Australia's largest lake — a vast salt pan that is usually bone dry.
Surface area
9,500 km²
Maximum depth
about 6 m
Elevation
-15 m
Continent
Oceania
Countries
Australia
Did you know?
Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia and only fills completely a few times a century, after rare massive floods.
Little-known fact
When it does flood, the dead heart of the continent bursts into life, drawing millions of waterbirds from across Australia.
Highlights
- Australia's largest lake
- A usually-dry salt pan
- Fills only a few times a century
Life in the Lake Eyre (Kati Thanda)
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Waterbirds
Greater flamingo
A tall, rose-tinted wader that filters tiny shrimp and algae from shallow salt and soda lakes.
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Interactive · 3D dive
How deep does a lake go?
A lake is layered from the sunlit, weed-filled shallows down to a cold, dark bed. Tap a zone to dive the submersible through the water column — and meet the life that belongs at each depth.
Tip: hover the column to tilt it · tap a layer to dive
Littoral Zone
The warm, bright band close to shore where sunlight reaches the bottom. Reeds, water lilies and rooted plants grow thickly here, making it the busiest, most crowded part of the whole lake.
Who lives here