Lake Bumbunga

Lake Bumbunga
Lake Bumbunga in late spring 2010, facing east
Lake Bumbunga
Location in South Australia
Location Mid North region, South Australia
Coordinates 33°54′S 138°11′E / 33.900°S 138.183°E / -33.900; 138.183Coordinates: 33°54′S 138°11′E / 33.900°S 138.183°E / -33.900; 138.183
Type Salt lake
Basin countries Australia
Surface area 13.88 km2 (5.36 sq mi)[1]

Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake located in South Australia's Mid North near the towns of Lochiel and Bumbunga.

Salt has been mined at the salt extraction works sited on the lake since 1881.[2]

Description

Lake Bumbunga facing east from Lochiel towards Bumbunga.

According to anthropologist Norman Tindale the name was derives from the Parnpangka (local indigenous) term for 'rain water lake'.[3]

Easily visible from Highway 1, the lake is a dramatic departure from the surrounding landscape due to its seasonal pink colouration and wide expanse.[2] The lake is fed by seasonal rainfalls running off the surrounding hills including the Hummocks Range. Each summer a large portion of the lake dries up to expose salt flats.

Salt mining

Extraction of salt from the lake bed in the summer months commenced in 1881, following recognition of the site's potential for salt harvesting. By 1883 6.1 to 8.1 t (6 to 8 long tons) of salt was being mined per day. The growth and sustainment of the township of Lochiel on the southwest edge of the lake was strongly tied to the salt mining activity at the site during the twentieth century.[2][4][5][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ WETLAND INVENTORY, NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA Archived 2009-10-17 at the Wayback Machine., An assessment of selected inland wetlands of the Northern Agricultural Districts. (page 16)
  2. 1 2 3 HERITAGE SURVEY OF THE LOWER NORTH (REGION 8 - SOUTH AUSTRALIA) - PART TWO 17. D.C. SNOWTOWN (PDF), Department of Environment and Planning, Government of South Australia, 1983, p. 8, retrieved 24 May 2017, [...] The shallow lake's potential as a salt site was recognised as early as 1868, although a lease was not taken up until 1881. [...] By 1883 production was 6 to 8 tons of salt per day. [...] By 1910 there were at least 3 lease-holders scraping thousands of tons of salt when the lake dried up (usually December). The Australian Salt Company was established in 1913 [...]
  3. ↑ "Place Names of South Australia - B - Bumbunga". Manning Index of South Australian History. State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016. Index compiled based on Manning, Geoffrey H. (2006). Manning's Place Names of South Australia from Aaron Creek to Zion Hill. Modbury, South Australia: Gould Books. ISBN 9780947284602.
  4. ↑ "Salt production in South Australia - Lochiel". Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA). Archived from the original on 2009-07-12.
  5. ↑ "Number 1. Early Salt Production in South Australia". Historical Cameos of Early South Australia. Archived from the original on 2005-02-22.
  6. ↑ Hough, Joanne K (September 2008). "Salt production in South Australia" (PDF). MESA Journal. PIRSA, Government of South Australia. 50: 32. Retrieved 15 July 2016.


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