts 

 there are tine alluvial flats covered with a, good soil consisting of 

 a clayey mixture of the decomposed felspathic rocks which sur- 

 round them. The creeks, winding through tectonic valleys of 

 the granite-masses, have considerably enlarged some of them by 

 their erosive action ; especially is this the case in the lower parts 

 of the valleys. No sooner do these creeks leave the granitic 

 surfaces than they disappear suddenly in the sand, such places 

 being rendered conspicuous by the abundance of grass and herb- 

 age arising from the underground storage of water. 



The granite-rocks have, hereabouts, a tendency to weather into 

 cavernous recesses, in one of which pictorial designs done by the 

 aborigines were discovered. 



As Ferdinand River is approached, the outcropping rocks be- 

 come fewer and less prominent, and when of granite they tend 

 more and more to the form of low turtle-back-shaped rises. 



On both sides of Ferdinand Creek low ridges or banks of 

 limestone are noticeable, which define the ancient bed or the 

 limit of its former area of inundation (see fig. 1, pi. ii.). The 

 width of the creek is about 20 yards, but was perfectly dry at 

 the time we crossed it. Judging from the fine-grained sand and 



the descent (>f the river is 

 very steep, and the power of the periodical floods is limited as 



the absence of large gravel and debris. 



not 



far as erosion or ablation is concerned. The river-banks are 

 therefore low, not exceeding six feet, and are composed of fine 

 sand, without gravel, throughout that depth. 



After crossing the Ferdinand, sand-dunes of moderate elevation 

 make their appearance ; they exhibit no regularity as regards 

 direction, probably because of the irregularity in the direction of 

 the wind, which is here influenced and broken by the surround- 

 ing hills. 



The general surface-feature between Everard Range and Camp 

 4 is that of large alluvial sandy plains, the sand resulting from 

 the weathering of the granitic rocks which rise abruptly from the 

 plain in bold masses and peaks. At their base and in their 

 vicinity travertine is of constant occurrence. 



The elevation of the plain above sea-level is at the Ferdinand 

 about 1,800 feet, as determined by barometric observation; and 



