Lake Eyre

Pre-colonial and colonial history The lake lies mostly within the traditional lands of the Arabana people, for whom it holds deep spiritual significance in their Dreaming stories. in 1963 and 1964. On 17 July 1964 in the CN7 on the Lake Eyre salt flats, Campbell set a land speed record of for a four-wheeled vehicle (Class A). Campbell was disappointed with the record speed, as the vehicle had been designed for . Naming and ownership The lake was named by early colonists in South Australia in honour of Edward John Eyre, the first European to see it in 1840. It was officially renamed in December 2012 to include its Aboriginal name, Kati Thanda, in accordance with a policy of dual naming. Native title over the lake and much of the surrounding region is held by the Arabana people since a Federal Court ruling in 2012. Native title is held by the Dieri people over the eastern portion of the lake. ==Geography==

Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre is in the deserts of central Australia, in northern South Australia. Within the lake is the lowest natural point in Australia, at approximately below sea level. The altitude usually attributed to Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre refers to the deepest parts of the lake floor, in Belt Bay and the Madigan Gulf. The shoreline lies at . The lake is the area of maximum deposition of sediment in the Lake Eyre Basin. Lake Eyre is divided into two sections which are joined by the Goyder Channel. These are known as Lake Eyre North, which is in length and wide, and Lake Eyre South, which measures . The salt crusts are thickest—up to —in the southern Belt Bay, Jackboot Bay, and Madigan Gulf sub-basins of Lake Eyre North. ==Salinity and flooding==

The salinity in the lake increases as the salt crust dissolves over a period of six months of a major flood, resulting in a massive fish kill. When over deep, the lake is no saltier than the sea, but salinity increases as the water evaporates, with saturation occurring at about a depth. The lake takes on a pink hue when saturated, due to the presence of beta-carotene pigment caused by the alga Dunaliella salina. Flooding proposals Since 1883, proposals have been made to flood Lake Eyre with seawater brought to the basin via a canal or pipeline (such as the Bradfield Scheme). The purpose was, in part, to increase evaporation and thereby increase rainfall in the region downwind of an enlarged Lake Eyre. The added rainfall has been modelled as small. Due to the basin's low elevation below sea level and the region's high annual evaporation rate (between ), such schemes have generally been considered impractical, as it is likely that accumulation of salt deposits would rapidly block the engineered channel. At a rate of evaporation per day, a viaduct flowing a would supply enough water to create a sea. If brine water were not sent back to the ocean, it would precipitate of salt every year. Natural floods Typically a flood occurs every three years, a flood every decade, and a fill or near fill a few times a century. The water in the lake soon evaporates, with a minor or medium flood drying by the end of the following summer. Most of the water entering the lakes arrives via Warburton River. and 1999–2001, with the highest flood of in 1974. 1974 In 1974, the largest recorded historical lake filling in nearly 200 years occurred. 2009 to 2011 The 2009 Lake Eyre flood peaked at deep in late May, which is a quarter of its maximum recorded depth of . of water crossed the Queensland–South Australian border with most of it coming from massive floods in the Georgina River. However, owing to the very low rainfall in the lower reaches of these rivers (contrasting with heavy rainfall in the upper catchments), the greater proportion soaked into the desert or evaporated en route to the lake, leaving less than in the lake, which covered an area of , or 12% of the total. As the flood did not start filling the lake's deepest point (Belt Bay) until late March, little bird life appeared, preferring instead to nest in the upper reaches of the Lake Eyre Basin, north of Birdsville, where large lakes appeared in January as a result of monsoonal rain. The high rainfall in summer 2010 sent flood water into the Diamantina, Georgina, and Cooper Creek catchments of the Lake Eyre basin, with the Cooper Creek reaching the lake for the first time since 1990. The higher rainfall prompted many different birds to migrate back to the area for breeding. Heavy local rain in early March 2011 in the Stuart Creek and Warriner catchments filled Lake Eyre South, with Lake Eyre North about 75 per cent covered with water firstly from the Neales and Macumba Rivers, and later from the Warburton River. 2015 to 2016 In late 2015, water began flowing into Lake Eyre following heavy rain in the north-east of the state. 2019 ) of the lake, 2020 In late March 2019, floodwaters began arriving as a result of torrential rains in northern Queensland in January. In the past, the water had taken anywhere from three to 10 months to reach the lake, but this time it arrived in two. The first flooding would be closely followed by another surge, following rains produced by Cyclone Trevor. Traditional owners and graziers agree that it is essential that the river run its course and should not be harvested during floods, as any interference in the natural systems could damage the ecosystem. 2025 In April 2025 it was predicted that floodwaters from Queensland in late March, combined with local rainfall pre-filling parts of the lake, would result in the lake reaching its deepest levels in 15 years some time around late May to June. Upstream river levels have been higher than in previous flood events, with Birdsville reaching on Wednesday 9 April (higher than the 8.15 m in 2019), and Windorah recording flood levels approaching 1974's heights, that being Australia's wettest year on record. On 30 May 2025, the floodwaters were said to be the highest seen in Channel Country, and making their way into Kati Thanda. However, South Australia has had severe drought since 2024, and locals think that the lake is unlikely to reach the peak reached in 1974. ==Flora and fauna==

Phytoplankton in the lake includes Nodularia spumigena and a number of species of Dunaliella. Birds such as pelicans and banded stilts are drawn to a filled lake from southern coastal regions of Australia, and from as far afield as Papua New Guinea. During the 1989–1990 flood, it was estimated that 200,000 pelicans, 80% of Australia's total population, came to feed and roost at Lake Eyre. Scientists are presently unable to determine how such birds appear able to detect the filling of the lake, even when hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from the basin. ==Protected area status==

Statutory The extent of the lake is covered by two protected areas declared by the Government of South Australia: the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park and the Elliot Price Conservation Park. Non-statutory Wetlands Lake Eyre is on the list of wetlands of national importance known as A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. Important bird area Lake Eyre has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) known as the Lake Eyre Important Bird Area, because, when flooded, it supports major breeding events of the banded stilt and Australian pelican, as well as over 1% of the world populations of red-necked avocets, sharp-tailed sandpipers, red-necked stints, silver gulls and Caspian terns. ==Yacht club==

The Lake Eyre Yacht Club, headquartered in Marree, A number of trailer sailers sailed on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre in 1975, 1976, and 1984, when the flood depth reached . In July 2010 The Yacht Club held its first regatta since 1976 and its first on Lake Killamperpunna, a freshwater lake on Cooper Creek. The Cooper had reached Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre for the first time since 1990. It is estimated that these waters reach Lake Eyre roughly 8 years in 100. When the lake is full, a notable phenomenon is that around midday the surface can often become very flat. The surface then reflects the sky in a way that leaves both the horizon and water surface virtually impossible to see. The commodore of the Lake Eyre Yacht Club stated that sailing during this time has the appearance of sailing in the sky. ==See also==