Lake Gairdner National Park

Lake Gairdner National Park South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[1]
Lake Gairdner National Park
Lake Gairdner National Park
Nearest town or city	Woomera
Coordinates	31°41′50″S 135°51′13″E
Established	19 December 1991 (1991-12-19)[1]
Area	5,531.77 km^2 (2,135.8 sq mi)[1]
Managing authorities	Department for Environment and Water
Website	Lake Gairdner National Park
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Lake Gairdner National Park is a protected area associated with Lake Gairdner in South Australia (Australia), 436 km northwest of Adelaide. It is located just south of the Trans-Australian Railway, Stuart Highway, and the Woomera Prohibited area.

The national park consists of the following salt lakes (from east to west) - Lake Gairdner, Lake Harris and Lake Everard.^[2] Ordinarily, the country is totally arid, and devoid of free water, surface or underground. In the summer, it can be extremely hot. In the springtime, however, this country has great attraction for birdwatchers and botanists.

There is generally very limited public access to this park, which is surrounded by pastoral leases. The easiest public access is from the main road running from Yardea to Kingoonya, at The Brothers Well, a concrete catchment at the side of the road at the southern end of Moonaree Station (though the road signs would have you believe that you were on Yardea Station). The road is dirt, but quite good enough for two-wheel drive vehicles unless it is wet, when it is likely that it will be closed by the Highways Dept..

This region is the home country of the Kokatha people, and traces of their occupation may still be found: sacred sites are still visited for ceremonies. The national park also contains the historic Glenloth Gold Battery Site, located at its western end on the shore of Lake Harris, which is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register as a designated place of archaeological significance.^[3][4]

See also

• Protected areas of South Australia

References

1. "Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (refer 'DETAIL' tab )". CAPAD 2016. Australian Government, Department of the Environment (DoE). 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
2. South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage (2004), Lake Gairdner National Park management plan (PDF), Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH), p. 5, ISBN 978-0-7590-1079-6, archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2016
3. "Glenloth Gold Battery Site (designated place of archaeological significance)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
4. "Twentieth Century Heritage Survey, Stage Two (1928-1945)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.

External links

• Lake Gairdner National Park webpage on protected planet