Along the western foot of this ridge, and again in the wide shallow depres¬ 
sions near Cranbonrne, there is a thin covering or blending of ferruginous 
clayey, sandy, gravelly, and gritty material, with the basaltic soil. This 
material is evidently derived from once overlying Oainozoic beds, and 
undoubtedly overlies the basalt; but in only one place was the actual 
section noticed. This is on the road between allotments 33, parish of 
Berwick, and 46 and 47, parish of Cranbourne, where coarse gravels overlie 
the volcanic rock. 
From an altitude of about 400 feet on Berwick hill, or, taking the top of the 
quarry, 315 feet—assuming there to be at least two flow's, and the low r er one 
that of which the Cranbourne basalt is part—w r e find this basalt at an altitude 
of about 160 feet in a straight distance of about 6 miles, while going on towards 
the eastern shore of Port Phillip, a further distance of about 9 miles, the 
basalt shows at sea level, or a little above it. The flow, assuming there to 
have been one, appears to have travelled in a S. and S.E. direction from the 
country to the N. and FLW. of Berwick, turning S.W. about Cranbourne, 
and running out into the area now occupied by Port Phillip. The Silurians 
of the parish of Langwarrin, lying between Cranbourne and Mornington, 
have, probably, caused either a split in the flow, deflecting part across the 
the parish of Sherwood towards Western Port, and the other across the 
parishes of Lyndhurst and Langwarrin towards Frankston, or directed the 
whole of it to the S.W.; or, again, the volcanic rock may have gone alike 
across portion of this Silurian area, and the country on either side now r 
occupied with Cainozoic sediments. These sediments may have been laid 
down on a more or less deeply eroded surface, from portion of wdiich the 
basalt was removed either partially or entirely prior to their deposition. In 
fact, in parts of the parishes of Langwarrin and Sherwood, sands, gravels 
and clays of Cainozoic age rest immediately on the Silurians. 
There seems no reason to doubt that the basalts of Berwick and Cran¬ 
bourne are portions of the same flow to which belongs the basalt seen on the 
eastern coast of Port Phillip ; therefore, if so, these occurrences are not 
dykes, as apparently implied* by Dr. Selwyn and the late Professor Sir 
Frederick McCoy. 
Eocene ? 
Lender this division is placed a series consisting of siliceous grits, coarse 
and fine gravels and wTiite sands, ferruginous grits, sands, clays and sandv 
clays. It is of general distribution through the district, and covers the 
greater part of the surface. 
White sand is seen particularly on allotments 1, 27, 26, 17, parish of 
Cranbourne; 1, 4, 9, parish of Sherwood; allotment 1, parish of Lyndhurst; 
and 1, 26, 27, parish of Langwarrin. Clays and sandy and ferruginous clays 
occur principally along the Sale road, in the parish of Eumemmerring ; also 
in the S.E. corner of the same parish; in the eastern portion of the parish 
of Lyndhurst; around, and for 3 miles north from, Clyde railway station, 
with a width of 2 miles; and in the strip in the parish of Sherwood lying 
between the Silurian area and the Cranbourne-Tooradin road. 
Gravels and coarse sands are found over large portions of allotments 23, 
24, 25, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, parish of Berwick. These gravels, derived from 
coarse siliceous grits, are very similar to the detritus from granite. The 
grains are distinctly water-worn, though many of them are angular and 
sub-angular. They have evidently been derived from the plutonic rocks 
* Selwyn, Progress Report from the Select Committee upon Coal-fields. Papers pre¬ 
sented to the Legislative Assembly, 1857, p. 24. 
