COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
169 
on a parallel direction with the coast, and ran 
forty-five miles, passing the different projections 
of the beach at the distance of four or five miles, 
and sounding in between nineteen and twenty- 
five fathoms. At four o’clock we were abreast 
of a bare sandy point, which appeared to be the 
north head of Jurien Bay, in which two rocky 
islets were seen, fronted by reefs, on which the 
sea in many parts was breaking violently. To 
the southward of the point, the coast hills are 
rather high, and principally formed of very white 
sand, bearing a strong resemblance, from the 
absence of vegetables, to hills covered with 
snow. Here and there, however, a few shrubs, 
partially concealed the sand, and gave a variety 
to the scene which was dismally “ iriste/* The 
country to the northward bears a different cha- 
racter; the shore is very low and sandy, and 
continues so for some distance in the interior, 
towards the base of a range of tolerably- elevated 
hills, on which the French have placed three re- 
markable “ pitofis,"' but these, perhaps, from our 
being too close in-shore, we did not discover. 
This range extends in a N.b.W. and S.b.E. 
direction, and appears to be rocky. In the mid- 
dle ground some trees were noticed, and vege- 
tation appeared to be more abundant than in the 
space between the bare sandy point and Cape 
1822 . 
Jan. 1^. 
