Page:Cyclopedia of Western Australia, volume 1.pdf/23

 plains stretching along the edge of the Great Australian Bight. The scarcity and uncertainty of the rainfall over the greater part of the plateau, more particularly over that lying east of the 119th meridian, make it unsuitable for settlement of an agricultural or pastoral nature, and the towns and townships that do exist are those which have grown up round the great mining industry

The coastal areas on the west are principally of a flat and sandy nature, sparsely covered with vegetation, except in the south-west, where we find large forests of karri, jarrah, gum, and other timbers of great commercial value. The southern seaboard is of much the same character until we get farther eastward, where we meet the well-grassed limestone plains between the edge of the plateau and the sea, which await only the discovery of artesian water to make them among the most productive in the State.

There are no mountains of any considerable height in Western Australia. Those best known are scarps of the plateau, rising above the coastal plains. Of them the most important is the Darling Range, which runs almost due north and south from Yatheroo to Point d'Entrecasteaux. It lies about 18 or 20 miles from the west coast, with which it is practically parallel, and though never rising above 1,700 ft, from sea-level exercises a great effect upon the climatic conditions of the most settled portion of the State. The Stirling Range, to the north-east of Albany, forms the western end of the southern face of the plateau. This is the loftiest range in the south of Western Australia, at Bluff Knoll reaching a height of 3,640 ft. Rising abruptly from the plain, perfectly isolated, it is visible for a very considerable distance, and forms the most- striking landmark in the southern districts. In the northern part we find the Princess May, King Leopold, and Hamersley Ranges. In the lastnamed we have Mount Bruce, which, possessing an altitude of 3,800 ft., is the highest known point on the western side of the continent. There are no active volcanoes, but extinct craters are said to exist in the neighbourhood of the Princess May Range in the extreme north. All these mountains are fairly close to the coastline. The in- terior of the State, so far as is known, does not possess any eminence that may be dignified with the title of a mountain. Isolated hills occur at intervals, which from the flatness of the surrounding desert appear unduly prominent, but none of them can boast of an altitude of even 1,000 ft.

No portion of the continent is so badly provided with rivers as the west. The whole interior, embraced by the plateau previously mentioned, does not possess a single river draining into the sea or into any inland lake. Such rivers as exist in the State are confined to the strip of land between the edges of the tableland and the sea, and are formed by the drainage from the scarp side of the elevation. Many of them are not able to boast either of considerable length or consistent depth of water, except during the rainy season Commencing at the far north, there are (excluding tributaries) the Ord and the Pentecost emptying into Cambridge Gulf, with the Chamberlain and Durack possibly debouching in the same inlet; the Drysdale and King Edward into Napier Broome Bay; the Prince Regent and Sale into bays along the coast; and Chamley into Collier Bay. Coming down the north-west coast we meet the Fitzroy, De Grey, Yule, Fortescue, and Ashburton; along the west there are the Gascoyne, Wooramel, Murchison, Greenough, Swan, Murray, Collie, and Preston. The principal of all these—in fact, the chief river of the State—is the Swan, which above tidal waters is called the Avon. On it are situated the oldest towns in Western Australia, as the colonization of the country was commenced at that point. For a considerable distance from the mouth it partakes more of the nature of an estuary, being subject to tidal fluctuations and the water being consequently salt in character. On the southern coast the principal streams are the Blackwood, Frankland, Warren, Denmark, and Phillips, none of which possesses any characteristics calling for special mention.

There are no lakes worthy of the name throughout the State. As regard the great interior, this may be explained by the arid nature of the country due to the slight and irregular rainfall, and the rapid evaporation of moisture caused by the intense heat of the sun. The so-called lakes of this great region, in many cases considerable in extent, are, except after occasional heavy rains, merely immense salt marshes or claypans. But even between the ranges and the sea, where we might expect to find sheets of permanent water, there are very few, and these, except during the rainy season, are little better than swamps or marshes. Salt lagoons occur in places, but they have little or no economic value.

Owing to the deeply indented coastline north of the 19th parallel of latitude there are innumerable bays, gulfs, and inlets in that portion of the State. To mention them all would be wearisome, but the chief are Cambridge Gulf, Napier Broome Bay, Vansittart Bay, Admiralty Gulf, Montague and York Sounds, Brunswick Bay, Camden Sound, Collier Bay, King Sound, Beagle Bay (at which is established an aboriginal mission), Roebuck and La Grange Bays, Point Walcott, Nickol Bay, and Exmouth Gulf. On the west and south coasts there are Shark Bay, Champion Bay, Cockburn Sound, Koombana, Geographe, and Flinders Bay, King George Sound, and Esperance Bay. While many of them afford safe anchorage, Princess Royal Harbour (within King George Sound) and Cambridge Gulf are