The age of a red earth profile in central north Queensland

Abstract

The red earths of the Charters Towers-Torrens Creek area of north Queensland are generally found in those parts of the landscape that have not been subjected to extensive erosion. Previous workers in the region have used indirect methods to suggest a Tertiary age for such soils. Direct evidence of a late Tertiary age for a red earth profile, formed in high level alluvium of the Burdekin River, has been derived from isotopic dates from an overlying basalt flow. Dates of 2.3-2.4 million years show that the buried red earth profile developed before or during the late Tertiary.