Western Victorian Volcanic Plains
The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains in Victoria, Australia, also known as the Newer Volcanic Province, are the third largest volcanic plains in world. The biggest is the Deccan Plateau in India and the Snake River Plateau in the USA. The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains cover an area of 2.3 million hectares, more than 10% of the state. The basalt plains were formed by volcanoes over the last 6 million years with the most recent eruption being at Mount Napier 7,200 years ago. There are only a few rivers which flow across the plains, these are the Barwon, Hopkins, Leigh, Maribyrnong, Wannon and Werribee Rivers and the Mount Emu Creek. More than 90% of the plains have been cleared for farming.