ABSTRACT
The Carrum Swamp has been formed as a result of down-warping in an area bordered by the Beaumaris Monocline to the north and Selwyn's Fault to the south. The sunkland has filled with Tertiary and Quaternary deposits consisting of some clays and basalts but mostly sands and gravels that have provided high yielding aquifers for irrigation of the surficial alluvial soils for farming. The thickness and nature of alluvial deposits along the major rivers and creeks of the metropolitan area are highly variable as would be expected depending on the geological origin of the materials and geomorphological factors. Around Altona Bay, swamp deposits have accumulated at the outfalls of the Kororoit Creek, Cherry Creek, and Skeleton Creek which drains into the area of the Cheetham salt works. Drilling for a proposed office development in Glenhuntly Road, Elwood encountered a thin covering of recent swamp/alluvial deposits over Tertiary deposits of the Brighton Group.
