Dumbleyung Lake

Dumbleyung Lake

View from space
Dumbleyung Lake
Location in Western Australia
Location Great Southern, Western Australia
Coordinates 33°20′S 117°39′E / 33.333°S 117.650°E / -33.333; 117.650Coordinates: 33°20′S 117°39′E / 33.333°S 117.650°E / -33.333; 117.650
Type Salt lake
Primary inflows Coblinine River system
Basin countries Australia
Designation Dumbleyung Lake Nature Reserve
Max. length 13 km (8.1 mi)
Max. width 6.5 km (4.0 mi)
Surface area 52 km2 (20 sq mi)
Average depth 2.35 m (7.7 ft)
Max. depth 4.57 m (15.0 ft)
Surface elevation 255 m (837 ft)
References [1]

Dumbleyung Lake, also widely known as Lake Dumbleyung, is a salt lake in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The lake has a length of 13 kilometres (8 mi) and a width of 6.5 kilometres (4 mi); it covers a total area of 52 square kilometres (20 sq mi).

Description

The explorers Henry Landor and Henry Maxwell Lefroy are usually credited with the discovery of Dumbleyung Lake, although it appears to have been shown on a map in 1839 with the name Kondening Lake. Grazing leases around the lake were first granted to George Kersley in 1875.

Dumbleyung Lake received world recognition when Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record on it on 31 December 1964, travelling at 444.66 km/h (276.3 mph) in his boat Bluebird K7. A granite memorial to Campbell can be seen at Pussy Cat Hill, a prominent feature and vantage point to view the entire lake area.[2]

In recent times, the increased soil salination has made the area unsuitable for grazing. Today the lake is mainly used for aquatic recreation. Despite the extreme salinity of the lake, it provides a habitat for many varieties of water birds, and since 1963 has been protected by the Dumbleyung Lake Nature Reserve.

The lake is recognised as a DIWA wetland as it is a drought refuge for waterbirds and a moulting area for the Australian shelduck.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dumbleyung Lake". Gazetteer of Australia.
  2. ↑ http://www.dumbleyung.wa.gov.au/
  3. ↑ "DIWA information Sheet". 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
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