Lake Hart, one of the smaller lakes in the basin^[1]

The Lake Eyre Basin has a drainage basin that covers one-sixth of all Australia. It is one of the largest internal drainage systems in the world, and covers roughly 1.2 million square kilometres, including much of inland Queensland, large portions of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and a part of western New South Wales. Lake Hart, South Australia, Novenber 2003 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Lake Hart, South Australia, Novenber 2003 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product... Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State Motto(s): Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004...

All the riverbeds in this vast, mostly flat, arid and semi-arid area lead inland (not towards the sea) and on those fairly rare occasions when there is sufficient rainfall to make the rivers flow at all, they flow towards Lake Eyre in central South Australia. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Lake Eyre itself lies 20 metres below sea level, and usually contains only salt. In flood years it fills and for a short time undergoes a period of rapid growth and fertility: long-dormant marine creatures multiply and large flocks of waterfowl arrive to feed and raise their young before the waters evaporate once more.

None of the creeks and rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin are permanent: they flow only after heavy rain–a rare to very rare event in the arid interior of Australia. Average annual rainfall in the area surrounding Lake Eyre is 125mm (5 inches), and the pan evaporation rate 3.5 metres (about 11 feet). Annualised average figures are misleading: since 1885 average rainfall over the 1,100,000 square kilometres of the Lake Eyre Basin has ranged from about 45 millimetres (less than 2 inches) in 1928 to over 760 millimetres (30 inches) in 1974. Most of the water reaching Lake Eyre comes from the river systems of semi-arid inland Queensland, roughly 1000 kilometres to the north. Pan evaporation is a measurement that combines or integrates the effects of several climate elements: temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind. ...

Because the Lake Eyre Basin is almost flat, rivers flow slowly and frequently split up into floodplains or multiple braided channels. Water is lost to evaporation, to seepage, and in the many ephemeral wetland systems, with the result that downstream flows are typically smaller than upstream flows. Only in exceptional years is there sufficient upstream rain to provide a flow into Lake Eyre itself. This picture shows the flood plain following a 1 in 10 year flood on the Isle of Wight. ...

To provide a sense of scale, the Lake Eyre Basin is about the size of France, Germany and Italy combined. It is roughly the same size as the Murray-Darling Basin (which drains inland eastern Australia and is responsible for a large proportion of the continent's agricultural production) but has vastly less water. Nevertheless, the entire flow of the Murray-Darling would be insufficient to fill Lake Eyre, merely keeping pace with evaporation. In contrast, the flow of the Mississippi could fill Lake Eyre in 22 days, that of the Amazon in just 3 days. Semi-arid grazing country near Burra Creek, South Australia The Murray-Darling Basin being 3430km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... This article is about the river. ...

The basin began to form in the early Tertiary (about 60 million years ago) when south-eastern South Australia started to sink and rivers began to deposit sediment into the large, shallow basin. The basin is still gradually sinking, and still gradually accumulating sediment. For many millions of years, the Lake Eyre Basin was well supplied with water and largely forested. About 20 million years ago, large shallow lakes formed, covering much of the area for about 10 million years. From that time on, as Australia drifted further north and the climate became gradually more arid, the lakes and floodplains started to dry. Only in the last 2.6 million years did the onset of the ice ages bring about the present climatic regime and the consequent fairly rapid desertification of the area. Tertiary geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately 65 million to 1. ... Plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate tectonics theory Continental drift refers to the movement of the Earths continents relative to each other. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Several of the major Lake Eyre Basin river systems are well-known.

The Finke River, starting roughly west of Alice Springs is thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world and although it flows for only a few days a year (in many years it does not flow at all) is home to 7 species of fish, 2 of which are found nowhere else. The waters of the Finke disappear into the sands of the Simpson Desert and are not definitely known to ever make it as far south as Lake Eyre, although the story is told that this happened once early in the 20th century. The Finke River is the main river in Central Australia. ... Aerial, Alice Springs Alice Springs Landsat image Alice Springs is a town and the second largest centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. ... Ted Colsons expedition across the Simpson Desert in 1936 The Simpson Desert is a desert covering approximately 170,000 square kilometres[1] in central Australia, occupying an area bounded on the west by the Finke River and the Mabel Range, the Adam Range to the north, the Georgina River... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

The Georgina River system originates on the Barkly Tableland, near the Northern Territory-Queensland border, north-west of Mount Isa and not far south of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In this relatively humid northern area, rainfall can be as high as 500 mm (20 inches) per year and evaporation as low as 2.4 metres (about 8 feet). The Georgina flows through innumerable channels leading south through far-western Queensland for over 1000 kilometres, eventually reaching Goyder Lagoon in the north-eastern corner of South Australia. The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in western Queensland that flow in extremely wet years into Lake Eyre. ... Location of Barkly in Northern Territory (red) The Barkly Tableland area is a location in the Northern Territory, Australia. ... Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia Mount Isa is a city in North-West Queensland, Australia. ... The Gulf of Carpentaria from a 1859 Dutch map The Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and Indonesia). ...

Australia's early bush poets immortalised the Diamantina River, making it a symbol of the remote outback. It too rises in northern Queensland, roughly between Mount Isa and Winton, flowing 800 kilometres south and west through Birdsville and the Channel Country to join the Georgina at Goyder Lagoon (and then, if there is sufficient flow, down Warburton Creek towards Lake Eyre). Bush poets were Australian poets who wrote about Australian rural life during colonial times and about the Australian bush. ... The Diamantina River is a river in Queensland, Australia. ... Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia Mount Isa is a city in North-West Queensland, Australia. ... Location of Winton in Queensland (red) Winton is a town and Local Government Area in central west Queensland, Australia, located 177 kilometres northwest of Longreach. ... Location of Birdsville in Queensland (red) Birdsville () is a small town located in Western Queensland, Australia. ... The IBRA regions of Australia, with Channel Country in red The Channel Country of Queensland, Australia, is located in the remote south west of the state. ... Warburton Creek is a freshwater stream in the far north of South Australia on the eastern side of Lake Eyre. ...

Of all the Lake Eyre Basin river systems, however, Cooper's Creek is by far the most famous, in particular because it was along Cooper's Creek that the explorers Burke and Wills met their deaths. It rises in the form of two central Queensland rivers, the Thomson between Longreach and Charters Towers, and the Barcoo in the area around Barcaldine, about 500 kilometres inland from Rockhampton. Cooper's Creek spreads out into a vast area of meandering ephemeral channels, making its way roughly south into the far south-west corner of Queensland before turning due west into South Australia towards Lake Eyre. It takes almost a year for water to reach Lake Eyre from the headwaters. In most years, none does: it is absorbed into the earth, goes to fill channels and the many permanent waterholes, or simply evaporates. Cooper Creek (28°23′ S 137°41′ E) is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. ... The route Burke & Wills took north (red) and south (dark blue) Robert OHara Burke William John Wills Artists depiction of Burkes death In 1860-61, Robert OHara Burke and William John Wills were sent on an expedition to cross Australia from south to north. ... The Thomson River is situated in western Queensland, Australia, and forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. ... Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame in Longreach Location of Longreach in Queensland (red) Longreach is a town and shire located in central western Queensland, Australia and is approximately 700 kilometres from the coast, west of Rockhampton. ... Location of Charters Towers in Queensland (red) Charters Towers is a city and Local Government Area in northern Queensland, Australia. ... The Barcoo River in western Queensland rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range and unites with the Thomson River to form Coopers Creek. ... Barcaldine is a small town located in Western Queensland, Australia, approximately 520 kilometres by road west of the city of Rockhampton. ... Rockhampton, sometimes abbreviated to Rocky, is a city in Central Queensland, Australia, located inland from the Capricorn Coast on the Bruce Highway, approximately north of Queenslands capital city, Brisbane. ...

See also

• Lake Eyre
• Australian south-west coast drainage division
• Indian Ocean drainage division: see Pilbara region of Western Australia
• Timor Sea drainage division: see Top End and Kimberley region of Western Australia
• Gulf of Carpentaria
• Australian north-east coast drainage division
• Australian south-east coast drainage division
• Murray-Darling Basin
• South Australian gulf drainage division
• Western Plateau
• Great Artesian Basin

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Pilbara is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. ... The Top End is, Cape York Peninsula aside, the northernmost part of Australia. ... The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia, consisting of the local government areas of Broome, Derby-West Kimberley, Halls Creek and Wyndham-East Kimberley. ... The Gulf of Carpentaria from a 1859 Dutch map The Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and Indonesia). ... The south-east coast drainage division is the very long, narrow area of southern Australia between the Great Dividing Range and the sea. ... Semi-arid grazing country near Burra Creek, South Australia The Murray-Darling Basin being 3430km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia. ... The South Australian gulf drainage division is the area surrounding the Gulf of St Vincent and Spencer Gulf and a sliver of country to the immediate north. ... The Western Plateau is Australias largest drainage division. ... Lightning Ridge bathing thermes supplied by artesian bore water Hot water bore hole into the Great Artesian Basin in Thargomindah The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of water through much of inland Australia. ...

References

External links

• Map of the Lake Eyre basin
• Report on the hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin