j 2 The Australasian Scientific Magazine, [August 1, 1885. 
produced by these features in modifying either a gust of wind or the set of a 
current is enough, in the lapse of ages, to cause such an accumulation of 
materials in particular spots, as will occasion these phenomena. Thus it 
becomes important, with reference to the mere geographical outline of a 
country liable to such modifications, independently of pure geological 
causes, to ascertain and describe all such features, by some of which such 
important changes may be effected. 
But independently of these direct changes, the physical outlines and 
features of a country exercise a great influence in modifying its meteoro- 
logical character, as well as the social, political, and commercial position of its 
inhabitants. It would be vain for us to look for much commerce amongst 
a people whose country possessed no navigable rivers. 1 he climate of a 
country will, in many aspects, be regulated by its physical character. Ihe 
nature of the soil, and the form of country will mainly determine the 
amount and character of its vegetation. The retentive qualities of clay 
forming the basis of a low plain, will support a rank and marshy vegetation 
very different from that which will prevail in a hilly or mountainous 
district : all these various qualities of vegetation will in their degrees 
exercise considerable influence on the climate, particularly when taken 
in conjunction with its greater or less proximity to the equator. The 
climate, again, cannot fail to influence the habits, social development, and 
civilization of inhabitants, as -well as the Natural History of each country. 
Thus we trace a close connection between its physical configuration and 
those questions which have to be discussed in considering, in its extended 
sense, the geographical features of different districts. 
In order to bring together the various points to which the foregoing 
observations refer, they may be arranged under the following heads ; — 
1. Form of country. 
2. Mountain ranges. 
3. Rivers. 
4. Springs. 
5. Lakes, marshes, and lagoons. 
6. Coast line, mouths of rivers, their beds, banks, harbours, nature of 
shore. 
7. Ocean. 
1. Form of country; whether consisting of hills , valleys , or plains . — 
The first object which engages the attention of a traveller on entering a 
new district, is the physical configuration of the country, and this may be 
described in general terms as flat, undulating, hilly, or mountainous ; or 
the country maybe divided into districts, to each of which one of the above 
terms of configuration may be applied. Each ot these, however, is 
susceptible of great modification. A flat country may be a sandy desert, a 
rich alluvial plain, or a marshy, boggy tract ; it may be well watered by 
rivers and streams, or arid and parched up ; it may contain numerous lakes; 
it may be barren or wooded, or cultivated as arable or grass land ; each of 
these features may be of importance : nor must the nature of its soil be 
omitted, whether sand, or marl, or clay, as the appearance of the country 
will often depend greatly on this circumstance. Other important character- 
istics are its form, extent, and the natural features by which it is bounded, 
whether mountains, rivers, or seas ; how many miles wide, and how many 
long ; whether extending parallel with the coast, or running up between the 
hills into the interior. 
Many of these characteristics, it may be observed, belong equally to 
■other forms which constitute the character of district. An undulating 
