Lake Moondarra is an artificial

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

on the

Leichhardt River The Leichhardt River is a river in north west Queensland, Australia. Course The source of the river is in the Selwyn Range under Rifle Creek Hill and fed by Rifle Creek approximately south of the mining town Mount Isa. It runs in a generally n ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, 16 km downstream from the town of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

. It provides water to the city and the adjacent

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

(MIM) mining lease. Construction began on the Leichhardt Dam in 1956, and was completed on 6 November 1958 at a cost of £1.7 million. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was built for

and, at the time, was the largest water scheme in Australia financed by private enterprise. The original construction was started by the American Utah Construction Company, but Thiess Brothers completed the project. On 11 July 1961 the dam officially became Lake Moondarra after a competition to name the dam was won by a Mount Isa local, Danny Driscoll. The Aboriginal name means "plenty of rain also

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

". The lake includes picnic areas, pontoons, a

ski jump Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

, and

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

facilities. The lake is popular with

birdwatcher 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 ...

s, sailors and

angler Angler may refer to: * A fisherman who uses the fishing technique of angling * ''Angler'' (video game) * The angler, ''Lophius piscatorius'', a monkfish * More generally, any anglerfish in the order Lophiiformes * '' Angler: The Cheney Vice Pres ...

s, as it is stocked with

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sout ...

and

sooty grunter The sooty grunter (''Hephaestus fuliginosus''), also known by the name black bream, blubberlips, Northern grunter or purple grunter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It inhabits coastal and inland ...

. The Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic has been held there since 1999. Transport Bay was so named because tonnes of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

was deposited on the banks of the lake by MIM

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s to create a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

. The lake was the location for one of Australia's largest stone axe

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

. The axes were traded amongst Aborigines across distances as far as 1,000 km.

Pest weed control

In 1984, a species of weevil was successfully used as a biological pest control to contain a proliferation of the weed

Salvinia molesta ''Salvinia molesta'', commonly known as giant salvinia, or as kariba weed after it infested a large portion of Lake Kariba between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil. It is a free-floating plant that does ...

in the lake. The first releases were made in 1980. The weevil destroyed tens of thousands of tonnes of weed.

References

North West Queensland 1958 establishments in Australia Reservoirs in Queensland {{Queensland-geo-stub

Pest weed control

See also

References