ABSTRACT
Melbourne owes its location to geomorphological and geological factors. The Melbourne area consists of folded bedrock, irregularly weathered and planated, overlain in some areas by thin beds of marine and non-marine sediments, or by relatively fresh, thin lava flows. The Melbourne area can be subdivided into eight regions, including the coastline: Volcanic Plains to the west, Nillumbik Terrain to the east, High Plateaux and Mountains to the north and east, Brighton Coastal Plain to the south, Mornington Horst, Koo-Wee-Rup Plain, Yarra Delta, and Port Phillip Coastline. The Volcanic Plains include the Werribee Plains west of Melbourne with around a dozen volcanoes, lava flows of different ages and a capping of brown clay soils with features related to the low rainfall of the area. A down-faulted low-lying area at the head of Western Port, the Koo-Wee-Rup Plain is the equivalent of the Carrum Swamp on the other side of the Mornington Horst. It is a drained swamp with peaty soils.
