Lake Alexandrina (South Australia)
Lake Alexandrina | |
---|---|
Primary outflows | Murray Mouth |
Catchment area | 1,061,469 km2 (409,835 sq mi) |
Basin countries | Australia |
Surface area | 64,900 ha (251 sq mi)[2] |
Average depth | 2.8 m (9.2 ft)[2] |
Max. depth | 6 m (20 ft)[2] |
Water volume | 1,610 GL (430×10 9 US gal; 350×10 9 imp gal)[2] |
Surface elevation | 0.75 m (2.5 ft)[2] |
Settlements | Clayton Bay, Milang, Raukkan |
Official name | The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Albert Wetland |
Designated | 1 November 1985 |
Reference no. | 321[3] |
Lake Alexandrina is a coastal
Nomenclature
Aboriginal naming
European naming
English settlers named the lake after
Description
Lake Alexandrina is located north of
The lake empties into the Southern Ocean via a channel known as the Murray Mouth, south-east of the town of Goolwa, but when the river flow is low, the mouth is often blocked by a sand-bar. Originally subjected to tidal and storm inflows of seawater, the lake is now maintained as a fresh water one by a series of barrages known as the Goolwa Barrages; these cross five channels between the mainland and three islands near the Murray Mouth.[9][10]
Though the lake has been historically connected to the ocean, the fresh and salt water flows mixed very little, with the lake area remaining fresh over 95% of the time with normal river inflow. Salt water inflows from the ocean would result in relatively little mixing of fresh and salt water, either vertically in the water column or laterally across the flow stream.[11] An 2020 review of hundreds scientific studies relating to the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth has found that it was a
Hindmarsh Island is reputed to be the largest island in the world with salt water on one side and fresh water on the other.[citation needed]
History
In Aboriginal mythology known as
Edward Wilson, visiting the lake in the 1850s described it as follows:
"Lake Alexandrina is the finest sheet of fresh water I ever saw. Indeed so formidable did it look, with a stiff wind blowing up quite a sufficient swell to make one seasick, that I could scarcely believe it to be fresh. Such is the fact however. It is forty or fifty miles long by twelve or fifteen wide and the shores around it receded into the dim distance until they become invisible, in the way which we are accustomed only with ideas of salt water. Supplied almost entirely by the Murray, the whole lake retains the muddy tinge of which I have spoken, and this sadly detracts from the otherwise beautiful appearances of this magnificent sheet of water."[13]
The
In 2008, water levels in Lake Alexandrina and
Environment
Birds
The lake is a habitat for many species of
Protected area status
Australian government
Lake Alexandrina is part of the wetland complex known as the Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland which is listed as a Ramsar site. The wetland is also appears in the non-statutory list known as A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.[17][18]
South Australian government
Lake Alexandrina includes the following protected areas declared under the
Non-statutory arrangements
Lake Alexandrina is included within the boundary of the Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Important Bird Area which is an area considered by BirdLife International to be a place of ‘international significance for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity.’[16][23]
See also
- Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre, a research centre located in Goolwa
- List of lakes of South Australia
- List of islands within the Murray River in South Australia
References
- ^ ABC TV. Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "The Facts: The Lower Murray, Lakes and Coorong" (PDF). Government of South Australia. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Albert Wetland". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Name used by the Australian Government, see". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ "Search result for Lake Alexandrina (Record no. SA0000745)". Government of South Australia, Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "Alexandrina, Lake". Place Names of South Australia. State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
- ^ "Murray and Mallee SA Government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "Barker (Geological Survey of South Australia)" (PDF). Mapping - PIRSA. Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
- Murray-Darling Basin Commission. Archived from the originalon 19 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ "Lower Lakes Barrages". Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- S2CID 36752998.
- ^ Jasper, Clint; Sullivan, Kath (11 May 2020). "Murray River's Lower Lakes review finds Ramsar-listed area is a freshwater ecosystem". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Edward (1859). Rambles at the Antipodes: a series of sketches of Moreton Bay, New Zealand, the Murray River and South Australia and the overland route. With 2 maps; and 12 tinted lithographs, illustrative of Australian life. W.H. Smith. p. 45. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "About Raukkan". Big Stories. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ "Catalyst - Fire, Flood and Acid Mud". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
- ^ a b "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lakes Alexandrina and Albert". BirdLife International. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland Ramsar site" (PDF). Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources. 28 January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Australian Wetlands Database - Directory Wetland Information Sheet: The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Lake Albert - SA063". Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Environment. 31 May 2005. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive), Currency Creek Game Reserve, Laffin Point via North Goolwa, SA, Australia". Commonwealth of Australia (C of A), Department of the Environment. 21 October 1980. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive), Mud Islands Game Reserve, Lake Alexandrina via Goolwa, SA, Australia". Commonwealth of Australia (C of A), Department of the Environment. 21 October 1980. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive), Salt Lagoon Conservation Park, Salt Lagoon, Narrung, SA, Australia". Commonwealth of Australia (C of A), Department of the Environment. 21 October 1980. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive), Tolderol Game Reserve, Langhorne Creek, SA, Australia". Commonwealth of Australia (C of A), Department of the Environment. 21 October 1980. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Sites - Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)". BirdLife International. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.