Lake Walyungup is a shallow

saline 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 the suburbs of Warnbro and

Port Kennedy A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, located south of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the capital of

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 th ...

. It is part of

Rockingham Lakes Regional Park Rockingham Lakes Regional Park is a conservation park approximately south of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Rockingham. The park, established in 1997, covers a non-continuous area of and occupies approximately 16 percent ...

. In the local

Nyungar language Noongar (; also Nyungar ) is an Australian Aboriginal language or dialect continuum, spoken by some members of the Noongar community and others. It is taught actively in Australia, including at schools, universities and through public broadcastin ...

, Walyungup means "place where Noongars talk".

Overview

The lake is popular with land sailors, and is bound in the north by

Safety Bay Road Safety Bay Road is an east-west metropolitan road located in the City of Rockingham, about south of Perth, Western Australia. The road starts in Rockingham's coastal suburbs and heads south from Peron, Western Australia, Peron past Lake Richmo ...

, in the east by

Mandurah Road Mandurah Road is the name given to two roads in the cities of Perth and Mandurah, Western Australia, which link together at Stakehill Road, Karnup. Route description The northern part starts in the Kwinana Beach industrial area. After 2 ...

and in the west by the

Mandurah railway line The Mandurah line is a commuter railway and service on the Transperth network in Western Australia that runs from Perth south to the state's second largest city Mandurah. The service is operated by Transperth Train Operations, a division of the ...

, with the

Warnbro railway station Warnbro railway station is a commuter railway station in Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Mandurah line, which is part of the Transperth commuter rail network, and is located immediately south-east of the interchang ...

bordering the north-western corner of the lake. North of Safety Bay Road,

Lake Cooloongup Lake Cooloongup, sometimes also referred to as White Lake, is a shallow saline lake in the suburb of Cooloongup, south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is part of Rockingham Lakes Regional Park. I ...

is located. The lake, situated on an

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

beach ridge, was once connected to the sea and was formed approximately 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Within the lake, Holocene nonmarine microbial structures, reported as either

stromatolites Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). The ...

thrombolites Thrombolites (from Ancient Greek θρόμβος ''thrómbos'' meaning "clot" and λῐ́θος ''líthos'' meaning "stone") are clotted accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding, and cementation of sedimentary g ...

, have been found. Like Lake Cooloongup, Lake Walyungup is thought to be drying because of reduced rainfalls. Depths of both lakes fluctuate from as little as 0.5 to 3.5 metres, with the permanent pools of Lake Walyungup being the deepest points. Both lakes are also increasing in salinity which Walyungup being more saline than Cooloongup. Unlike Lake Cooloongup, which has a groundwater outflow towards the sea, Lake Walyungup is a closed system, with water from the lake discharging through

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

only. Both lakes have small freshwater wetlands on their western edge, which is made up of dunes, while the eastern edge is formed by a limestone ridge. Unexploded Amunition Risk Area, Lake Walyungup, August 2019

Unexploded Amunition Risk Area, Lake Walyungup, August 2019

The Lakes Cooloongup and Walyungup continue to be of spiritual significance for the local indigenous population as the place where the '' Sea Waugal'' laid her eggs. Cooloongup, in the Nyungar language, means "place of children", leading to the conclusion that the northern lake was a place for children while the southern one was for adults. A survey in 2005 found that the lake predominantly attracts local visitors, which over 80 percent of the visitors living locally. Lake Walyungup as well as Lake Cooloongup, Port Kennedy Scientific Park and Lark Hill, all within Rockingham Lakes Regional Park, are potentially contaminated with Unexploded Ordnance, having been used as artillery range by the Department of Defence in the era around

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Flora and Fauna

Tuart ''Eucalyptus gomphocephala'', known as tuart, is a species of tree, one of the six forest giants of Southwest Australia. Tuart forest was common on the Swan coastal plain, until the valuable trees were felled for export and displaced by the urb ...

forest surrounds Lake Walyungup, while a

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

of Swamp banksia is also present. Within the lake's water, Bluespot goby, the Long-headed goby and the Western hardyhead have been reported.

References

External links

* Parks and Wildlife Service
Rockingham Lakes Regional Park
* Urban Bushland Council WA Inc.
Rockingham Lakes Regional Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walyungup Rockingham Lakes Regional Park Lakes of Perth, Western Australia Saline lakes of Western Australia Noongar placenames Port Kennedy, Western Australia