NATIVE FLORA OF TROPICAL QUEENSLAND. 427 



NORMANTON TO CLONCURRY. 



The distance from Normanton to Cloncurry is about 260 

 miles south by west, and the journey, which was made by 

 coach, occupied five days, practically the whole of the 

 travelling being done in daylight. For the first fifteen 

 miles or so the country is a somewhat sandy Cretaceous 

 formation, but for the next hundred miles the rich soil of 

 the lower Flinders is followed, a great portion consisting of 

 black soil plains. A few low sandstone ridges are crossed, 

 some curiously weathered limestone is seen at Granada, 

 and towards Cloncurry some slate formation occurs. Gener- 

 ally speaking the country is level, the ascent for the whole 

 distance being 600 feet, Cloncurry being 633 feet above sea 

 level. The rainfall around Normanton is upwards of thirty 

 inches per annum, and about twenty inches at Cloncurry, 

 the bulk of which falls between December and April. 



It was noticed at about eight or ten miles from Normanton 

 that most of the Eucalypts were leaning to the westward, 

 the inference being that some of the strongest winds blow 

 in that direction while the ground is soft. Another feature 

 connected with the winds around Normanton is that in 

 some of the winter months, including August, the wind off 

 the land is so strong as to hold back the water of the Gulf, 

 which takes with it that of the lower portion of the Norman 

 River, until it becomes too shallow for the regular trading 

 steamers to come into the river. 



From observations made of the great quantities of sand 

 in the beds of several rivers, which comes from granitic 

 areas towards their sources and from Cretaceous sandstone 

 hills lower down, it is evident that in the wet season 

 enormous quantities of this sand must be carried into the 

 Gulf and gradually lessen the depth of water around the 

 coast. 



