e soil was sandy with acacia scrub, paper-bark gum,
stringybark, and bloodwood; at 10.0 the country became stony, with
white-gum, tall acacia, and triodia, and we gradually ascended till the
aneroid indicated an elevation of 1100 feet, and we appeared to be on a
ridge parallel to the tableland of the interior and at a greater
elevation; at 1.20 p.m. observed a clump of melaleuca in a deep rocky
ravine, and steered south to it. Here we found a spring with a few acres
of grass around it, and encamped.

Latitude by Vega 17 degrees 40 minutes 31 seconds.

BASALTIC RANGE. 1300 FEET ABOVE SEA.

19th August.

At 6.45 a.m. steered south-east and soon ascended a rocky range of
altered sandstone and trap or basalt, thinly wooded with white-gum, tall
acacia, and grevillia, triodia, and treraphis superseding the grass; at
7.30 the aneroid indicated the greatest altitude (1300 feet) which we had
attained since leaving the Victoria River. From this point the view was
extensive to the north and south. Towards the interior the surface of the
tableland, not being so elevated as our position, appeared like a vast
level plain without any marked feature whatsoever. To the north the
country appeared to consist of low ridges of wooded hills gradually
decreasing in height as they receded. Southward our view was intercepted
by broken wooded hills of equal elevation with our position, while deep
ravines trending to the south intercepted our route. I therefore altered
the course to 200 degrees magnetic, and descended a rocky valley in which
was a small watercourse which enlarged into a considerable creek with
large rocky waterholes. The hills consisted of basalt and altered
sandstone, which dipped 20 degrees to 60 degrees to the north-west, and
by their outcrop formed parallel ridges which we passed with difficulty
and great risk to our horses; at 12.30 p.m. we extricated ourselves from
these ridges and entered a level valley extending thirty miles to the
north-east and south-west. Here granite rock was exposed on the bank of
the creek, which now trended across the valley to the south-east, with a
broad sandy bed from a quarter to half a mile in width, but quite dry and
overgrown with bushes; at 4.5 reached the hills which bounded the valley
to the south-east, and the creek entering a deep gorge which, by
concentrating its waters, had formed a fine pool, at which we encamped.
The country after leaving the basalt hills, where the valleys were