Lake Bumbunga

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Salt lake in South Australia

title: "Lake Bumbunga" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mid-north-(south-australia)", "lakes-of-south-australia", "saline-lakes-of-south-australia"] description: "Salt lake in South Australia" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Bumbunga" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Salt lake in South Australia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]

FieldValue
nameLake Bumbunga
imageLake Bumbunga satellite view in summer.jpg
image_size280
captionSatellite view of 15 square km Lake Bumbunga in summer, when the water level is at its lowest
(click to enlarge)
pushpin_mapAustralia South Australia
pushpin_label_positiontop
pushpin_map_captionLocation in South Australia
locationMid North region, South Australia
coords
typeSalt lake
basin_countriesAustralia
area13.88 km2
::

| name = Lake Bumbunga | image = Lake Bumbunga satellite view in summer.jpg | image_size = 280 | caption = Satellite view of 15 square km Lake Bumbunga in summer, when the water level is at its lowest (click to enlarge) | pushpin_map = Australia South Australia | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_label_position = top | pushpin_map_caption = Location in South Australia | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Mid North region, South Australia | coords = | type = Salt lake | inflow = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = Australia | length = | width = | area = 13.88 km2 | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = | islands = | cities = Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake located in the Mid North of the state of South Australia, between the town of Lochiel and the farming locality of Bumbunga, approximately 1.5 hours' drive from Adelaide. It is a pink lake, with its colour due to certain algae.

Salt has been mined there almost continuously since 1881, and it has become a tourist attraction, along with its "Loch Eel Monster" sculpture in the middle of it.

History

The lake lies in the traditional lands of the Kaurna people.

According to anthropologist Norman Tindale, the name Bumbunga derives from the word parnpangka in the local Aboriginal language (Kaurna), meaning "rain water lake".

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Lake_Bumbunga_salt_lake_at_Lochiel,_South_Australia_in_2010.jpg" caption="Hwy 1]] rest stop, late spring 2010"] ::

The lake is situated in the Mid North of South Australia, approximately 125 km Lake Bumbunga is a dramatic departure from the surrounding landscape due to its seasonal pink colouration and wide expanse. The colour is due to a certain type of algae which tolerates its high salinity and produces pink pigment that helps it to take energy. The colour changes throughout the year; it is often pinker in spring than winter, owing to more fresh water bringing nutrients to the algae and increased sunlight compared to the winter months. Summers are dry and the water evaporates.

The lake is the largest of a system of Quaternary Holocene saline lakes extending about 30 km north of Lochiel, draining an area to the east of the Barunga Range, where it merges with the Hummock Range. Salt is dissolved from saline mud produced when winter rain fills the lake. Each summer a large portion of the lake dries up.

Salt harvesting

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Salt_harvesting,_Lake_Bumbunga,_South_Australia,_late_1940s.jpg" caption="Salt harvesting at Lake Bumbunga in the late 1940s"] ::

Salt is precipitated from gypsum, are precipitated out at this stage. The water is then pumped into crystallising ponds, where common salt precipitates. The process is stopped before all the salt comes down in order to avoid contamination with magnesium and potassium salts. The final liquors, known as bitterns, are drained away from the salt, which is then harvested. At Lake Bumbunga, brine is pumped into three 25 hectare (62 acre) crystalliser ponds for refining.

The potential of Lake Bumbunga's shallow waters for salt harvesting was recognised in 1868. Salt was harvested from the lake bed in summer months from 1881; two years later, output was 6.1 to 8.1 tonnes (6 to 8 long tons) per day. Evaporation pans, furnaces, tank and men's quarters were built at the northern end of the lake. Mining provided employment and other economic benefits for many years; the town of Lochiel, on the west bank of the lake, is said to have "developed slowly with the industry, its survival in the 20th century being almost totally dependent on the salt harvesting". By 1910 there were at least three lease-holders scraping thousands of tons of salt from evaporation pans when the lake dried up – usually in December.

Efficiency of transportation was improved in 1926 after a 9 km (5.5 mi) branch line was built from the nearby Salisbury railway line, enabling transport directly to Port Adelaide. With harvesting becoming practicable using only front-end loaders and trucks, the maintenance and salt works buildings became redundant and were demolished in 2000.

Tourism

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Lake_Bumbunga_near_Lochiel,_South_Australia,with_its_quirky'Loch_Eel'_sculpture.jpg" caption=""Loch Eel", visible from the northern approaches to Lochiel"] ::

The lake is a tourist attraction owing to its pinkness, with its popularity growing in recent years, attracting stops by tourist buses.

A fibreglass sculpture named the "Loch-Eel monster" (wordplay on Lochiel, the nearest town, whose namesake is a forest in northern Scotland The original version of the monster was created from piles of old tyres, and locals called it the Loch Ness monster's cousin. After the head got stolen in 2017, work began on the fibreglass replacement.

There is a walking trail around the lake for tourists.

Other uses

The lake has been used as background for advertising by R. M. Williams, Mercedes-Benz, Foxtel and others, as well as fashion shoots for the Adelaide Fashion Festival. Tim Minchin used Lake Bumbunga as a filming location for his TV series Upright, with a cast of more than 50 people on the lake.

Notes

References

References

  1. [http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/biodiversity/pdfs/wetlands/northern_agric_dist.pdf Wetland inventory, northern agricultural districts of South Australia] {{webarchive. link. (2009-10-17 , An assessment of selected inland wetlands of the Northern Agricultural Districts. (page 16))
  2. "Lake Bumbunga – The Pink Lake".
  3. Horton, David R.. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia".
  4. Manning, Geoffrey H.. (2006). "Place Names of South Australia - B - Bumbunga". State Library of South Australia.
  5. . (2019). ["Lake Bumbunga, Lochiel, North Mt Lofty Ranges, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia"](https://www.mindat.org/loc-19065.html). *Hudson Institute of Mineralogy*.
  6. Hough, Joanne K.. (September 2008). "Salt Production In South Australia". [Department of] Mines and Energy South Australia.
  7. (1983). "Heritage survey of the Lower North (Region 8 - South Australia) - Part Two: 17. D.C. Snowtown". Department of Environment and Planning, [[Government of South Australia]].
  8. Klaassen, Nic. (2019). "Salt mining in South Australia". Flinders Ranges Research.
  9. . (2019). ["Historical timeline – Cheetham Salt"](https://www.cheethamsalt.com.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=kwfa6-CgvbA=&tabid=227). *Cheetham Salt Limited*.
  10. Google Earth.
  11. (18 November 1926). "LOCHIEL-BUMBUNGA". [[The Register (Adelaide)]].
  12. Fuss, Eloise. (1 March 2012). "Lochiel lake harvest stirs salty memories". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  13. Jones, Kate. (29 March 2021). "Escape to Lochiel, South Australia: Great for crowds and pink lake pics for the socials".
  14. Sulda, Dixie. (17 February 2023). "South Australia's Lake Bumbunga attracts tourists from far and wide. But why is it pink?".

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mid-north-(south-australia)lakes-of-south-australiasaline-lakes-of-south-australia