Lake Eyre is the thirteenth biggest and most saltiest Lake in the world. Bigger than anything in the USA, there is however, no Salt Lake City here as it is some 700km north of Adelaide. Lake Eyre covers 9323 km sq, is 144 km long and 77 km wide. At its lowest point, it is 15.2 m below sea-level and drains more than a sixth of the continent. Much of the lake is below sea-level. When filled with water (an event which has only occurred 3 times in the past 150 years), the lake becomes alive with birds.This water is nine times as salty as the sea.
Lake Eyre was discovered by Edward John Eyre in 1839. Edward John Eyre was a pioneer who took sheep from Sydney to Adelaide.
In 1964, Sir Donald Campbell set a world land-speed record of 403.1mph (645KM/H) racing his jet-powered car Bluebird across Lake Eyre’s hardened salt crust.
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The Basin is made up of large parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, along with a small slice of western New South Wales. The major cross-border water flows are from Queensland into South Australia, however substantial flows do occur out of the Northern Territory into both Queensland and South Australia. |