Lake Carnegie (Western Australia)
| Lake Carnegie | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Goldfields-Esperance, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 26°10′S 122°30′E / 26.167°S 122.500°ECoordinates: 26°10′S 122°30′E / 26.167°S 122.500°E |
| Type | Ephemeral |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 100 km (62 mi) |
| Max. width | 30 km (19 mi) |
| Surface area | 5,714 km2 (2,206 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 439 m (1,440 ft) |
Lake Carnegie is a large ephemeral lake in the Shire of Wiluna in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The lake is named after David Carnegie, who explored much of inland Western Australia in the 1890s. A similar lake lies to its south east - Lake Wells.
Lake Carnegie is predominately surrounded by desert environments.
It lies east of Wiluna and is at the southern edge of the Little Sandy Desert and south western border of the Gibson Desert. It is to the north-east of Leonora. It also lies to the north west of the Great Central Road and the Great Victoria Desert. It lies to the north of the main goldfields region of Western Australia.
The lake is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) in length and approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) at its widest part. It has a total area of approximately 5,714 square kilometres (2,206 sq mi), making it one of the largest lakes in Australia. The surface elevation is 439 m (1,440 ft) above mean sea-level.
It fills with water only during very rare periods of significant rainfall, such as during the huge 1900 floods and in numerous recent tropical wet seasons when the monsoon and tropical cyclones have been moved south by recent climate change. In dry years, it is reduced to a muddy marsh.
In 1973 Tropical Cyclone Kerry crossed the north-west coast and moved south-west as far as the northern goldfields. Nearby pastoral leases such as Windidda Station received falls of 310 millimetres (12 in) and Prenti Downs received 209 millimetres (8 in) over a four-day period. The run-off was enormous, causing widespread flooding, with the Lake overflowing, leaving the area between Carnegie and Wiluna being described as "one huge lake".
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