Sleaford Mere
| Sleaford Mere Kuyabidni |
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|---|---|
 Sleaford Mere
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| Location | Proper Bay Road, Sleaford, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°50′3″S 135°44′31″E / 34.83417°S 135.74194°ECoordinates: 34°50′3″S 135°44′31″E / 34.83417°S 135.74194°E |
| Type | endorheic basin |
| Etymology | Parish of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, England |
| Part of | Southern Basins Prescribed Wells Area |
| Primary inflows | local runoff & groundwater |
| River sources | none |
| Primary outflows | none |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Managing agency | Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources |
| Designation | Conservation park |
| Max. length | about 3 to 4 miles (4.8 to 6.4 kilometres) |
| Max. width | about 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) |
| Surface area | 707 hectares (1,750 acres) |
| Average depth | ‘a few feet deep’ |
| Salinity | 23.0 – 64.0 millisiemens per cm |
| Surface elevation | 20 metres (66 feet) |
| Islands | ‘some small islands.’ |
Sleaford Mere (alternative name: Kuyabidni) is a permanent saline lake, located on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) south west of Port Lincoln. The lake was discovered and named by Matthew Flinders on 26 February 1802. Since 1969, the lake has been part of the Sleaford Mere Conservation Park and since 2005, it has been listed as a nationally important wetland. The lake and its environs are notable as a venue for recreational pursuits such as canoeing.
Sleaford Mere is a permanent salt lake with an area of 707 hectares (1,750 acres). It is about 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) to 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) long in the north-south direction and about 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) wide from west to east. It is reported as being ‘a few feet deep’ and as having ‘some small islands.’ Since 2003, the lake has been located within the locality of Sleaford.
Sleaford Mere is supplied directly by local runoff and indirectly by groundwater sources. In respect to local runoff, the locality around the lake receives 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rainfall per annum. As of 2005, it was reported that it was not known if groundwater was being supplied from a single basin or multiple basins. In respect to groundwater, the lake is part of a potable water administration area known as the Southern Basins Prescribed Wells Area which covers the area of Eyre Peninsula between the city of Port Lincoln and the town of Coffin Bay.
Sleaford Mere was formed within a depression in a limestone strata known as the Bridgewater Formation.
Stromatolites are present at the lake's edge. Land immediately adjoining the lake supports tall open shrubland dominated by dryland tea-tree and a sedgeland of Gahnia trifida Species of conservation significance include the common spleenwort and Eyre Peninsula bitter-pea. As of 2009, Aleppo pine, an introduced species, was considered to an infestation risk.
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