202 



either side. The western ridge for several miles shows out- 

 crops of the Pre-Cambrian basement and the Cambrian basal 

 grits (see pages 190 and 195). At .6 miles from Maitland, in 

 passing' from Section 16 to Section 1 (Hundred of Maitland), 

 a great change of surface features and soil occurs. In the 

 first-named section there is little or no travertine visible, but 

 a reddish, gritty soil, resulting from the breaking down of 

 the basal grits ; while in the latter section the ground is 

 strewn with concretionary travertine, accompanied by a light 

 and soft soil. On the northern side of Section 1, near 

 Urania Head Station, evidences of the Cambrian limestone 

 occur in the form of surface stones, often carrying a crust 

 of travertine limestone. These are most numerous on the 

 ground skirting the eastern side of the range, and in places 

 are brought to the surface by the burrowing of rabbits. The 

 rock is a characteristic brownish and yellowish saccharoidal 

 dolomite, which apparently overlies the basal grits that out- 

 crop along its borders. 



6. Maitland No. 1 Bore. This bore was put down by 

 the Government at the northern end of Section 72e, situated 

 a little more than a mile to the westward of the township. 

 The following is the official record of the beds passed 

 through : — 



Thickness Depth from 

 of strata. surface. 

 Cainozoic — ft. in. ft. in. 



Surface ' soil red loam 3 6 3 6 



Clay and limestone 32 35 6 



Palaeozoic — 



Grey crystalline limestone 74 6 110 



Grey crystalline limestone, with bands 



of light-blue micaceous clay rock ... 12 6 122 6 



Grey crystalline limestone 5 6 128 



Red argillaceous rock, with few specks 



of mica ... ... 20 148 



Red crystalline limestone (see below) 



intermixed with quartz and felspar 51 199 



Archaean — 



Red granite • 41 240 



Gneiss and granite 26 266 



By the courtesy of the officer in charge I was permitted 

 to examine the samples from this bore in the Engineer- 

 in-Chief's Department, when it was found that "grev 

 crystalline limestone," recorded from the depths 35 feet 

 6 inches to 128 feet ( = 92 feet 6 inches) represented the 

 dolomite or lowest member of the Cambrian limestone series ; 

 the "red argillaceous rock" was a typical form of the purple 

 slates series; while the so-called "red crystalline limestone, 

 intermixed with quartz and felspar," contained no limestone, 



