What is the lowest point in Australia?
The lowest point in Australia is Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in South Australia, about 15 metres below sea level. It is usually a dry salt lake that fills only after rare heavy rains.
Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is the largest lake in Australia when full, covering up to about 9,500 square kilometres. It sits at the bottom of the Lake Eyre Basin, which drains about one-sixth of the continent.
Most of the time the lake bed is a glittering crust of salt. Every few years, floodwaters from Queensland reach it through rivers such as the Diamantina and Cooper Creek, and the lake partly fills. Complete filling has happened only a few times since European records began.
Life after the floods
When water arrives, the desert bursts into life. Fish hatch, and huge numbers of birds, including pelicans, travel hundreds of kilometres to breed. Scenic flights are a popular way to see the lake.
Did You Know?
In 1964 Donald Campbell set a world land speed record on the lake's dry salt surface.