127 
the limits of the survey to the north-east, also to the south-east towards 
the township of Werribee, where the height above sea-level is much 
lower. 
The Werribee River has cut its bed through these strata to a depth 
of 200 ft. in places. 
The soil of the area is fairly fertile, and some is very rich. Of late 
years the large holdings have been cut up into farms, and a considerable 
extent of the country is under cultivation, or is being prepared for the 
plough. In places the basalt outcrops at the surface, and renders the 
clearing of land expensive, but the removal of the timber—principally 
box and redgum—is not costly. 
Basalt Flows and Points of Eruption. 
In the area surveyed are a number of flows of basalt, which may 
be seen in the sections along the Werribee River, from north of the 
railway station of Parwan to the limit of the survey below Exford 
bridge. In the section which was made on the river bank, about 1 
mile north-easterly from Parwan railway station (Fig. 45), three 
flows of basalt are shown, with the possibility of another one concealed 
by talus. 
It is possible that in places 
there are four or more flows, 
as for example, in the long 
road-cutting on the south¬ 
west side of the Werribee 
River leading to the Exford 
bridge. Here there are the 
junctions between flows of 
lava, indicated by cellular 
and ropy structure, and by 
the top of the underflow re¬ 
sembling burnt clay. It is 
possible that such a tight 
contact may open in an¬ 
other place, and the flows 
of basalt be separated by a 
layer of sediment. 
Over most of the area sur¬ 
veyed the basalt was medium 
grained to more or less cellu¬ 
lar, but on allotment ISTo. 
17c, parish of Mooradora- 
nook, there is some tachy- 
Fig. 45.—Section one mile nortli-east of the 
Parwan Station. Xot to scale. 
there is a section exposed of Tertiary sands and gravels, overlain by a 
flow of basalt, which is normal in character, except for about 3 or 4 
inches from where it rests on a laver of gravel, where it is a dense 
black, somewhat brittle tachylyte, but differs in appearance from the 
blue tachylyte of Meredith. 
Within the area surveyed there are one or more minor points of 
eruption. What appears to be a perfect crater is the main surface 
feature on allotments ISTos. 10 and 11 of section VIII., parish of 
lyte. In this allotment a 
smull gully enters the Wer¬ 
ribee, and on its south bank 
