Abstract
"The Aru islands form an oblong geanticlinal upwarp of the Sahul shelf to the west-northwest of Australia. . . . Geomorphologically the archipelago is a low plateau with slight undulations. Structural terraces are common and have been wrongly attributed to Recent uplifting by several authors. Sunken coast lines and drowned abrasion platforms indicate subsidence of the outer zones in Recent times. The most remarkable geomorphic phenomena of the group, i.e., the channels or 'sungi' between the islands, are explained as a result of a pattern of diagonal shear joints. The youthful appearance of part of these joints points to a continued warping of the Aru rise in sub-Recent or even Recent times. Neither the channels nor the submarine relief of the Sahul shelf have any connection with the Pleistocene courses of New Guinea rivers, as has often been suggested."
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