Editing Lake Eyre

{{Short description|Endorheic lake in South Australia}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{distinguish|Lake Erie}}
{{other uses}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox body of water
 |name = Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre
 |image = NEO lake eyre big.jpg
 |image_size = 280
 | alt = An infrared satellite photo of Lake Eyre
 |pushpin_map=South Australia
 |pushpin_map_alt = A map of South Australia with a mark indicating the location of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre
 |caption = Composite [[Landsat 7]] satellite image in 1999 using shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and blue wavelengths
 |image_bathymetry = Lake eyre basin map.png
 |bathymetry_size = 280
 |caption_bathymetry = Map of the [[Lake Eyre basin]]
 |location = [[Far North (South Australia)|Far North]], [[South Australia]]
 |coords = {{coord|28|40|S|137|20|E|region:AU-SA_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
 |lake_type = [[Ancient lake]], [[Endorheic]]
 |inflow = [[Warburton River]]
 |catchment = 
 |basin_countries = Australia
 |length = 
 |width = 
 |area = {{convert|9500|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} (max)
 |depth = {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} (every 3 years), {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} (every decade)
 |max-depth =
 |volume = 
 |residence_time = 
 |shore = 
 |elevation = {{convert|-9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} {{small|(shoreline when full)}};<br />{{convert|-15|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} {{small|(lowest point when empty)}}
 |islands = 
 |cities = 
}}
'''Lake Eyre''' ({{IPAc-en|ɛər}} {{respell|AIR}}), officially known as '''Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre''',<ref name=Tradname>{{cite news|title=New name adopted for outback Lake Eyre|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=24 February 2019|orig-date=Originally published 18 December 2012|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-19/new-name-adopted-for-outback-lake-eyre/4436212|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> is an [[endorheic lake]] in the east-central part of the [[Far North (South Australia)|Far North]] region of [[South Australia]], some {{convert|700|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north of [[Adelaide]]. It is the largest ephemeral playa on the Australian continent. The shallow lake is the [[depocentre]] of the vast endorheic [[Lake Eyre basin]], and contains the lowest natural point in Australia, at approximately {{convert|15|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[below sea level]].<!-- ([[Australian Height Datum|AHD]])--> The lake is most often empty.  On the rare occasions that it fills completely, it is the largest lake in Australia, covering an area of up to {{convert|9500|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}. When the lake is full, it has the same [[salinity]] as [[seawater]], but becomes [[hypersaline lake|hypersaline]] as the lake dries up and the water evaporates.

The lake was named 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 Australian|Aboriginal]] name, '''Kati Thanda''', in accordance with a policy of [[dual naming]].<ref name="Tradname"/> The [[Native title in Australia|native title]] over the lake and surrounding region is held by the [[Arabana people]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2012/2012fca0519|title=Dodd v State of South Australia [2012] FCA 519|date=22 May 2012|publisher=[[Federal Court of Australia]]|accessdate=18 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-22/native-title-arbana-hearing/4025738|title=Federal Court awards native title over Lake Eyre|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=22 May 2012|orig-date=Originally published 21 May 2012|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>  The lake is one of the most important for waterbirds in Australia.<ref name="wfncc">{{cite journal |last1=Kingsford |first1=R.T |last2=Curtin |first2=A.L |last3=Porter |first3=J |date=May 1999 |title=Water flows on Cooper Creek in arid Australia determine ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ periods for waterbirds |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320798000986 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=231-248 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(98)00098-6 |access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref>  To the north of the lake is the [[Simpson Desert]].

==Geography==
[[File:LakeEyreSaltCrust.JPG|thumb|left|Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre salt crust]]
[[File:Lake eyre.JPG|thumb|Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre seen from an aircraft, showing pink colouration from algae]]
[[File:Lake Eyre.JPG|thumb|Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre South]]
Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre is in the [[Deserts of Australia|deserts]] of [[central Australia]], in northern South Australia. The Lake Eyre Basin is a large [[Endorheic basin|endorheic]] system surrounding the lakebed, the lowest part of which is filled with the characteristic [[salt pan (geology)|salt pan]] caused by the seasonal expansion and subsequent [[evaporation]] of the trapped waters. Even in the [[dry season]], there is usually some water remaining in Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, normally collecting in over 200 smaller sub-lakes within its margins. The lake was formed by [[aeolian processes]] after tectonic [[Anticline|upwarping]] occurred to the south subsequent to the end of the [[Pleistocene]] epoch.<ref name="lhlrr"/>

During the [[Wet season|rainy season]], rivers from the north-east part of the Lake Eyre Basin—in [[outback]] (south-west and central) Queensland—flow towards the lake through the [[Channel Country]]. The amount of water from the [[monsoon]] determines whether water will reach the lake and, if it does, how deep the lake will get. The average rainfall in the area of the lake is {{convert|100|to|150|mm}} per year.<ref name="lhlrr">{{cite book|title=The Lakes Handbook, Volume 2: Lake Restoration and Rehabilitation|last1=Reynolds|first1=C. S.|last2=O'Sullivan|first2=Patrick|year=2008|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1405141109|pages=233–235}}</ref>

The {{convert|-15|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|-9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523201740/http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/oce/oce-04.html|url=http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/oce/oce-04.html|archive-date=23 May 2012|title=LAKE EYRE|website=International Lake Environment Committee}}</ref> The lake is the area of maximum deposition of sediment in the Lake Eyre Basin.<ref name="dde">{{cite book|title=Deserts and Desert Environments|last=Laity|first=Julie J.|year=2009|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1444300741|page=112}}</ref>

Lake Eyre is divided into two sections which are joined by the Goyder Channel. These are known as Lake Eyre North, which is {{convert|144|km}} in length and {{convert|65|km}} wide, and Lake Eyre South, which measures {{convert|65|by|24|km}}.<ref name="law">{{cite book|title=Lakes and Wetlands|last=Rafferty|first=John P.|year=2011|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing|The Rosen Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-1615303205|page=186}}</ref> The salt crusts are thickest—up to {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}}—in the southern Belt Bay, Jackboot Bay and Madigan Gulf sub-basins of Lake Eyre North.<ref>{{cite book|title=Natural History of the North East Deserts|chapter=Lake Eyre|last=Dulhunty|first=J. A.|publisher=[[Royal Society of South Australia]]|year=1990|editor1-last=Tyler|editor1-first=Michael J.|editor2-last=Twidale|editor2-first=C. R.|editor2-link=Charles Rowland Twidale|editor3-last=Davis|editor3-first=M.|editor4-last=Wells|editor4-first=C. B.|url=https://www.rssa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/nh_north_east_deserts.pdf|isbn=0-9596627-5-8|pages=101–104}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Macro-engineering Australia’s Lake Eyre with imported seawater|last1=Badescu|first1=Viorel|last2=Cathcart|first2=Richard B.|last3=Bolonkin|first3=Alexander A.|last4=Paulescu|first4=Marius|last5=Gravila|first5=Paul|pages=264–284|date=June 2013|journal=International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development|volume=12|number=2|doi=10.1504/IJESD.2013.054956|issn=1474-6778}}</ref> The added rainfall has been modelled as small.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The rainfall response to permanent inland water in Australia|url=http://www.cmar.csiro.au/e-print/internal/mcgregor_x2004a.pdf|last1=Hope|first=Pandora K.|last2=Nicholls|first2=Neville|last3=McGregor|first3=John L.|date=December 2004|journal=[[Bureau of Meteorology|Australian Meteorological Magazine]]|volume=53|number=4|pages=251–262|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> Due to the basin's low elevation below sea level and the region's high annual evaporation rate (between {{convert|2500|and|3500|mm}}<ref>{{cite book|title=A Natural History of the Lake Eyre Region: A Visitor's Guide|last1=Badman|first1=Frank J.|last2=Arnold|first2=Brenton K.|last3=Bell|first3=Sharon L.|year=1991|publisher=[[National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia|National Parks and Wildlife Service]]'s Northern Consultative Committee|page=1|isbn=0646071831}}</ref>), such schemes have generally been considered impractical, as it is likely that accumulation of salt deposits would rapidly block the engineered channel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27516822|title=The Plan To Fill Lake Eyre|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|page=2|via=[[Trove]]|date=27 May 1954|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> At a rate of {{convert|1|cm|abbr=on}} evaporation per day, a {{convert|3|m|abbr=on}} viaduct flowing a {{convert|0.5|m/s|abbr=on}} would supply enough water to create a {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} sea. If brine water were not sent back to the ocean, it would precipitate {{convert|90000|LT}} of salt every year.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}}

==Salinity==
The [[Salinity in Australia|salinity]] in the lake increases as the {{convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} salt crust dissolves over a period of six months of a major flood, resulting in a massive [[fish kill]]. When over {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep, the lake is no saltier than the [[World Ocean|sea]], but salinity increases as the water evaporates, with [[Saturated solution|saturation]] occurring at about a {{convert|500|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} depth. The lake takes on a pink hue when saturated, due to the presence of [[beta-carotene]] pigment caused by the [[alga]] ''[[Dunaliella salina]]''.

== History ==
[[Wangkangurru]] (also known as Arabana/Wangkangurru, Wangganguru, Wanggangurru, or Wongkangurru) is an [[Australian Aboriginal languages|Australian Aboriginal language]] spoken on Wangkangurru country. It is closely related to [[Arabana language]] of [[South Australia]]. The Wangkangurru language region was traditionally in the South Australian-Queensland border region taking in [[Birdsville]] and extending south towards [[Innamincka, South Australia|Innamincka]] and Kati Thanda, including the local government areas of the [[Shire of Diamantina]] as well as the [[Outback Communities Authority]] of South Australia''.<ref>{{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/178|title=Wangkangurru|website=Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map|access-date=23 January 2020}}</ref>''

==Floods==
[[File:Eyre lake map of the shape and depth (bathymetry) 2020.jpg|thumb|Map of the shape and depth (bathymetry) of the Eyre lake, 2020]]
Typically a {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} flood occurs every three years, a {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 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]].<ref name="lhlrr"/> 1974 was the largest recorded historical lake filling in nearly 200 years.<ref name="aibm">{{cite journal |last1=Leon |first1=J.X. |last2=Cohen |first2=T.J. |date=1 November 2012 |title=An improved bathymetric model for the modern and palaeo Lake Eyre |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169555X12002681 |journal=Geomorphology |volume=173–174 |pages=69-79 |doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.05.029 |access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref>

In strong [[La Niña]] years, the lake can fill. Since 1885, this has occurred in 1886–1887, 1889–1890, 1916–1917, [[1950 Australian rainfall records|1950]], 1955, 1974–1977,<ref>{{cite book|last=Allan|first=Robert J.|title=The Australasian Summer Monsoon, Teleconnections, and Flooding in the Lake Eyre Basin|year=1985|publisher=[[Royal Geographical Society of Australasia]]|isbn=0-909112-09-6|issn=0811-6504}}</ref> and 1999–2001,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/2000/|title=BIG WET PRODUCES COOLEST YEAR SINCE 1984|publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]]|date=3 January 2001|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> with the highest flood of {{convert|6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in 1974. Local rain can also fill Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre to {{convert|3|–|4|m|ft|abbr=on}}, as occurred in 1984 and 1989. Torrential rain in January 2007 took about six weeks to reach the lake but only placed a small amount of water into it.<ref name ="ABC8March2007">{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-03-08/lake-eyre-flooding-attracts-yachting-club-interest/2211856|title=Lake Eyre flooding attracts yachting club interest|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=7 March 2007|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

When recently flooded, the lake is almost fresh, and native freshwater fish, including [[bony bream]] (''Nematolosa erebi''), the Lake Eyre Basin sub-species of [[golden perch]] (''Macquaria ambigua'') and various small [[Craterocephalus|hardyhead]] species (''Craterocephalus'' spp.) can survive in it.

===2009 to 2011===
[[File:STS035-502-4.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Eyre in 1990, as seen from the [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']]]]
The 2009 Lake Eyre flood peaked at {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep in late May, which is a quarter of its maximum recorded depth of {{convert|6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. {{convert|9|km3|cumi|0|abbr=on}} 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),<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/annual_sum/2009/AnClimSum09_HR1.1.pdf|title=Annual Climate Summary 2009|publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]]|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> the greater proportion soaked into the desert or evaporated en route to the lake, leaving less than {{convert|4|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} in the lake, which covered an area of {{convert|800|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The high rainfall in summer 2010 sent flood water into the [[Diamantina River|Diamantina]], [[Georgina River|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lake Eyre floods again|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515222926/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/lake-eyre-floods-again.htm/|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/lake-eyre-floods-again.htm/|archive-date=15 May 2013|date=15 July 2010|last=Baker|first=Rebecca|website=[[Australian Geographic]]}}</ref>

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 River|Neales]] and [[Macumba River|Macumba]] Rivers, and later from the [[Warburton River]].<ref>{{cite news|date=8 March 2011|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-09/flooding-and-storms-fill-outback-lake/2663296|title=Flooding and storms fill outback lake|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

=== 2015 to 2016 ===
In late 2015, water began flowing into Lake Eyre following heavy rain in the north-east of the state.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lake Eyre begins filling with water after South Australian outback gets soaking rains|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-02/lake-eyre-begins-filling-with-water-after-soaking-rains/7064248|last=Opie|first=Rebecca|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=1 January 2016|access-date=28 March 2023|language=en-AU}}</ref>

===2019===

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 [[2018–19 Australian region cyclone season#Severe Tropical Cyclone Trevor|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]].<ref name=ABCflood>{{cite news|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-09/lake-eyre-is-a-wild-river-system-left-to-run-its-course/11035506|title=Lake Eyre in Central Australia is filling in a way not seen for 45 years|series=''[[7.30]]''|last=Schwartz|first=Dominique|author-link=Dominique Schwartz|date=21 May 2019|orig-date=Originally published 8 May 2019|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

=== 2025 ===
{{As of|2025|April|11}} 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |author=Saunders, Tom  |date=11 April 2025 |title=Floodwaters to create Australia's largest lake in 15 years |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-12/floodwaters-kati-thanda-lake-eyre-water-fill-largest-lake/105157580 |access-date=19 April 2025 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> Upstream river levels have been higher than in previous flood events, with [[Birdsville]] reaching {{convert|8.75|m}} on Wednesday 9&nbsp;April (higher than the 8.15 m in 2019), and [[Windorah]] recording flood levels approaching 1974s heights, that being Australia's wettest year on record.<ref name=":0" />

==Yacht club==
The Lake Eyre Yacht Club is a dedicated group of sailors who sail on the lake's floods, including recent trips in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lakeeyreyc.com/|title=Lake Eyre Yacht Club|website=Lake Eyre Yacht Club|last=Backway|first=Bob|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> A number of {{convert|6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[trailer sailer]]s sailed on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre in 1975, 1976, and 1984, when the flood depth reached {{convert|3|–|6|m|ft|abbr=on}}. In July 2010 The Yacht Club held its first regatta since 1976<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lakepedia.com/lake/eyre.html|title=Lake Eyre - 9,690 km2 - Facts, Map, Activities|website=Lakepedia|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lake Eyre Facts|url=https://traveloutbackaustralia.com/lake-eyre-facts.html/|website=Travel Outback Australia|author=Amanda|access-date=28 March 2023|language=en-AU}}</ref> It is estimated that these waters reach Lake Eyre roughly 8 years in 100.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kingsford|first1=R. T.|last2=Curtin|first2=A. L.|last3=Porter|first3=J.|date=May 1999|title=Water flows on Cooper Creek in arid Australia determine 'boom' and 'bust' periods for waterbirds|journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]]|volume=88|issue=2|pages=231–248|doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(98)00098-6|issn=0006-3207}}</ref>

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 has stated that sailing during this time has the appearance of sailing in the sky.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tinson|first=Sam|title=Dry country|url=http://www.sailsmagazine.com.au/j/index.php/livenews/101-dry-country|access-date=30 March 2017|work=Sails Magazine|issue=7|date=May 2011|language=en-gb|quote="Often you get becalmed in the middle of the lake at midday, and the surface is like a mirror, the water and the sky become one. You get a light sea fog and it’s almost like you’re floating in a cloud. It’s a very beautiful thing."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331120051/http://www.sailsmagazine.com.au/j/index.php/livenews/101-dry-country|archive-date=31 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Land speed record attempts==
[[File:EyreCampbellPlaque.JPG|thumb|Campbell plaque at Level Post Bay]]

Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre has been a site for various [[land speed record]] attempts on its [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]], similar to those found in the [[Bonneville Salt Flats]], especially those by [[Donald Campbell]] with the [[Bluebird-Proteus CN7]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Bluebird and the Dead Lake: The Classic Account of How Donald Campbell Broke the World Land Speed Record|last=Pearson|first=John|author-link=John Pearson (author)|year=2002|publisher=[[The Quarto Group|Aurum]]|isbn=9781854108364}}</ref> in 1963 and 1964.

On 17 July 1964 in the CN7 on the Lake Eyre salt flats, Campbell set a land speed record of {{convert|403.10|mph|abbr=on}} for a four-wheeled vehicle (Class A). Campbell was disappointed with the record speed as the vehicle had been designed for {{convert|500|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="guinness-lsr-1964-19aug2015">{{cite web |last1=Dimery |first1=Rob |title=1964: Land Speed Record |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/8/60/1964-land-speed-record-392989 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |access-date=15 May 2025 |date=19 August 2015}}</ref>

==Biota==
Phytoplankton in the lake includes ''[[Nodularia|Nodularia spumigena]]'' and a number of species of ''[[Dunaliella]]''.<ref name="lhlrr"/>

===Birds===
Birds such as [[Australian pelican|pelicans]] and [[banded stilt]]s 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.<ref name="wdrwsg">{{cite book |title=Why Does the World Stay Green?: Nutrition and Survival of Plant-eaters|last=White|first=T. C. R.|year=2005|publisher=[[CSIRO Publishing]]|isbn=0643099816|page=88}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-06/birds-set-to-return-to-lake-eyre-to-breed/7069228?section=sa|title=Birds set to return to Lake Eyre to breed as inland lakes fills with water|last=Fantin|first=Elise|agency=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=5 January 2016|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

==Protected area status==

===Statutory===
The extent of the lake is covered by two [[protected area]]s declared by the [[Government of South Australia]]: the [[Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park]] and the [[Elliot Price Conservation Park]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park|url=https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/docs/kati-thanda-lake-eyre-national-park/kati-thanda-lake-eyre-national-park-park-map.pdf?v=1610572436|publisher=[[Department for Environment and Water (South Australia)|Department for Environment and Water]]|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

===Non-statutory===

====Wetlands====
Lake Eyre is on the list of wetlands of national importance known as [[A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morelli|first1=Josephine|last2=de Jong|first2=Mark C.|title=[[A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia]]|chapter=9. South Australia|editor1-last=Larmour|editor1-first=Geoff|editor2-last=Young|editor2-first=Sarah|date=2001|publisher=[[Department of the Environment and Heritage|Environment Australia]]|isbn=978-0-642-54721-7|page=78|edition=Third|chapter-url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/directory-ch9.pdf|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

====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 avocet]]s, [[sharp-tailed sandpiper]]s, [[red-necked stint]]s, [[silver gull]]s and [[Caspian tern]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-eyre-iba-australia/text|title=Lake Eyre|year=2008|website=BirdLife Data Zone|publisher=[[BirdLife International]]|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The Lake featured in the 1953 radio play ''[[The Happy Hippopotamus]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231010736 |title=Plays and Players |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=13,433 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 February 1953 |accessdate=10 October 2023 |page=10 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Australia|Lakes}}}}
* [[Lake Torrens]]
* [[List of lakes by area]]
* [[List of lakes of Australia]]
* [[List of bodies of water by salinity]]
* [[List of prehistoric lakes]]
* [[List of places on land with elevations below sea level]]
* [[List of extreme points of Australia]]
* [[Pluvial lake]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Lake Eyre}}

* {{cite web|format=video|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510172801/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-09/the-re-birth-of-lake-eyre/11099272|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-09/the-re-birth-of-lake-eyre/11099272|archive-date=10 May 2019|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|series=''[[7.30]]''|title=The re-birth of Lake Eyre|first=Dominique|last=Schwartz|author-link=Dominique Schwartz|date=9 May 2019}}
* {{cite book|title=Floods of Lake Eyre|last=Kotwicki|first=Vincent|year=1986|publisher=[[SA Water|Engineering and Water Supply Department]]|isbn=0724374582}}
** {{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231746/http://www.k26.com/eyre/|url=http://www.k26.com/eyre/|archive-date=3 March 2016|title=Floods of Lake Eyre|last=Kotwicki|first=Vincent}}
* {{cite AV media|people=Angus, Michael; Fredericks, Murray|title=[[Salt (2009 film)|Salt]]|date=20 February 2009}}
* {{cite web|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/38994/lake-eyre-filling-peaks|title=Lake Eyre Filling Peaks|last=Riebeek|first=Holli|publisher=[[NASA Earth Observatory]]|date=21 June 2009|access-date=28 March 2023}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.lakeeyreyc.com/|title=Lake Eyre Yacht Club|website=Lake Eyre Yacht Club|last=Backway|first=Bob|access-date=28 March 2023}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.topworldimages.com/Kati_Thanda-Lake_Eyre_National_Park.htm Multimedia & Aerial View of the Lake Eyre]

{{Oceania topic|List of lakes of|title=List of lakes in Oceania}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Eyre}}
[[Category:Ancient lakes|Eyre, Lake]]
[[Category:Saline lakes of South Australia|Eyre, Lake]]
[[Category:Endorheic lakes of Australia|Eyre, Lake]]
[[Category:Lake Eyre basin]]
[[Category:Far North (South Australia)]]
[[Category:Extreme points of Australia]]
[[Category:Lowest points of countries]]