Lake Tyrrell
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Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Infobox body of water tracking".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Lake Tyrrell (also known as Lake Tyrrell Wildlife Reserve) is a shallow, salt-crusted depression in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria, in Australia. The name 'Tyrrell' is derived from the local Wergaia word for 'sky', the Boorong Aboriginal people of the area being distinguished for their interest in star-lore.Template:Sfn The Boorong, with their astronomical traditions, told stories connected with constellations in the night sky.[1]
In the mid-2010s, the lake became a tourist mecca, particularly for Chinese.[2] It is a popular location for photographers and social media users, who take photographs of the lake's mirror-like surface during winter, when ground water percolates to the surface and inflows arrive from the Avoca River/Tyrrell Creek system.
During dry periods, people can walk on to the lake area by using places where salt has formed a solid surface.
Location and features
The lake covers approximately Script error: No such module "convert".,[3][4] making it Victoria's largest salt lake. It is located Script error: No such module "convert". north of the town of Sea Lake and Script error: No such module "convert". northwest of Melbourne.
While much of the time the lake is dry, it is usually covered in about Script error: No such module "convert". of water in winter.[5] It is ancient, and probably formed by sand blocking the passage of Tyrrell Creek, a distributary of the Avoca River, which feeds the lake.[3][4] Evaporation results in a layer of salt crusting on the lake bed, which is harvested by Cheetham Salt in Sea Lake.
The lake environment is host to Mallee reptiles, kangaroos, emus, and the white-fronted chat, an insectivorous bird.[3] Thousands of seagulls breed on small islands on the lake.[3][4] Surrounding vegetation is made up of saltbush and samphire, which supports a range of wildlife.[3] To the east, the lunette contains significant Aboriginal relics.[3]
History
Around 120,000 years ago, Tyrrell was approximately Script error: No such module "convert". deep with low salinity. Water levels subsequently dropped due to climatic changes, resulting in cycles of drying and partial refilling.[5]
In 1838, the explorer Edward Eyre was the first person to document Lake Tyrrell, while searching for new grazing land.
Recreation activities
Each year, on the King's Birthday long weekend, the lake hosts the Mallee Rally, once part of the Australian Off Road Championship and, more recently, Australian Off Road Racing Series.
On the Sea Lake side of the lake, Script error: No such module "convert". from the township, is a lookout and astronomy deck, built in the late 1990s.
References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f Advance Sea Lake Inc. Template:Webarchive, 2013
- ↑ a b c The Age Traveller - Sea Lake
- ↑ a b Jochen Brocks' Biogeochemistry Group ANU Template:Webarchive
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- Encyclopædia Britannica entry about Lake Tyrrell.
Template:Rivers of the Mallee catchment Template:Lakes of Victoria