4.31 



plateaus are not in the neighbourhood of tho Main Divide, 

 but represent faulted masses east or west of the main water 

 parting of the continent as at Guy Fawkes in New England, 

 the Victorian Alps, and the Bellenden Ker Ranges in North 

 Queensland. One significant fact stands out however, 

 upon even a casual study of Australian geography, and 

 that is that highlands and Main Divide are approximately 

 parallel to both coast line and the edge of the continental 

 shelf. From the coast line the highlands generally extend 

 inland for several hundreds of miles, the upper plateau 

 surface exceeds one hundred miles in width in places, and it 

 is warped and faulted east and west to coast line and inland 

 areas respectively. The general height of this upper level 

 is about 3,000 feet above sea level, but numerous masses 

 have been faulted to much greater heights. These will be 

 [ later. 



Although the general slope of the plateaus is west and 

 east along the eastern border of the continent, and north 

 and south in central and western Victoria, nevertheless, 

 there are great local deviations from this rule, but these 

 do not affect the main problem. In dealing with the high- 

 lands there are several important points to be taken into 

 consideration, and these are dealt with briefly at this stage 

 of the discussion. 



(1) The mountain knot at the south-eastern corner of 

 Australia. — One of the most interesting and instructive 

 topographical features of the highlands is the group of 

 mountains, or plateaus, in south-eastern New South Wales 

 and north-eastern Victoria known as the Australian Alps 

 (Figs. 1 and 2). Whereas the general height of the plateaus 

 in other portions of Australia is about 3,000 feet, and rarely 

 exceeds 5,000 feet, the height of this portion of the high- 

 lands varies from 5,000 to 7,300 feet. It is situated in the 

 angle made by the junction of the eastern and southern 



