Eyre, Lake

Lake in northeast South Australia; area up to 9,000 sq km/3,500 sq mi. It is the largest lake in Australia, and includes Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South. Much of the lake remains a dry salt crust, while parts form a salt marsh in dry seasons. It is filled only when the rivers which drain into it (such as the Diamantina) flood. It lies in a basin of inland drainage and is the continent's lowest point, 16 m/52 ft below sea level.

The dry salt flats of Lake Eyre North were the site of Donald Campbell's world land speed record (644 kph/400 mph) in Bluebird II in 1964.

Lake Eyre is in a area of very low rainfall (under 125 mm/5 in per year) and has filled only four times in recorded history; 1949-50, 1974, 1989, and 2000. The lake is named after Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), who explored much of Australia's interior and reached the lake in 1840. He concluded that it was an extension of Lake Torrens; this was disproved by Benjamin Babbage and Peter Warburton who crossed between the two lakes in 1858.