It is the part of the Great Artesian Basin that extends to the east coast in Australia's central eastern lowlands.

It consists of continental deposits, starting with a small amount of Triassic coal beds, and then mostly Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks.

They consist of lithic sandstones (wackes, minor arenites), siltstone, polymictic conglomerate, coal, rhyolitic tuff, and basalt.

[2] The Marburg Subgroup[12] extends for 225 kilometres (140 mi) along the western side of the basin into Queensland from Corindi.

The fossil wood is in the form of horizontal tree trunks up to 18 metres (59 ft) long and 600 millimetres (24 in) in diameter.

[2] The Towallum Basalt is a 15-metre (49 ft) thick layer near Nymboida, Glenreagh and Moleton trig station overlying the Marburg formation.

[2] The Walloon Coal Measures[13] forms a U shape around the east, south and west sides of the basin.

It consists of claystone, shale, siltstone, arenites, and coal seams and the plant fossils in it show a Jurassic age.

[13] The next layer of rocks in the basin forming a nested U shape in its exposure is the Kangaroo Creek Sandstone.

[2] Rifting along the east coast of Australia commenced and uplifted the eastern side of the Clarence Moreton Basin.