Lake Baandee, sometimes referred to as Baandee Lake or Baandee Lakes,
is an ephemeral
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). ...
located in the
Wheatbelt region 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 ...
, approximately east of
Doodlakine and east of
Kelleberrin just off
Great Eastern Highway
Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...
.
The town of
Hines Hill is also located along the edge of the lake.
Description
The lake is part of the
Salt River system which lies within an ancient drainage zone. The landscape is primarily composed of broad, flat valley floors linked by chains of salt lakes, or
playa and gently-sloped valley sides containing many rocky outcrops that rises to sandplains that undulate gently. The Salt River falls within the Mount Caroline Vegetation System of the
Avon Botanical District. The valley floors contain salt lakes as well as braided discontinuous channels surrounded by
lunette
A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
s.
The lakes often contain no vegetation and are fringed by salt-tolerant species such as ''
Halosarcia
''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'', '' ...
'' species of
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 Unit ...
, ''
Atriplex
''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''.
The genus is quite variable and w ...
'' species of saltbush and ''
Maireana
''Maireana '' is a genus of around 57 species of perennial shrubs and herbs in the family Amaranthaceae which are endemic to Australia. Species in this genus were formerly classified within the genus ''Kochia''. The genus was described in 1840 b ...
'' species of bluebush. These areas are followed by flats with ''
Melaleuca uncinata
''Melaleuca uncinata'', commonly known as broombush, broom honeymyrtle or brushwood, is a plant in the paperbark family native to southern Australia. It is harvested from the wild, and grown in plantations, for broombush fencing. The Noongar nam ...
'' thickets then into open woodlands of ''
Eucalyptus loxophleba
''Eucalyptus loxophleba'', commonly known as York gum, daarwet, goatta, twotta or yandee, is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk, smooth olive to brownish bark above, lance-shaped adul ...
'' (York gum), ''
Eucalyptus salmonophloia
''Eucalyptus salmonophloia'', commonly known as salmon gum, wurak or weerluk or woonert or marrlinja. is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leave ...
'' (salmon gum), ''
Eucalyptus salubris
''Eucalyptus salubris'', commonly known as gimlet, fluted gum tree, gimlet gum and silver-topped gimlet, is a species of mallet that is endemic to low-rainfall areas of the wheatbelt and goldfields regions of Western Australia.
Description
'' ...
'' (gimlet) and ''
Eucalyptus longicornis'' (morrel).
[
]
History
The traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
of the area are the Njakinjaki
The Njakinjaki (Nyaki Nyaki) are an indigenous Noongar people of southern Western Australia, in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt and Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern regions.
Country
Njakinjaki traditional territory ...
language group of the Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
peoples. The name ''Baandee'' means "of perspiration of sweat" or "shimmer in a silvery fashion", referring to perspiration in the sun's glare or sunlight reflecting off the salt layer of the dry lake.
The lake and others in the area flooded in 1953, isolating the town of Baandee that lies to the north of the main lake.
Facilities
The lake area has picnic tables and a barbeque area provided by the Inland Water Skiing Club, as well as ablutions and shower facilities built by the Shire of Kellerberrin
The Shire of Kellerberrin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of K ...
. Swimming and skiing is possible at the lake for a few months of the year.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baandee, Lake
Lakes of the Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Saline lakes of Western Australia