The five largest lakes in Australia? Australia's largest lakes

lakes of australia

Almost all lakes in Australia are anhydrous basins covered with saline clays. Occasionally filled with water, they turn into shallow muddy reservoirs. There are many of them on the Western Plateau (Western Australia), but the largest of them are located in South Australia.

Currently, microbiologists are studying the characteristics of organisms living in salt lakes in the territory Western Australia. There is a theory that the conditions of life in these reservoirs are about the same as on Mars. Along southeast coast many lagoons with water varying degrees salinity. They are separated from the sea by shallows and ridges. The largest freshwater lakes are located in Tasmania.

Lake Eyre fills with water very rarely. At such a time it becomes the largest in Australia. This is the most low point on the mainland - 15 meters below sea level.

The lake is in the desert central australia. Its pool is a closed system. The lower part of the lake bed is covered with a dense saline layer of soil. Even in the dry season there is little water left. It accumulates in miniature lakes on the salt bed of the lake. During the rainy season, rivers from northeast Queensland carry their waters to Lake Eyre. There are even small floods. This happens when heavy rains fall in the surrounding areas.

The second largest closed drain on the continent salt Lake-Torrens. It is located in South Australia. Over the past century and a half, it has only once been completely filled with water. The lake is part of national parks. To visit it, a special permit is required.

Lake Frome is located in South Australia. It is large, drainless, shallow. It is covered with a crust of salt. Sometimes it is filled with water from the Strzelecki Creek. In the east, the lake borders on the Strzelecki Desert. There are two largest uranium deposits nearby. Endorheic Lake Gregory is located in the northeastern part of Western Australia.

It is freshwater, but after a few particularly dry years it can become salty. The lake is home to 174 species of invertebrates, crustaceans and fish. This figure is the highest among the lakes located in the arid zone of Australia. It is believed that the reason for this is prolonged flooding. fresh water. The lake is of great importance as a habitat and breeding ground for many water birds (terns, waders, cormorants, etc.).

Not far from the East Kimberley (Western Australia) is the artificial lake Argyle. It irrigates about 150 km of agricultural land. It has 26 species of freshwater fish. The most valuable of them are barramundi, bony bream, sleepy cod. Approximately 25,000 crocodiles live here. Lake Hillier is a small miracle of the Middle Island, one of the many islands of the archipelago. south coast Western Australia.

The lake, bordered by a belt of snow-white salt, seems magical. It is surrounded by various types of eucalyptus trees. The lake is unusual because of its bright pink color. It is preserved even when water is collected in a container. Previously, scientists thought that the cause of the strange coloration was algae. However, studies have shown this theory to be false. There are no algae in the lake at all. riddle rose water yet to be unraveled.

Almost in the very center of Tasmania, Great Lake is located. It, like the nearby lakes Eco and St. Clair, is one of the sources of the Derwent, the main river of the island. These bodies of water are very different from "typically Australian". They lurk in the depths of the mountains, bordered by wild rocks with formidable jagged ridges and surprisingly resemble picturesque lakes Switzerland and Scotland.

Far, far away, in the south of Australia is its lowest point - Lake Eyre, the second name of which sounds like Kati-Tanga. AND main feature of this reservoir is that it geographically occupies more than 9500 square kilometers, which automatically makes it the most big lake Australia.

It is noteworthy that Air or Kati-Tanga is considered not only the largest, but also the most saline lake in Australia, and this phenomenon is explained quite simply, because we are talking about a closed system with saline dense soil at the bottom, located in a desert area where precipitation is extremely rarely. That is why the largest lake in Australia is entirely dependent on rains, occasionally raising its level from a critical level of minus 16 meters above sea level, which can be observed at the time of the next long-term drainage of the reservoir.

Even if the weather spoils this desert area with heavy rains, the maximum water level in Lake Eyre never exceeds minus 9 meters above sea level, as a result of which this point is considered the lowest on the Australian continent. This feature leads to the fact that the lake gradually shallows and dries up, becoming saltier and saltier. And even today you can see the picture of how once one large lake was divided into two parts: Air North, in the north and Air South in the south, which are still united by a thin narrow strait called the Goyder channel. It is noteworthy that a similar situation occurs at another low point on the planet - at the Dead Sea, which is also a salt lake of a closed type, gradually divided into two parts and continues to dry up rapidly.

However, a complete analogy between these two salt lakes is still not visible, since during the rainy season the monsoon can provoke a rapid flow of rivers located in the northwestern part of the Australian state of Queensland towards Eyre, as a result of which in this desert area can even small floods occur. And even in the longest dry periods, the surface of this unique reservoir never dries up completely and on the resulting snow-white salt bed you can always observe small islands of lake water, which over time necessarily increase in volume due to precipitation or river flows. As for the history of this wonderful reservoir, its discovery dates back to 1840, because it was then that it was discovered by the Australian explorer Edward John Eyre (a little later, the reservoir was named after its discoverer).

It is noteworthy that this researcher went on another expedition, pursuing completely different goals (he wanted to find new way to the city of Perth), when he suddenly noticed how much another Lake Torrens, well known at that time to local residents, was crushing. Having gone inland along the route, Edward Air suddenly stumbled upon another salt lake, in which a critically low water level was also observed, and since then the rest of the inhabitants of the continent have finally learned about the existence of Air. If we talk about modern history reservoir, today we can safely say that it is very popular, not only among local residents, but also among tourists coming from different parts of the world who prefer non-standard holidays.

So, during the period of high water on the surface of lake waters, you can easily ride boats, so locals built a fairly prestigious yacht club on the coast of Eyre. However, it is not only about entertainment, because this lake has truly cosmic landscapes, which you can admire both from the shore and by making a panoramic flight by helicopter.

Each of us would like to see something new, unusual, to know the world every day and strive for something new, beautiful. The lakes of Australia can be that beautiful for you. At all local flora and fauna, as well as landscape features attract tourists, adventurers and simply connoisseurs of beauty from all over the world.

Amazing lakes in Australia

Look at the photos of Australian lakes on our website and see for yourself! Therefore, Australia is worth a visit to anyone who wants to get into new world, which is different from the gray everyday life of a dusty city. List amazing places is very large all over the world, but today we will tell you about the two largest lakes in Australia: Hiller and Eyre.

pink lake

Lake Hillier

A great place for connoisseurs of everything beautiful and unusual is the pink Lake Hillier in Australia. I would like to tell you a little about this lake.

Lake Hillier in Australia was discovered in 1802 along with the island of Middle Island on which it is located. For the first time, a pink lake in Australia was seen during an expedition by the British navigator Matthew Flinders. He saw it from the top of the island and was struck by its extraordinary beauty.

Lake Hillier is called pink for a reason. It really has pink color of waters. Scientists, since the beginning of the twentieth century, have been struggling with the mystery of the amazing color of this lake. At first it was believed that the pink color of the lake gives the special composition of the salt that fills the lake, but the theory was not confirmed, leaving scientists even more mysteries.

Salt was even mined on this lake at the beginning of the 20th century, but after 6 years it was stopped for reasons that are not entirely clear. Perhaps for environmental reasons, or, more likely, because of the poor payback of production. Later there was a theory that the pink color of the waters was the result of the glow of microorganisms that live only in this lake. But this theory was refuted in the middle of the twentieth century.

Scientists are still trying to solve the mystery pink lake Hiller, but so far their efforts have been unsuccessful. How many more places on our planet that defy human logic and conventional scientific approaches. This is a real scope for discoveries and research both for the whole world as a whole and for each person in particular. However, tourists will have to be disappointed, whose wallets cannot always boast big amount large bills. There is no water navigation in this area, and the most convenient way get to this lake air Transport, which will cost dearly to everyone.

Lake Eyre

The largest lake in Australia is Lake Eyre, Australia is famous for this lake because it has one very unusual property - it dries up and recovers depending on the season. It can fill up to 9 meters below sea level, and in times of particularly severe droughts, drop to 7 meters, and this will be the lowest point in the entire country. This is really the largest lake in Australia, because at the time of flooding and floods that bring the northern monsoons here, the area of \u200b\u200bthe lake reaches 9,500 square kilometers.

The lake was first discovered in 1840 and named after the discoverer Edward John Eyre. This largest lake in Australia is located in the center of the continent. One more interesting feature of this lake is that it consists of two parts, which are connected by a small strait. In seasons of especially severe droughts, there is still some water left in the lake, which accumulates in small lakes at the bottom of the lake. During the rainy season, the lake is filled with water that flows in its direction, and it is the amount of precipitation that determines how deep and large the lake will be this year.

Race trials at Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre is probably the driest and saltiest lake in the world, as during the dry seasons it is more like a desert and the layer of salt in it reaches four meters in thickness. Gradually, the lake fills with water and the salt begins to dissolve, but until the end the lake is filled only a few times in a century, which makes it practically uninhabitable in terms of the presence of inhabitants sea depths. If at a time when the water is still relatively fresh, there is still fish there, then in dry seasons it dies out completely. This lake is a completely self-sufficient ecosystem. At times of flooding, the lake has everything that is necessary to maintain flora and fauna even in the harsh desert conditions.

In every season the lake becomes special and the right people for different purposes. In flood seasons, it is a blooming oasis that attracts with a variety of forms and species. And in the dry season, an excellent track for speed records opens here. A perfectly flat surface, polished with water and slightly rough, allows you to achieve the best grip on the track and develop top speed any vehicle over a long stretch of several tens of kilometers. It was here that the famous racing driver David Campbell set the speed record.

These largest lakes in Australia are quite easy to find on the map, which means that your trip can begin in the next few days! The desire for beauty is the best aspiration of a person in his life.

Almost all the lakes of the state of Australia look like waterless basins covered with clay. They are rarely filled with water and then they already begin to look like shallow reservoirs. There are many such objects in the western part of Australia, the largest in the south.

Now microbiologists are studying microorganisms that live in the salt lakes of western Australia. There is a theory that these microorganisms live in the same conditions as on Mars. southeastern part mainland contains a large number of lagoons, they are different in salinity. Fresh lakes large size located on the island of Tasmania.

Lake Eyre is deprived of water. But when filled with water, it becomes the largest on the mainland. The deepest place is 15 meters deep. There is a lake in the central part of Australia - this is an indoor pool. In the lower part there are saline soils, even during a drought, water remains on the surface due to the fact that it lingers in tiny lakes in the lake bed. During the rains from the northeast of Queensland, rivers bring water, so there are floods, if you add short showers here.

Torrens is the second largest lake on the continent. It is drainless and is located in the south of the mainland. For the last 150 years, it has only been filled with water once. Torrens refers to national parks, so you can get here with the permission of the authorities.

Lake Frome is located in the south of the continent. It's huge drainless lake, is also deprived of water and the surface is covered with salt. Strzelecki Creek is the only source of water, so Frome sometimes fills up with water.

Gregory is a lake in the northeastern part of Western Australia - it is freshwater, but if the drought continues, it will most likely become salty. 174 species of invertebrates, fish and crayfish live here. This figure is the highest among all dry lakes in Australia. Proved that it is because of the abundance fresh water. You can also meet water birds, and in a large number of waders, terns, cormorants and others.

Argyle is located in Western Australia - this is an artificial lake where 26 species of freshwater fish live: sleepy cod, bony bream and others. Thanks to this lake, up to 150 kilometers of agricultural land is irrigated. Walking here is quite dangerous - there are more than 25 thousand crocodiles on the territory.

On the island of Tasmania, in the very center is Great Lake - this is a lake that is located near other, smaller Ecos and St. Clair. Great Lake is a tributary of the Derwent, big river islands. These are quite original lakes - they are located in the depths of the mountains and they are protected by formidable and sharp rocks. In some ways, this place resembles Switzerland or even Scotland.

Location of Australian rivers

However, if this mainland island were absolutely waterless, it would hardly have been able to boast of at least some kind of living creatures and vegetation, and people would not have mastered it. So there are reservoirs here.

Another thing is that the rivers of Australia are mostly concentrated in the southeast of the country. It spills here most of rains that fall on the mainland. That is why everything flows here major rivers Australia, among which the main one is the Murray, moreover, with the attached tributary Darling. This system begins with the peaks of the mountains, called the Great Dividing Range, and despite the arid climate, it never dries up completely. This is due to the fact that Murray is fed not only by rainwater, but also by snow, which has chosen the peaks of the indicated ridge and regularly melts at the right time. It is this watercourse that can be called full-flowing and navigable, because it (and this is unlike the rest of the rivers of Australia) is accessible even for fairly heavy ships all year round. Recall that this is by no means typical for the described part of the land.

It should be clarified that the navigability of Murray, despite the fact that he belongs to the category of " big rivers Australia", concerns only the lower thousand kilometers (despite the fact that the total length of the river is more than two and a half thousand). And for the deep-seated sea vessels Murray is generally inaccessible: it is replete with sandy shoals, and they block off the mouth. So ships with low draft cannot enter it.

Features of Australian rivers

As everyone who remembers at least something from geography lessons knows, all the rivers of the world must flow somewhere. Usually it is the sea or ocean. But the rivers of Australia distinguished themselves here too. Most of the available reservoirs do not have a runoff into the ocean. Moreover, they can generally be called a non-constant value. The vast majority of the water arteries on this mainland are the drying rivers of Australia. That is, they fill with water during brief but heavy rains, overflow, flooding the surroundings, and again become dry channels.

No less interesting is that some of the major rivers and lakes of Australia (especially the latter) contain salt water. Actually, we can say that on this continent the problem is not with water, but with its fresh variety.

River Darling

This water artery is something between the Murray and other rivers. It does not have additional "nutrition" in the form of melting snow caps - its source is located much north of the "big brother". Like the rest of the rivers of Australia, the Darling is on a "dry ration" and mainly renews its waters due to rainfall. However, this is a rather large waterway, which also has underground power sources. So in the dry months this river becomes much shallower, but does not dry up completely.

australian cries

This word does not mean loud sounds made by any living creature. This is the name of small and, one might say, temporary rivulets (streams) that exist during the rainy season and are completely dry during the heat months. They are characteristic of desert areas inland, the most famous of them is Cooper Creek. It is impossible to say that the screams are the equal rivers of Australia, but they play their role in its existence.

lake system

There are very few lakes in Australia. Moreover, as already mentioned, they are salty. The largest Australian lake with the name Eyre is also by no means fresh. All such bodies of water are the former inland sea in Australia. All of them are below ocean level, so it is not at all surprising that they do not please with fresh water. The rivers and lakes of Australia are closely connected. It is the river flowing waters that feed the lakes, and since they are not enough, these reservoirs also dry up. That is why the coastal lake line does not have a clear outline. In the dry season, Australian lakes are more like our clay quarries. And even the most big lake Australia (Air) in the hot months breaks up into a large number of small ponds.

Overview of Australian lakes

Air, as it was said - the largest of them. In the rainy season, it is filled with water, at the very deep place its bottom drops to 15 meters. This lake is closed. Water is removed from it only by evaporation. This does not apply to rare but heavy downpours, during which Eir can even burst its banks and flood the surrounding area. It should be noted that the large rivers and lakes of Australia are strongly interconnected, and without the first, the second long years (or even decades) stand empty bowls.

The next largest lake is Torrens. It also does not have a drain, it is located in southern Australia. It is unique in that over the past century and a half it has only been filled with water once. Represents national park, so you can "visit" him only with special permission.

Also in the south, Lake Frome is equally salty and also devoid of runoff. However, there is one of the screams nearby (with the unpronounceable name Strzelecki), so this reservoir has water much more often than the previous one.

In the northeast of Western Australia there is almost the only Gregory. Scientists, however, suspect that the drought will affect it over time, like the rest of the rivers and lakes of Australia, that is, it will become salty and will rarely fill with water. So far, Gregory is the most inhabited and rich in flora and fauna lake in Australia (precisely due to freshwater).

man-made lake

Western Australia also boasts an artificial body of water called Argyle. Due to it live and feed the Australians 150 kilometers of agriculture. Fishing is also good here: unlike other Australian lakes, there are many fish here, among which there are also valuable species, including sleepy cod (it is loved by fishermen and connoisseurs of fish dishes more than others), barramundi and bony bream. And in general, there are as many as 26 species of fish here, which for this mainland can be considered a kind of achievement. True, fishing (and just walking) along the banks of the Argyle should be done very carefully: 25,000 crocodiles are a good reason to be vigilant.

Of course, many lovers of scale may not be impressed: the large rivers and lakes of Australia are probably not as majestic as they would like. But do not forget that Australia itself is small (when compared with the continents).

List of Australian rivers

To be honest, the list of everything that can be categorized as "rivers of Australia" on the map has 70 points. However, it is hardly worth paying attention to Prospect Creek, which flows for only 17 kilometers, or Lane Cove, which does not even reach this distance (its length in the rainy season is only 15 km). There are rivers of even shorter length - the same Queen, which does not pull even up to 13 km. It is clear that for the "drying" mainland, even though it belongs to the category of "drying rivers of Australia", it is of value. But we will not consider it in detail. Let us dwell only on those that can be roughly classified as "large rivers of Australia".

What are the major rivers in Australia? Adelaide - in the north of the mainland, stretches as much as 180 km, and even navigable. Gascoigne is the longest artery in the west, almost a thousand kilometers (978), and also has a drain in Flinders - the winner in the length of the state of Queensland, flows for 1004 km. Loklan, which made happy 1339 km of Australian territory and flows into the Murrumbidgee. And the Murrumbidgee itself, which reaches almost one and a half thousand kilometers (for the corrosive - 1485), and besides, it is one of the few river objects where it was possible to build a dam.

Very ancient history

From all of the above, it is easy to conclude that Australians are very sensitive to water in general, and to fresh water in particular. Research, searches and historical information - this is what the inhabitants of the miniature mainland take very seriously. And even if at the moment the results of the studies do not have practical use, the Australians are interested in them ... and the beneficial consequences can wait.

Such findings include recent research conducted by the Smithsonian Institution in collaboration with National University Australia. Scientists have created unique software, studied everything they got from previous researchers, and conducted their own intelligence "on the ground."

The result of the study was a map of the oldest distribution of waters on Australian soil. And since tectonic stability on this continent was established earlier, there is an option to track the "hidden" waters using these studies.

Let's make a reservation: many geologists do not trust the results too much and refute them using other data. But it is not yet possible to fully protest them, so Australia can, using unverified information, try to enrich itself with additional water resources.

Alternative sources of drinking water

From all of the above, it is clear that Australia is in dire need of fresh water. Neither rivers (most of which dry up) nor lakes (most of which are almost marine) provide it with the necessary amount of unsalted water. Therefore, the state was forced to turn to alternative sources that can provide what is missing.

Certainly, The groundwater- not a panacea. The content of sulfur in them (both pure and in compounds) is too high, but there is often no other source of fresh water.

The good news is that under Australia there is a Great artesian pool. The bad news is that it will eventually end too. And this continent already now has to think about what its inhabitants will do next.