Lake Bullen Merri and its smaller northern neighbour Lake Gnotuk are a pair of crater lakes near Camperdown in south western Victoria, Australia.
| Lake Bullen Merri | |
|---|---|
 Lake Bullen Merri at sunset | |
  Lake Bullen Merri Location in Victoria | |
| Location | Southwest Victoria |
| Coordinates | 38°15′06″S 143°06′15″E / 38.25167°S 143.10417°E[1] |
| Type | Brackish crater lake |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Average depth | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Max. depth | 66 m (217 ft) |
Lake Bullen Merri has brackish water quality whereas Lake Gnotuk is hyper saline (twice as salty than seawater).
Lake Bullen Merri
editLake Bullen Merri has a maximum depth of 66 m (217 ft), with a clover leaf outline indicating that it was probably formed by two overlapping maar volcanoes. The lake is depicted in work by Eugene von Guerard.[2] The edge of the lake was marked by a stone in the late 1800s by James Dawson; from this and von Guerard's painting, it can be deduced that the level of the lake has dropped considerably in the last 100 years.[3] On the south side of the lake there is a yacht club and toilets. There is a boat ramp available for the boaties.
Lake Gnotuk
editThe smaller lake to the north of Lake Bullen Merri has a maximum depth of 20 m (66 ft). The two lakes are linked by an overflow channel in the common wall at an elevation of 175 m. There is a 19th-century record of water from Bullen Merri overflowing into Gnotuk.
The crater is 2 km across and although the lakes have the same level of their lake-beds, the level of water is lower in Gnotuk. Lake shore terraces indicate previous higher levels and lake floor sediments and fossils show a record of past fluctuations in salinity, water level and climate.[4]
There is no direct public access to the lake.
On the low-lying land between the two lakes is Camperdown's major sporting complex. There is an 18-hole golf course, two cricket ovals (one with a turf pitch), an extensive equestrian course, tennis courts and a bowling green.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Lake Bullen Merri". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 2 May 1966. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ Lakes and Craters Precinct:Lake Bullen Merri, Kanawinka Geopark
- ^ "Volcanic landforms in the Camperdown area of Victoria". UniServe Science. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
- ^ "Lake Gnotuk".
External links
edit- Lake Bullenmerrie, southwest of Camperdown., Three craters 3.2 km by 2.8 km are surrounded by a prominent tuff-ring. (Oblique aerial photo) Museum Victoria
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