an australian linguist, r. m. w. dixon, collected many aboriginal myths in their original languages. he discovered some landscape details in myths were the same as scientific discoveries being made about the same landscapes. for example, on the atherton tableland, myths tell of the origins of lake eacham, lake barrine, and lake euramo. geologists have dated the volcanic explosions which formed the lakes, and were described by aboriginal myth tellers, as having happened more than 10,000 years ago. pollen fossil sampling from the bottom of the craters agrees with the aboriginal myth-tellers' story. when the craters were formed, the area was eucalyptus forest, not the current wet tropical rain forests.