Lake Barlee, Western Australia

Lake Barlee is an intermittent salt lake in Western Australia. It is located at 29° 05' S, 119° 28' E, about 150 km east of Paynes Find on the border between the Shires of Sandstone and Menzies. Lake Barlee is more than 100 km wide from west to east, and about 80 km wide from north to south.

Lake Barlee is usually dry. It fills about once every ten years, after which the water persists for a little less than a year. When Lake Barlee is holding water, it is the most important breeding ground for Banded Stilts.

(courtesy LISWA)

Lake Barlee was discovered by John Forrest in 1869. Forrest's party, who were searching for the long lost explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, became bogged while trying to cross the salt lake on 19 March. After extracting their horses from the bog, they skirted the lake for nearly a week. On 25 March, Forrest climbed a hill in the area and saw the great extent of the lake. He then named it after Frederick Barlee, the colonial secretary of Western Australia.