Lake Buchanan (Queensland)

Lake Buchanan
World Wind image of Lake Buchanan, 2010.
Lake Buchanan is located in Queensland
Lake Buchanan
Lake Buchanan
Location within Queensland
Lake Buchanan is located in Australia
Lake Buchanan
Lake Buchanan
Location within Australia
Location163 km South West of Charters Towers, Queensland
Coordinates21°31′57″S 145°50′56″E / 21.5324°S 145.849°E / -21.5324; 145.849
TypeSalt lake
Thomson River
Basin countriesAustralia
Max. length21 km (13 mi)
Max. width8 km (5.0 mi)
Surface area
117 km2 (45 sq mi)[1]

Lake Buchanan is a flat salt lake at Pentland in the Charters Towers Region in North Queensland, Australia.[2] It is approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) long and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide at its widest point, with a surface area of about 117 square kilometres (45 sq mi). It is part of the Thomson River catchment and part of the Desert Uplands bioregion.[1][3]

Lake Buchanan is different from all other salt lakes in Australia because it occurs at a high elevation - on the Great Dividing Range. The lake is shallow and the water tends to be brackish.[1] The land around the lake is used for grazing.[1]

Species

Lake Buchanan contains a number of significant species which are newly discovered and most probably endemic.[3] These include the Lake Buchanan button grass (Dactyloctenium sp.), fringing rush (Fimbristylis sp. ), Lake Buchanan fringe rush, Lawrenica buchananensis (Malvaceae),[4] and Buchanan's fairy shrimp (Branchinella buchananensis). The Lake Buchanan blue bush (Chenopodium auricomum) is a threatened species.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 (5 April 2011). Site Investment Guide: Lake Buchanan Archived 2011-06-01 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Government Land and Coasts. Retrieved on 12 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Lake Buchanan – lake in the Charters Towers Region (entry 4876)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Sue Gardner (April 2010). "Arid and Semi-arid Lakes" (PDF). Queensland Wetlands Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Lawrencia buchananensis". WildNet. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2026.