PROBLEMS OF THE ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY OF AUSTRALIA. Ill 



water in those bores in view of the high altitudes at which 

 the porous beds outcrop on the flanks of the Queensland 

 hills. 



In the light of what has already been said, it is evident 

 that Professor Gregory's objections to the hydrostatic 

 pressure theory, so far as they are based upon the distance 

 which the water has to travel and the loss of head by 

 friction, cannot be sustained. 



Other objections which he urges refer to apparent 

 anomalies in regard to the temperature and pressure of the 

 artesian wells. It must be admitted that remarkable 

 differences of temperature and pressure do occur, and that 

 it is not easy to give an explanation which is capable of 

 definite proof ; nevertheless several possible explanations 

 can be advanced, and it may be stated that the anomalies 

 to which the Professor draws attention are not confined to 

 the Australian basin, having been observed elsewhere. 



Anomalies in Temperature.— Gregory states 1 that — 

 "the hottest water does not come from the deepest wells. The 

 water of the Clifton and Tinaroo wells is of the temperature of 

 139°, whereas the deepest well of this series is at Wallon, and its 

 water is only 124°, and the well at Moree, 2,792 feet deep, has a 

 temperature of 115°. . . The average increase of temperature 

 below the surface of the ground is generally taken as 1°F. for 

 every fifty-three feet in depth. Some authors maintain that this 

 rate is excessive, and that the rate of 1° F. for every eighty feet 

 is the true average. But many of the flowing wells in Australia 

 show the rate of 1° F. for every twenty-two feet. This high 

 temperature indicates that the water has probably come from a 

 much greater depth than that of the water-bearing layer. It is, 

 therefore, more likely to be plutonic than meteoric." 



It may be remarked that observations in regard to the 

 rate of increase of temperature with depth, owing to the 



1 The Dead Heart of Australia, pp. 315-317. 



