Lake Buchanan (Queensland)

Lake Buchanan

World Wind image of Lake Buchanan, 2010.
Location 163 km South West of Charters Towers, Queensland
Coordinates 21°31′57″S 145°50′56″E / 21.5324°S 145.849°ECoordinates: 21°31′57″S 145°50′56″E / 21.5324°S 145.849°E
Type Salt lake
Basin countries Australia
Surface area 40 km² [1]

Lake Buchanan is a flat salt lake at Pentland in North Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 28 km long and 8 km wide at its widest point, with a surface area of about 117 km². It is part of the Thomson River catchment and part of the Desert Uplands bioregion.[1][2]

Lake Buchanan is different from all other salt lakes in Australia because it occurs at a high elevation - on the Great Dividing Range. The lake is shallow and the water tends to be brackish.[1] Land around the lake is used for grazing.[1]

Lake Buchanan contains a number of significant species which are newly discovered and most probably endemic.[2] These include the Lake Buchanan button grass, fringing rush, Lake Buchanan fringe rush, Lawrenica buchananensis (Malvaceae), and Buchanan’s fairy shrimp. The Lake Buchanan blue bush is a threatened species belonging to the Chenopodium genus.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (5 April 2011). Site Investment Guide: Lake Buchanan. Australian Government Land and Coasts. Retrieved on 12 July 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sue Gardner (April 2010). "Arid and Semi-arid Lakes". Queensland Wetlands Program. Retrieved 12 July 2011.