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Lake Austin (Australia)
Lake Austin is an ephemeral salt lake located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Cue and north of Mount Magnet. It is named after Robert Austin, who explored the area around the lake in 1854. The abandoned town of Austin is located on an island in the lake. The Great Northern Highway passes through this island as it crosses the lake. Lake Austin is also the name of the locality surrounding it. Lake Austin is an evaporation basin for an arheic internal drainage system covering an area of . The lake itself lies in a basin covering , or excluding the many islands. It is about long and wide. The lake usually fills in response to heavy rainfall in the summer and autumn; anecdotally, this occurs twice about every ten years. Water salinity varies according to lake levels: recorded values have ranged from 44.8 mS/cm during a flooding event in 2000, to 164 mS/cm in the late 1970s. The lake bed is flat, variably crusted with salt, and devoid of veg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of . It is the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. the state has 2.76 million inhabitants percent of the national total. The vast majority (92 percent) live in the south-west corner; 79 percent of the population lives in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The first Europeans to visit Western Australia belonged to the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who visited the Western Australian coast in 1616. The first permanent European colony of Western Australia occurred following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal to ‰). Salinity is an important factor in determining many aspects of the chemistry of natural waters and of biological processes within it, and is a thermodynamic state variable that, along with temperature and pressure, governs physical characteristics like the density and heat capacity of the water. A contour line of constant salinity is called an ''isohaline'', or sometimes ''isohale''. Definitions Salinity in rivers, lakes, and the ocean is conceptually simple, but technically challenging to define and measure precisely. Conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and sodium bicarbonate which dissolve into ions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pastoral Lease
A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions. They do not give all the rights that attach to freehold land: there are usually conditions which include a time period and the type of activity permitted. According to Austrade, such leases cover about 44% of mainland Australia (), mostly in arid and semi-arid regions and the tropical savannahs. They usually allow people to use the land for grazing traditional livestock, but more recently have been also used for non-traditional livestock (such as kangaroos or camels), tourism and other activities. Management of the leases falls mainly to state and territory governments. Under Commonwealth of Australia law, applicable only in the Northern Territory, they are agreements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Downs
Austin Downs Station or Austin Downs is a pastoral lease in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Description The property covers an area of and has traditionally farmed sheep for the production of wool. The station is located in the Murchison region of Western Australia; the nearest town is Cue, to the south east of the homestead. An area of within the station is composed of reserves and crown land. The soil has a low level of erosion, with 96% of the land being described as nil or minor. The perennial vegetation condition is good with 15% of vegetation cover being described as poor or very poor. The station contains part of Lake Austin and close to Nallan Creek. The station land includes Walga Rock, a large granite monolith. History 128 bales of greasy wool from the station were sold in London in 1910 at 11d. per pound. Later the same year a bank clerk named Studds from Cue committed suicide on the property and was found several weeks later with his revolver still i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. Alabaster, a fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, has been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the Nottingham alabasters of Medieval England. Gypsum also crystallizes as translucent crystals of selenite. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison. Etymology and history The word ''gypsum'' is derived from the Greek word (), "plaster". Because the quarries of the Montmartre district of Paris have long furnished burnt gypsum (calcined gypsum) used for various purposes, this dehydrated gypsum became known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tecticornia Pruinosa
''Tecticornia'' is a genus of succulent, salt tolerant plants largely endemic to Australia. Taxa in the genus are commonly referred to as samphires. In 2007, the genus ''Halosarcia'', along with three other Australian genera (''Pachycornia'', ''Sclerostegia'' and ''Tegicornia'') was incorporated into the genus. Description The species of ''Tecticornia'' grow as annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs or small shrubs. Stems are branched, glabrous and appear jointed. The opposite leaves are fleshy, glabrous, connate in the lower part and cup-like or collar-like stem-clasping, with minute (0–3 mm long) two-lobed to triangular leaf blades. The spike-shaped inflorescences consist of opposite bracts, mostly connate and stem-clasping, free in some species. Their blades are cup- or collar-like or deltoid to semi-circular scales. In the axil of each bract, there are three to five (rarely one or seven) flowers, free or sometimes fused to each other, to the bract, and to the infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tecticornia Halocnemoides
''Tecticornia halocnemoides'', commonly known as shrubby samphire or grey glasswort,* is a species of succulent, salt tolerant plant endemic to Australia. It grows as a spreading or erect shrub up to fifty centimetres high. It was first published as ''Arthrocnemum halocnemoides'' in 1845, but transferred into ''Halosarcia'' in 1980, and into ''Tecticornia ''Tecticornia'' is a genus of succulent, salt tolerant plants largely endemic to Australia. Taxa in the genus are commonly referred to as samphires. In 2007, the genus ''Halosarcia'', along with three other Australian genera (''Pachycornia'', ' ...'' in 2007. It is a highly variable species, with five published subspecies, some of which are themselves highly variable. These are ''T. halocnemoides'' subsp. ''halocnemoides'', ''T. halocnemoides'' subsp. ''caudata'', ''T. halocnemoides'' subsp. ''longispicata'', ''T. halocnemoides'' subsp. ''catenulata'' and ''T. halocnemoides'' subsp. ''tenuis''. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tecticornia Fimbrata
''Tecticornia'' is a genus of succulent, salt tolerant plants largely endemic to Australia. Taxa in the genus are commonly referred to as samphires. In 2007, the genus ''Halosarcia'', along with three other Australian genera (''Pachycornia'', ''Sclerostegia'' and ''Tegicornia'') was incorporated into the genus. Description The species of ''Tecticornia'' grow as annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs or small shrubs. Stems are branched, glabrous and appear jointed. The opposite leaves are fleshy, glabrous, connate in the lower part and cup-like or collar-like stem-clasping, with minute (0–3 mm long) two-lobed to triangular leaf blades. The spike-shaped inflorescences consist of opposite bracts, mostly connate and stem-clasping, free in some species. Their blades are cup- or collar-like or deltoid to semi-circular scales. In the axil of each bract, there are three to five (rarely one or seven) flowers, free or sometimes fused to each other, to the bract, and to the infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samphire
Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. This is probably the species mentioned by Shakespeare in King Lear. *Golden samphire, ''Limbarda crithmoides'' is a coastal species with yellow flowers that grows across Eurasia. *Several species in the genus ''Salicornia'', known as "marsh samphire" in Britain. * ''Blutaparon vermiculare'', Central America, southeastern North America *''Tecticornia'', Australia *''Sarcocornia'', cosmopolitan Following the construction of the Channel Tunnel, the nature reserve created on new land near Folkestone made from excavated rock was named "Samphire Hoe". Etymology Originally "sampiere", a corruption of the French "Saint Pierre" (Saint Peter), samphire was named after the patron saint of fishermen because all of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt Marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection. Salt marshes have historically been endangered by poorly implemented coastal management practices, with land reclaimed for human uses or polluted by upstream agriculture or other industrial coastal uses. Additionally, sea level rise caused by climate change is endangering other marshes, through erosion and submersion of otherwise tidal marshes. However, recent ackn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endorheic Basin
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. They are also called closed or terminal basins, internal drainage systems, or simply basins. Endorheic regions contrast with exorheic regions. Endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water. Basins with subsurface outflows which eventually lead to the ocean are generally not considered endorheic; they are cryptorheic. Endorheic basins constitute local base levels, defining a limit of erosion and deposition processes of nearby areas. Etymology The term was borrowed from French ''endor(rh)éisme'', coined from the combining form ''endo-'' (from grc, ἔνδον ''éndon'' 'wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt Lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water; such lakes can also be termed hypersaline lakes, and may also be pink lakes on account of their colour. An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake. One saline lake classification differentiates between: *subsaline: 0.5–3‰ (0.05-0.3%) *hyposaline: 3–20‰ (0.3-2%) *mesosaline: 20–50‰ (2-5%) *hypersaline: greater than 50‰ (5%) Properties Salt lakes form when the water flowing into the lake, containing salt or minerals, cannot leave because the lake is endorheic (terminal). The water then evaporates, leaving behind any dissolved salts and thus increasing its salinity, making a salt lake an excellent place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
