Lake Wells is an ephemeral salt lake in the centre 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 ...
, lying in close proximity to
Lake Carnegie
Lake Carnegie is a reservoir that is formed from a dam on the Millstone River, in the far northeastern corner of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. The Delaware and Raritan Canal and its associated tow path are situated along the eastern shor ...
. It lies east of
Wiluna and is at the southern edge of the
Little Sandy Desert and south western border of the
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert is a large desert in Western Australia, largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the fifth largest desert in Australia, after the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami and Simpson deserts. The ...
. It also lies to the north west of the
Great Central Road
The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian Australian outback, outback highway that runs from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory (near Uluru, Uluru / Ayers Rock). It passes through a number of small communitie ...
and the
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia.
History
In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cros ...
. Its surface elevation is 436 metres above mean sea-level. Lake Wells has an area of 1895 square kilometres.
Discovery
Lake Wells was discovered by Europeans in March 1892 during the second part of The Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition 1891–1892. The 1891 phase of the expedition led by
David Lindsay had been recalled by its benefactor
Sir Thomas Elder, so in February 1892 Lindsay sent his second in command
Lawrence Wells
Lawrence Allen "Larry" Wells (30 April 1860 – 11 May 1938), frequently spelled Laurence Allen Wells, was an Australian explorer.
Wells was born at Yallum Station near Penola, South Australia and grew up in the Mount Gambier, South Australia ...
on a smaller expedition to explore the area east of the
Murchison River in Western Australia.
During this expedition Wells (a surveyor) found and named
Lake Way
Lake Way is a dry saline lake located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Wiluna. It also gives its name to a nearby cattle station, the Lake Way Station.
Description
The lake, dry except during exceptional ...
,
Lake Darlot
Lake Darlot is an ephemeral lake in the centre of Western Australia, lying approximately east-north-east of Leinster, and north of Leonora in the Goldfields-Esperance region. Its surface elevation is 434 metres above mean sea-level.
Discover ...
and Lake Wells.
See also
*
Lake Wells Station
Lake Wells Station, often referred to as Lake Wells, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station.
It is located about north of Laverton and east of Leinster in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
Les Smith ow ...
*
Prenti Downs
Prenti Downs Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
It is situated approximately to the east of Wiluna and north of Laverton. Neighbouring properties include Carnegie and Windi ...
References
Saline lakes of Western Australia
Lakes of Goldfields-Esperance (Western Australia)
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