Lake Barrine is a freshwater lake on the eastern parts of Atherton Tableland in the locality of Lake Barrine, in the

Tablelands Region The Tablelands Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas which dated back more than a century. On 1 January ...

of Far North Queensland, Australia, close to Lake Eacham. The lake and surrounds are protected within the Crater Lakes National Park and are accessible via the

Gillies Highway The Gillies Highway is a road that runs from Gordonvale in the Cairns Region through the Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to Atherton in the Tablelands Region, both in Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Gillies Ra ...

Origin

Lake Barrine was formed over 17,000 years ago when a large volcano erupted, leaving a crater that over time filled up with water to create a lake. The crater or maar was formed as a result of a series of volcanic explosions. These explosions were caused by the hot molten rock coming into contact with groundwater. This caused a build-up of steam, gases and pressure which blasted the central core from the volcano. This massive explosion left a huge crater, which filled with rainwater to create Lake Barrine. Local Aboriginals called the lake Barany.

Description

Lake Barrine with a view of the tea rooms and cruise boat

The largest of the natural volcanic lakes in the area, Lake Barrine is 730 m above sea level. It is about 1 km in diameter, with a shoreline of almost 4.5 km, an average depth of 35 m and a maximum depth of 65 m. No streams or springs feed the crystal clear lake; it is filled only by rainwater. During the wet season a small creek flows out of the lake. It joins Toohey Creek which is a tributary of the

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locatio ...

Facilities

There are walking tracks around the lake and tour operators offer cruises on the lake. Facilities at the lake include picnic grounds, a kiosk and a pre-war

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment wh ...

which was built in 1926. Visitors may also swim in the lake and partake in

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

. Camping and domestic animals are prohibited near the lake.

Fauna and flora

The surrounding rainforest contains giant kauri ('' Agathis microstachya''), red cedar (''

Toona ciliata ''Toona ciliata'' is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Names It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), toon or toona (al ...

'') and flowering umbrella trees (''

Schefflera actinophylla ''Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (formerly ''Schefflera actinophylla'') is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and north-eastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Austr ...

''). Wildlife common in the area include eastern water dragons, giant

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, saw-shelled turtles, scrub pythons ('' Morelia kinghorni''), pied cormorants, black ducks, plumed whistling ducks, black coot,

whistling kite The whistling kite (''Haliastur sphenurus'') is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia (including coastal islands), New Caledonia and much of New Guinea (excluding the central mountains and the northwest). Also called the whistl ...

brahminy kite The brahminy kite (''Haliastur indus''), formerly known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harrie ...

black kite The black kite (''Milvus migrans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have ...

white-breasted sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

s and

dusky moorhen The dusky moorhen (''Gallinula tenebrosa'') is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in India, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple s ...

s. The aquatic environment include a few native species including

Speckled_longfin_eel The speckled longfin eel, Australian long-finned eel or marbled eel (''Anguilla reinhardtii'') is one of 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It has a long snake-like cylindrical body with its dorsal, tail and anal fins joined to form on ...

''Anguilla Reinhardtii'',

Bony Bream Bony bream ''Nematalosa erebi'' are a widespread and common, small to medium-sized Australian freshwater fish often found in large shoals throughout much of northern and central Australia, and the Murray-Darling basin. Description A deep bodied, ...

''Nematalosa ereb'' and the Lake Eacham rainbowfish ''Melanotaenia eachamensis''. Despite being lake with no rivers or creeks feeding into Lake Barrine the

spotted tilapia The spotted tilapia (''Pelmatolapia mariae''Dunz, A.R. & Schliewen, U.K. (2013): Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as ''“Tilapia”''. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolutio ...

''Tilapia mariae'' has found its way into the National Park and are now in plague proportions in this freshwater Ecosystem.

World War II

During World War II the teahouse was used by the Australian Army as a convalescent home.Official website
Accessed 22 September 2013

References

External links

Queensland National Parks webpage : nature, culture and history
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrine, Lake Lakes of Queensland Landforms of Far North Queensland Volcanic crater lakes Volcanoes of Queensland Maars of Australia Pleistocene volcanoes Queensland in World War II