Lake Eyre

The Lake Eyre (Eng. " lakes Eyre ", in the language of the Aborigines: Kati - tanda ) is on the few occasions when it is filled, the largest lake and 17 m below sea level, the lowest point in Australia.

His greatest expansion may 9690 km ² amount ( about the size of Carinthia or half the size of Saxony). The salt lake is the center of the vast Lake Eyre Basin. This basin has an area of ​​1,164,063 km ².

The lake was named after the British explorer Edward John Eyre, who discovered it in 1840. Seen from space it appears as a kind of "ghost face".

The lake is located in the arid areas in the center of Australia, to the north of the State of South Australia. The Eyre Basin, a Salt Flat, surrounds the level of the lake. The water level of the lake at the lowest point of the plane is strongly dependent on the climatic conditions. Usually also in times of drought remains for some water, which in several different lakes collects ( northern and southern Lake Eyre as most of lakes, connected by the " Goyderkanal "). During the rainy season the water flows from the outback bring in Queensland in the northeast. The rainfall of the monsoon largely determines how much water reaches the sea and how deep it is. For this purpose from time time fluctuations by moderate floods due to rain in the area. Every three years, as there is a water level of 1.5 meters, once per decade to a level of 4 meters. Four times per century is completely or nearly filled the lake. Towards the end of the following summer, most of the water has already evaporated.

If the water level allows, will clubs on the lake and sailed by members of the Lake Eyre Yacht.