Lake Eyre is Australia's huge inland Sea. It is the Inland Sea that many early Australian explorers were looking for.
They figured that due to Australia's size there must be a great sea somewhere in the centre of Australia. All their efforts to find this sea ended in failure.

Normally this "sea" is a giant flat dry salt pan. Lake Eyre itself is about 65 kms west to east and some 130 kms north to south equating to approx 8450 sq kms. The smaller Lake Eyre South has an area of some 1250 sq kms. Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia - some 5 - 15 metres below sea level. Normally it is dry and lifeless. In 1964 Englishman Donald Campbell broke the world land speed record in 'Bluebird' at a speed of close to 650 kph, on the dry saltbed of Lake Eyre. 

The Lake in the north eastern corner of South Australia, floods on average once every 30 years, but only filled twice last century in 1950 and 1974. Some 16% of the entire land mass of Australia provides the drainage basin that feeds flood water into Lake Eyre.

Normally it is dry.

In March 1974 came the news that water in the lake was at the highest level recorded since European settlement. Flood waters are first devoured by the dry sands of the desert, but provided enough rain occurs - the water will end up in Lake Eyre.

Within weeks of this happening, the lake becomes alive. From virtually no life comes a miracle - insects, lizzards, fish by the millions and many, many birds by the hundreds of thousands. How do the birds know there is water here now? Where do the fish come from, what do the fish eat? Many questions, but what a sight to see - much greenery, the birds - pelicans, seagulls, (seagulls in the desert!! ) cormorants, terns, swans etc.

Now, some 25 years later, following heavy rain to the north of Lake Eyre, water has moved partly down the Georgina River but mostly down the Diamantina into the Lake and we again have water in the Lake. However the lake is unlikely to fill completely this time. The water level is expected to peak around Easter time 2000.

It remains - a dream of mine - to visit the lake in flood.

Normally it is dry.

Steve Wedell
25.04.2000

Sources:The Desert Sea - The Miracle of Lake Eyre in Flood by Vincent Serventy 1985
Beyond Lake Eyre by Bob Mossel and Denise Kuhne 1978
The Australian Newspaper, Monday March 6th 2000. Article by science writer Stephen Brook, front page and page 8.

Lake Eyre photos Johnson space centre
Two fantastic satellite photos of Lake Eyre

http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/loreshtml.cgi?PHOTO=STS035-502-004 - picture of Lake Eyre, file size 347k, with satellite in the picture.
North is direction down (ê) therefore Lake Eyre south is the small lake just above the main Lake Eyre (in the centre of the picture)

http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/lores.cgi?PHOTO=STS035-501-009 - picture of Lake Eyre, file size 87k

http://www.ezinet.com.au/satour/outback/np15.htm - further info website

Steve Wedell with Dianne on Lake Eyre South 1988
Steve walked on the dry edge of Lake Eyre South in 1988 and in 1996