Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/61

 before the public. Situated on the southern part of the Australian continent, Victoria lies between the latitudes of 34° to 39° south, and longitude of 141° to 150° east. Its area is estimated to contain 90,000 square miles, or 57,600,000 acres. On the east and west the boundary is determined by the imaginary lines of the parallels of longitude; but the sea bounds it on the south, and the river Murray along the whole of the north line.

This magnificent river is navigable for 1400 miles, rising in Mount Kosciusko, and, 60 miles from its source, is navigable for small steamers. It has a north-westerly direction until it reaches 140 parallels of longitude, being navigable in the Victorian territory 360 miles. It then suddenly takes a southerly direction, falling into Lake Victoria, and entering the ocean in Encounter Bay. The course of the Murray is, for the most part, through a flat alluvial country, sometimes cutting its way through cliffs of tertiary limestone, which vary in height from 80 to 100 feet above the level of the river, and contain a number of fossil remains.

There are but few other rivers of any note throughout the wide extent of the colony, and none are navigable save the Gleneley, which is only so for 20 miles, and has also a shoal bar.

There are some fine lakes scattered through the country, and of considerable extent, but yet there is no part of the world so well adapted, from the value of its soil and formation, for agricultural or pastoral