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

• List of lakes of Western Australia

References