THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA. 249 



of note that the predominating' topographical features of the continent 

 do not appear to have undergone any remarkable change during the 

 successive stages of evolution under review. The dominant areas of 

 elevation in all cases correspond throughout with tbe mountain ranges 

 along the eastern seaboard, the Northern Territory, and Western Aus- 

 tralia, while the central region is still charaterized by low and extensive 

 desert-like salt-bush plains, dotted with shallow lakes and saltpans, 

 and traversed by inland rivers. Configuration and position of land 

 areas are two of the fundamental agents that operate in establishing 

 and controlling the climatic zones of our globe, while their influence 

 upon the distribution of rainfall is simply enormous. To enable us to 

 study and understand the people of a country it becomes necessary 

 and indeed indispensable to investigate the physical features aud 

 climate, for no other known agents exercise so powerful an influence 

 on the grouping and migrations of the race as these, as well as in 

 moulding and modifying classes and racial types. As compared with 

 other countries, there is a decidedly marked defect in the physical 

 geography of Australia. It possesses no remarkable mountains of high 

 elevation, although theculininating peak of the Australian Alpsis capped 

 with snow for nearly all the year round. The highest ranges border 

 the east coast line, extending in a more or less continuous chain from 

 Wilson's Promontory in the south to Cape York in the north. Except 

 the McPherson's Range, this great coastal chain of ranges is practically 

 of no value in limiting or influencing the political divisions of the 

 country, nor yet does it afford any very great impediment to or security 

 against invasion. In most places it is easily accessible from the sea- 

 board, and it possesses no narrow wild passes such as those that limit 

 the great commercial inland trade routes in Europe, Asia, and America. 

 One remarkable feature associated with the physical condition of the 

 southeastern part of the continent is that the highest elevations corre- 

 spond very closely with and occupy a position adjacent to the greatest 

 depth of the ocean, which approaches closer to the southeast coast line 

 of Victoria than any other part of the continent. 



The general plan or system of this eastern area of elevation may be 

 briefly put in the following manner: From the main coastal range 

 there radiate toward the interior numerous offshoots, or lateral spurs, as 

 it were, and these form the watersheds of the inland rivers, as they 

 are called, or streams that flow toward the interior. These outliers 

 bear local designations, more or less appropriate, such as the Liverpool 

 Range, New England Range, and Blue Mountains in New South Wales. 

 The eastern face of the range approaches close to the coast line, and 

 its waters are drained by several comparatively short but rapid rivers 

 that frequently overflow their banks and inundate large areas of low- 

 lying country during abnormal rainfalls. In Queensland there is 

 probably a wider and more uniform distribution of elevated areas than 

 in any other part of the continent. Here the elevations of the Coast 



