Coongie Lakes

Coongie Lakes
Up to 100,000 Australian Pelicans have been recorded at Coongie Lakes
Coongie Lakes Location in South Australia
Location	Far North, South Australia
Coordinates	27°15′41″S 140°09′25″E / 27.26139°S 140.15694°E / -27.26139; 140.15694Coordinates: 27°15′41″S 140°09′25″E / 27.26139°S 140.15694°E / -27.26139; 140.15694
Type	Salt lake
Basin countries	Australia
Managing agency	Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
Designation	Ramsar Site
Surface area	21,790 km2 (8,410 sq mi)
References

The Coongie Lakes is a freshwater wetland system located in the Far North region of South Australia. The 21,790-square-kilometre (8,410 sq mi) lakes system is located approximately 1,046 kilometres (650 miles) north of the Adelaide city centre. The wetlands includes lakes, channels, billabongs, shallow floodplains, deltas, and interdune swamps. It lies on the floodplain of Cooper Creek, an ephemeral river flowing through a desert landscape in the Lake Eyre Basin which rarely, after occasional large floods, empties into Lake Eyre. The wetland system has been recognised both as being of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention with a listing on 15 June 1987 and being nationally important within Australia with a listing in A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA). Its extent includes the regional town of Innamincka, the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park, the Innamincka Regional Reserve, the Strzelecki Regional Reserve and the Coongie Lakes Important Bird Area.

The Coongie Lakes is located in the north-east corner of South Australia about 1,046 kilometres (650 miles) north of the Adelaide city centre. For management purposes, the wetland system has been given a boundary which is triangular in shape. The northern apex of the triangle is near Lake Moorayepe, the south western apex is near Marion Hill in the south and the eastern apex coincides with the South Australia-Queensland border to the immediate east of the town of Innamincka. The area of land within the boundary is reported as being 21,790 square kilometres (8,410 sq mi).