158 JOURNEY ALONG THE ORANGE RIVER. [Feb. 8, 1858. 
The second Paper read was — 
2. Journey from Little Namaqualand Eastward along the Orange River , 
the Northern Frontier of the Colony , fyc. With Map. By Mr. Robert 
Moffat, f.r.g.s. 
Communicated by the Colonial Office. 
[This Paper will be printed in full in the Journal with Map.] 
The position of Gams, Mr. Moffat’s starting-point, was obtained 
by a running triangulation from Mr. Maclear’s northernmost 
beacons. For the rest, his latitudes were obtained from stars on 
either side of the zenith, and his bearings by a theodolite, but the 
state of his chronometer precluded any observations for longitude. 
ITis survey has fixed the lateral limits of the course of the Orange 
River, and determined certain special points, such as the mouths 
of the Aintas and the Hartebeest Rivers. 
The physical geography of the Orange River district is described 
in detail. Mr. Moffat considers that a substratum of metamorphic 
rock extends in a basin from about longitude 20° 30' to longitude 
25° ; its lowest point being at longitude 22° 30'. That this rock 
was formerly covered by a thick sandstone deposit, now so largely 
denuded that little remains to attest its existence on the western 
side of the basin, except the Noup plateau, to which he ascribes a 
height of about 4000 feet. The hills adjacent to it are formed by 
protruded greenstone, and certain depressions in this basin are 
filled with deposits of later dates. Many geological particulars 
are also given of the country onwards towards Kuruman, and the 
features of the great cataract of the Orange River are minutely 
described. Mr. Moffat remarks, in such of the horizontal forma- 
tions of South Africa as he has examined, that the volcanic rocks 
have simply had the effect of hardening those parts of the strata 
they have pierced. A result of this is, that all outliers of plateau 
ranges composed of these rocks possess a backbone or capping of 
basalt, which has enabled them to withstand those denuding forces 
which have removed the area formerly adjoining to them. — F. G. 
The President begged to return the thanks of the Meeting to Mr. Moffat, 
and appealed to Dr. Livingstone to state what he knew of the region described 
by his brother-in-law. 
Dr. Livingstone, f.r.g.s. — The country is of a very arid, sterile character ; 
but the paper is chiefly interesting from the fact of his having visited the 
Falls. They were visited about the year 1815 by the Rev. John Campbell ; 
but he did not go so far down as to have a distinct view of the chasm into 
which the waters of the Orange River flow. But I think he states that he 
threw a large stone down into the chasm, and that it was a long time before it 
reached the bottom. This chasm seems to be of exactly the same nature as 
