Further evidence concerning the origin of the western Australian sand plains

Abstract

The micromorphology of a yellow earthy sand profile (P549) from the Western Australian sand plains, originally reported in the Handbook of Australian Soils (Stace et al., 1968, pp. 48–50), has been re‐examined in more detail and compared with samples of indurated lateritic mottled‐pallid zone material. The evidence, based on field relationships, and on a comparison of the fabric of the lateritic material with the glaebules in the yellow sand profile, strongly supports the hypothesis that the upper zone of the sand plains consists of a transported sedimentary (colluvial) deposit derived by erosion from an older lateritic profile. The profile examined is derived from indurated mottled‐pallid zone material. It is unnecessary to postulate repeated episodes of erosion and deposition to explain the ‘sandy’ nature of the profile which, in fact, contains a high proportion of argillaceous glaebules. The profile is ‘young’ at least in the sense of profile development.