The bottom of several of the bays, on the eastern coast, not having been explored, it is still probable that rivers, or considerable mountain streams, may exist there.

Along this eastern line of shore, granite has been found throughout a space of nearly five hundred miles; at Cape Cleveland; Cape Grafton; Endeavour River; Lizard Island; and at Clack’s Island, on the north-west of the rocky mass which forms Cape Melville.  And rocks of the trap formation have been obtained in three detached points among the islands off the shore; in the Percy Isles, about latitude 21 degrees 40 minutes; Sunday Island, north of Cape Grenville, about latitude 12 degrees; and in Good’s Island, on the north-west of Cape York, latitude 10 degrees 34 minutes.

The Gulf of Carpentaria having been fully examined by Captain Flinders, was not visited by Captain King; but the following account has been deduced from the voyage and charts of the former, combined with the specimens collected by Mr. Brown, who has also favoured me with an extract from the notes taken by himself on that part of the coast.

The land, on the east and south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is so low, that for a space of nearly six hundred miles—­from Endeavour Strait to a range of hills on the mainland, west of Wellesley Islands, at the bottom of the gulf—­no part of the coast is higher than a ship’s masthead.* Some of the land in Wellesley islands is higher than the main; but the largest island is, probably, not more than one hundred and fifty feet in height;** and low-wooded hills occur on the mainland, from thence to Sir Edward Pellew’s group.  The rock observed on the shore at Coen River, the only point on the eastern side of the Gulf where Captain Flinders landed, was calcareous sandstone of recent concretional formation.

(Footnote.  Flinders Charts Plate 14.)

(**Footnote.  Flinders Volume 2 page 158.)

In Sweer’s Island, one of Wellesley’s Isles, a hill of about fifty or sixty feet in height was covered with a sandy calcareous stone, having the appearance of concretions rising irregularly about a foot above the general surface, without any distinct ramifications.  The specimens from this place have evidently the structure of stalactites, which seem to have been formed in sand; and the reddish carbonate of lime, by which the sand has been agglutinated, is of the same character with that of the west coast, where a similar concreted limestone occurs in great abundance.

The western shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria is somewhat higher, and from Limmen’s Bight to the latitude of Groote Eylandt, is lined by a range of low hills.  On the north of the latter place, the coast becomes irregular and broken; the base of the country apparently consisting of primitive rocks, and the upper part of the hills of a reddish sandstone; some of the specimens of which are identical with that which occurs at Goulburn and Sims Islands on the north coast, and is very widely