Photos | Earth as art
Lake Eyre, Australia
Credit: NASA
Deep in the desert country of northern South Australia, Lake Eyre is an ephemeral feature of this flat landscape. Lake Eyre is home to some rare ecosystems and is the largest salt pan in the world. It spans 9,300 square kilometers and sits 15 meters below sea level. The lake’s basin sprawls across 1.2 million square kilometers, stretching from the Northern Territory to South Australia. Rain, when it falls, drains through the basin into Lake Eyre, which has no outlet. The lake has rarely filled completely, with spectacular fillings occurring in 1950, 1974, and 1984. When brimming, Lake Eyre is Australia’s largest lake. Landsat 5 collected this image in 2006.
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