Lake Corangamite
| Lake Corangamite | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°10′S 143°23′E / 38.167°S 143.383°E |
| Type | endorheic hypersaline |
| Primary inflows | 3 m³/s - varies greatly due to low runoff ratios in catchment |
| Primary outflows | Evaporation |
| Catchment area | 4079 km²[1] |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 150 km |
| Surface area | 234 km² |
| Average depth | 5 m average |
| Max. depth | 7 m |
| Settlements | none |
Lake Corangamite is Victoria’s largest natural lake located near Colac in South West Victoria, Australia. It is in fact the largest natural lake in all of Australia that actually normally has water in it. The lake is listed on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance is very important to the local environment and local bird species. The lake is surrounded by rocky outcrops from volcano activity giving the region the name 'Lakes & Crater Country'. It was this volcanic activity which formed the craters that comprise the lake.
Although, owing to the very low runoff ratios typical of temperate Australia, flow into the lake is extremely variable and negligible in the driest years, Lake Corangamite has never been completely dry since European settlement. Rivers the feed the lack, however, are themselves too saline to be fresh owing to land clearing and the geology of the region. During the wet decade of the 1950s the lake came close to becoming an open lake ie. one with an outlet to the sea. It is believed that for centuries prior to the 1840s rainfall and runoff were similar to those of the 1950s and the lake may not have been an endorheic basin[2].
The salinity of Lake Corangamite under normal water conditions is about equal to that of the Red Sea and is somewhat greater than that of the oceans, though not nearly so high as the Dead Sea or Great Salt Lake. Because it is very shallow recent global warming is believed to have potential to completely dry up the lake due to large reductions in rainfall.
Notes
- ^ An Audit of the Ecological Condition of Australian Rivers
- ^ Water Research Foundation of Australia; 1975 symposium: the 1973-4 floods in rural and urban communities; published 1975