Lake Pinaroo lies in

Sturt National Park The Sturt National Park is a protected national park that is located in the arid far north-western corner of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of Sydney and the nearest town is , awa ...

in the Far West region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. On 17 March 1996 the lake was recognised as a wetland of international importance by designation (RS799) under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

Description

Pinaroo is an

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

lake in the

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

north-western corner of New South Wales (NSW) near Cameron Corner. It forms the largest terminal basin within the NSW part of the

Simpson Simpson most often refers to: * Simpson (name), a British surname *''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom **The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons'' Simpson may also refer to: Organizations Schools *Simpso ...

– Strzelecki Dunefields

bioregion A bioregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a biogeographic realm, but larger than an ecoregion or an ecosystem, in the World Wide Fund for Nature classification scheme. There is also an attempt to use the ...

. It is subject to erratic

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

events interspersed with extended dry periods; once full, it may take up to six years to dry out. The lake filled in March 2021 as a result of the weather system associated with the 2021 Eastern Australian floods with 100mm of rain falling near the lake itself, having been dry for 10 years.Lake Pinaroo fills for first time in 10 years as Far West NSW welcomes heavy rains
Callum Marshall and Andrew Schmidt,

ABC News Online ABC News, or ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting within Australia and the rest of the world, the service covers both local and world affairs. The division of ...

, 2021-04-01

Flora and fauna

Because it holds water for much longer periods than other wetlands in the desert region, it is regionally important as a breeding site and

drought refuge A drought refuge is a site that provides permanent fresh water or moist conditions for plants and animals, acting as a refuge habitat when surrounding areas are affected by drought and allowing ecosystems and core species populations to survive un ...

for many kinds of animals, especially

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s that have bred on, for example, interdune swamps that only retain water for a few months. Waterbirds for which the site is important when inundated include freckled and

blue-billed duck The blue-billed duck (''Oxyura australis'') is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 cm (16 in). The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding se ...

s. It is also used as a staging site by migratory

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s such as black-tailed godwits,

common greenshank The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'' ...

marsh sandpiper The marsh sandpiper (''Tringa stagnatilis'') is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name give ...

s and

red-necked stint The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from ...

s. It provides opportunities to see large flocks of desert birds such as

budgerigar The budgerigar ( ; ''Melopsittacus undulatus''), also known as the common parakeet or shell parakeet, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot usually nicknamed the budgie ( ), or in American English, the parakeet. Budgies are the only spe ...

s. Other animals recorded at the site are the

eastern long-eared bat The eastern long-eared bat, species ''Nyctophilus bifax'', is a small flying mammal, a vespertilionid bat. It is found in eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy The first description of the species was published in 1915 by Oldfield T ...

and interior blind snake.

References

Pinaroo Ramsar sites in Australia {{NewSouthWales-protected-area-stub