Little Blue Lake
| Little Blue Lake | |
|---|---|
| Baby Blue, 5L9 | |
 |
|
| Location | Mount Salt Road, Mount Schank SA 5291 AUSTRALIA |
| Coordinates | 37°55′40″S 140°40′47″E / 37.927747°S 140.679658°ECoordinates: 37°55′40″S 140°40′47″E / 37.927747°S 140.679658°E |
| Depth | 45 metres (148 feet) |
| Geology | Miocene limestone |
| Difficulty | Above water - no stated difficulty Underwater - CDAA Deep Cavern grade |
| Hazards | Deep freshwater |
| Access | Above water - public (no disabled access). Underwater - CDAA members only. |
| Visitors | Yes |
| Cave survey | Lewis, Reardon and Stace, 1980 CDAA, 1990s |
Little Blue Lake is a water-filled doline located near Mount Schank in South Australia. It is notable locally as a swimming hole and nationally as a cave diving site. It is managed by the District Council of Grant and has been developed as a recreational and tourism venue.
The sinkhole's name is attributed to the property of its water to turn blue in colour on an annual basis in a similar manner to the Blue Lake. However in more recent times the sinkhole generally remains green in colour throughout most of the year. This is believed by some to be due to groundwater pollution from agricultural fertilizers increasing the nutrient levels. The lake is also known as Baby Blue and is referenced in caving literature by its Cave Exploration Group of South Australia (CEGSA) Inc. identification number, 5L9.
The lake is located on the north side of Mount Salt Road, Mount Schank about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) west of the Riddoch Highway, the main road between Mount Gambier and Port MacDonnell.
The lake has a diameter of about 40 metres (130 ft), cliffs approaching a height of about 8 metres (26 ft) above water level and a maximum depth of about 47 metres (154 ft). Access to the water’s edge is via an artificial cutting in the south side of the sinkhole.
The bottom of the lake is at an average depth of about 36 metres (118 ft) with the shallowest point at a depth of about 25 metres (82 ft), being the top of the rubble pile resulting from the excavation of the cutting. An undercut ledge reaches a maximum depth of approximately 45 metres (148 ft) along the full extent of both the south (i.e. under Mount Salt Road) and the west sides of the sinkhole’s bottom.
The underwater visibility is normally poor, but can at times improve below a depth of about 20 metres (66 ft). A notable feature of the lake is the accumulation of rubbish dumped in the lake over a period of several decades including a 1966 Morris 1100, a bowser, traffic signs and ’witches hats’.
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