82 
two extensive brown-soil plains. 1liis tract of sandy country is 
found westwards nearly to Birrigrin and Black Bange. Another 
similar stretch of sand hills, very bad for travelling through, 
separates the plains near the Alt. Sir Samuel mining area from 
those of New Bngland and Lake Darlot, there being a high sandy 
ridge between them from the New England country nearly all the 
way south to Wilson's Patch. The sand hills are particularly well 
seen where the road from Alt. Sir Samuel to New England crosses 
the high ground, but here. too. the dunes have every apijearance of 
having been long fixed in their existing positions, being well cover- 
ed with scrub. 
Another well-known line of sandy country lies between Afen- 
zies and Davyhurst. on the north and south ridge between the 
Goongarrie Lake plain and that of Siberia Lake. Here too, the 
dunes seem to have been long fixed by vegetation. 
Between the Jaurdic Hills and Coolgardie there is a sand- 
patch several miles in width on the highest ground between brown 
soil flats on cither side of it. and several similar ])atches are seen 
along the railway line l)etwcen Northam and Kalgoorlie. Near 
Tammin it is very noticealde that the sand-patches arc usually, it 
not always, on the ridges between the fertile lower-lying plains. 
Going down the rabbit-iiroof fence from Burracoppin to 
Ravensthorpe. a great deal of very sandy country is traversed, but 
even there the prevalence of the sand on the higher ground is very 
marked. 
Another extensive sand-i)lain is crossed on the road from 
Yalgoo to Rothsay. on the high ground between the A^algoo plain 
and that of Lake Monger. Here no dimes were seen however, the 
sand plains being remarkably flat. 
Yet another good example of sand plains on high ground is 
seen in travelling from Northampton to the old Geraldine mines 
on the Alurchison River. 1die road rises np off the fertile jilains 
and undulating country to the north of Northampton on to a sand- 
plain on a high ridge sei)arating the valley of the Bowes River from 
that of the Alurchison. This ])lain shows few and only very small 
dunes where seen l)y the writer, and forms a <listinct sandy plateau 
considerably higher than the hrown-soil country on either side of 
it. 
Now how are we to account for this extraordinary predilec- 
tion of the sand deposits for the higher ground? it is not the ex- 
perience of wind-action elsewhere, where its effects on sand can be 
watched in progress, as in the case of the coastal dunes, that the 
plains should be swept free of sand and this accumulated on the 
highest ground round them. It is true that there are very fre- 
quently sandy areas in the plains, so that they are not clear of sand 
by any means, but the freedom of great areas of them from sand 
is very remarkable if their erosion has been due in any marked 
