56 
RIVER TERRACES OF THE MARIBYRNONG RIVER, VICTORIA 
On the right bank of the Maribyrnong River opposite the confluence 
of the creek this terrace is fairly extensive. The remnant of the 
Maribyrnong Terrace in Dry Creek valley is small, but it is 
developed extensively in the river valley a short distance 
downstream. 
too Ft 
lOOFt 
75 Ft 
SO Ft 
MARIBYRNONG 
TERRACE 
FIG. 3. 
Section along a Line (AB, Fig. 2) passing through the Terraces and Sand Pit, at the Site 
of the Discovery of the Keilor Skull. 
The Maribyrnong River and Dry Creek 
The Maribyrnong or Saltwater River is the longest tributary 
of the Yarra River, which it joins near Spotswood (Fig. 1). It 
rises in the Cobaw Ranges north of Macedon, flows eastwards 
towards Lancefield, and then turns in a southerly direction to its 
junction with the Yarra. For many miles its valley is cut through 
Newer Volcanic lava (New Basalt) into the underlying rocks. 
River gaugings taken at Keilor by the State Rivers and Water 
Supply Commission, Victoria, show that its mean discharge is 
90 cubic feet (560 gallons) per second, and that its flow stops, or 
almost ceases, for two or three of the dryer months each year. 
The highest recorded flood level was 35 feet above the river bed. 
The Commission estimates its drainage area above Keilor at 550 
square miles. 
At Keilor, the valley is about a mile wide, 100 feet deep, and 
flat-bottomed. In it are extensive alluvial deposits. Downstream 
it narrows from half to quarter of a mile wide and becomes 
shallower. Below Ascot Vale Gap it opens out on to the wide 
alluvium of the Estuarine Flood Plain (Fig. 6) w'hich is about 
10 feet above sea level. The Estuarine Flood Plain merges into 
the Yarra Delta. Below Chinaman’s Ford the river is tidal. 
Dry Creek is a small gully, 4 miles long, which descends from 
the basalt plateau to the river, a fall of about 130 feet. It carries 
water only after rain, and is graded near its confluence. By 
Recent vertical erosion, it has cut through the terrace material 
into the underlying Silurian strata to a depth of about 8 feet. 
