ten o'clock, and the tide was out; so that I judged the time
of high water to be _about seven hours after_ the moon's passage, or
three hours later than at Kangaroo Island; and the ordinary rise appeared
to be six or eight feet. An observation of the sun's meridian altitude
from the artificial horizon showed the landing-place to be in latitude
34 deg. 8' 52", and the uppermost water might be 30" less; whence the extent
of this inlet, from Cape Jervis on the east side of the entrance, is 1 deg.
30' of latitude.

Microscopic shells of various kinds, not larger than grains of wheat,
were heaped up in ridges at high-water mark; further back the shore was
sandy, but soon rose, in an undulating manner, to hills covered with
grass; and several clumps of trees scattered over them gave the land a
pleasing appearance from the water side. We set off in the afternoon for
the Hummock Mount, which stands upon a northern prolongation of the hills
on the west side of the inlet, and about eight miles from the water; but
finding it could not be reached in time to admit of returning on board
the same evening, I ascended a nearer part of the range to inspect the
head of the inlet. It was almost wholly occupied by flats, which seemed
to be sandy in the eastern part and muddy to the westward. These flats
abounded with rays; and had we been provided with a harpoon, a boat load
might have been caught. One black swan and several shags and gulls were
seen.

I found the grass upon these pleasant-looking hills to be thinly set, the
trees small, and the land poor in vegetable soil. The mountainous ridge
on the east side of the inlet passes within a few miles of Hummock Mount,
and appeared to be more sandy; but the wood upon it was abundant, and of
a larger growth. Between the two ranges is a broad valley, swampy at the
bottom; and into it the water runs down from both sides in rainy weather,
and is discharged into the gulph, which may be considered as the lower
and wider part of the valley.

This eastern ridge is the same which rises at Cape Jervis; from whence it
extends northward towards Barn Hill and the ridge of mountains on the
east side of Spencer's Gulph. If it joins that ridge, as I strongly
suspect, its length, taking it only from Cape Jervis to Mount Arden, will
be more than seventy leagues in a straight line. There are some
considerable elevations on the southern part; Mount Lofty is one of them,
and its height appeared nearly equal to