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.