The Right Bank Of The River Rose
Into Steep Cliffs Of Basalt, Under Which The Clustered Fig Tree, With Its
Dense Foliage, Formed A Fine Shady Bower.
The basaltic dyke was about a
mile and a half broad, and I followed it about five miles up
The river.
Its summit was flat, rough, and rocky; at the distance of four miles from
our camp it receded a little from the river, and there limestone was
observed, crowded with fossils like that on the opposite side of the
river. Two miles farther, the bed of the river was formed by a felspathic
rock, with beautiful dendrites. A small island, with a chain of lagoons
on one side, and with the river on the other, was also composed of this
rock, in contact with, and covered by, basalt in several places. There
were small falls and rapids in several parts of the river. A beaten
foot-path of the natives, and many fire-places, showed that this part of
it was much frequented by them. Wallabies were very numerous between the
cliffs of the felspathic rock; and the fine fig trees along the banks of
the river were covered with ripe fruit. The river made a wide sweep round
the left side of a large limestone hill, whilst a chain of deep basaltic
water-holes continued on its right. The basalt ceased to the westward of
the limestone hill, and was succeeded by considerable flats of Ironbark,
Moreton Bay ash, and Bloodwood.
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