Lake Mackay

Lake Mackay is Australia’s largest ephemeral lake, a vast salt lake spanning the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Ephemeral lake: A lake that holds water only intermittently, usually after rainfall or snowmelt. Lake Mackay’s broad basin fills after rain and is usually dry.
Lake Eyre basin: A major endorheic drainage basin in central Australia, centered on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre. Both basins collect scarce runoff in Australia’s arid interior.
Indigenous Australian art: Art traditions and contemporary practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Lake Mackay’s country and water are represented in Indigenous art traditions.
Western Desert cultural bloc: A broad grouping of Aboriginal peoples whose languages and cultural traditions span parts of Western Australia and neighboring regions. Lake Mackay lies within country associated with Western Desert peoples.
Salt lake: An inland lake with dissolved salts that accumulate as water evaporates. Evaporation leaves Lake Mackay’s surface coated with salt.
Flash flood: A sudden flood caused by intense rainfall over a short period. Brief desert floods can deliver water across Lake Mackay’s dry margins.
Native title in Australia: The recognition under Australian law of certain rights and interests arising from traditional laws and customs. Legal recognition of Indigenous connections to country is relevant across this region.
Pintupi: An Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional country lies in the Western Desert. Pintupi country includes areas around Lake Mackay.
Lake Mackay basin: The closed drainage basin surrounding Lake Mackay in arid central Australia. The basin channels episodic runoff toward the lake.
Endorheic basin: A drainage basin with no outlet to the sea, where water ends in lakes or evaporation. Lake Mackay lies in an inland basin without a river outlet to the ocean.

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Great Sandy DesertBroader topic: This ephemeral lake lies near the desert’s eastern edge and attracts wildlife after rain.