Gapes .—The capes are Londonderry, the most Northerly point of the colony ; 
Cape Loveque, at the entrance to King 1 Sound; North-West Cape, by Exmoutli 
Gulf; Steep Point, by Sharks Bay; Cape Naturaliste, by Geographe Bay; Cape 
Leeuwin, the South-West point of the Colony; Cape Howe, to the West of 
Torbay; and Cape Arid, West of the Great Australian Bight. 
Islands .—The North and South coasts are fringed with numerous small 
islands; but the only two on the coast of any size are Dirk Hartog’s Island, off 
Sharks Bay, and Eottnest, off Fremantle. Guano is found on the islands com¬ 
prised in Houtman’s Abrolhos, and various islands to the North, including the 
Lacepedes. 
Mountains .—The mountains are not remarkable for their height, though 
many of them, rising abruptly from plains, present a rather striking appearance. 
The principal ranges in the South-West are the Darling, Roe, and Blackwood 
Ranges. The Darling Range is the most important, extending almost due North 
and South from Yatlieroo at the North, to Point D’Entrecasteaux at the South, a 
distance of about 300 miles, and following the coast about 18 to 20 miles from 
the sea, towards which it presents a steep face. There are no peaks over 1,500 
feet in height, yet as it rises abruptly from the low coastal plain, it has a 
more imposing appearance than the Roe Range, which runs parallel to it further 
to the Eastward, of which the highest peak, Mount William, in the Murray dis¬ 
trict, attains an elevation of 3,000 feet above sea level. The other range, the 
Blackwood, has the greatest average elevation, although it does not anywhere 
attain a greater height than 2,000 feet. About 40 miles to the Northward of 
Albany, on the South coast., is the Stirling Range, which is the loftiest range in 
the settled districts, and being perfectly isolated, and rising abruptly from a large 
plain, it is visible for an immense distance. Its chief peaks are Mount Toolbrimup 
(3,341 feet) and Ellen’s Peak (3,420 feet). In the North of the Colony, in the 
Kimberley District, is the King Leopold Range, which attains an elevation of 
between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. 
Some of the highest hills and ranges in the Colony are said to exist in the 
Northern portion of the interior, at the sources and upper part of the basins of 
the large rivers. They have not yet been accurately measured, though they are 
estimated to reach the height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet above the sea level; but as 
they rise from high ground, the country at their base often being as much as 2,000 
feet above sea level, they do not present such a grand appearance as would be 
expected. 
No volcanoes exist, in any part of the Colony, though the craters of extinct 
ones are reported to have been discovered in the North and North-West. The 
general appearance of the country throughout indicates a condition of remarkable 
quiescence even further back than the carboniferous epoch. 
Rivers .—The principal rivers are the Ord, Fitzroy, DeGrey, Yule, Harding, 
Forteseue, Ashburton, Gascoyne, Murchison, Greenough, Irwin, Swan, Murray,' 
Collie, Preston, Blackwood, Gordon, and Pallinup. For the most part they are 
simply immense storm water channels which carry off the floods after the rainy 
season, and those that are navigable are only so in the estuarine portion, which is 
salt except during the time of the floods. 
Rakes , — The lake district may be considered to be confined to the low 
coastal country; within t.ifis area there are numerous salt and fresh water 
lakes and lagoons. The maps show a great number of lakes in the interior which 
tend to give a very incorrect idea of the country, as, except after heavy rains, when 
they may be covered with a few inches of water, they are mostly dry being in 
reality nothing but immense salt clay pans or marshes. J ° 
The Climate cannot be spoken of as a whole, owing to the enormous extent, of 
the Colony. In the Kimberley District there is a truly tropical climate. The wet 
season ranges between December and March, occasionally continuing into April. 
