Lakes & Creeks of Fraser Island
 Did you know:
- Fraser Island is surrounded by salt water and formed entirely by
sand supports over 100 freshwater lakes and numerous streams
- Much of the water from the annual average rainfall of 1600mm is
absorbed into an enormous dome shaped water table below the dunes.
It has been estimated that between 10-20 million megalitres of
freshwater may be held in natural storage systems on Fraser Island
- Some of this water may be stored 30 metres or more below sea
level and for up to 100 years before resurfacing. The volume and
pressure of freshwater held, and the amount that flows out from the
island daily, prevents intrusion by the surrounding salty, sea
water.
- The only area in Australia that has higher concentration of
lakes than Fraser Island is Tasmania.
- Forty of Fraser’s lakes are perched in the tops of sand dunes
high above sea level. Fraser Island supports the largest perched
lake in the world, Lake Boomanjin at 200 hectares, and has half the
world’s perch lakes.
- Perched lakes sit upon a layer of human impregnated sand or
‘coffee rock’ formed from accumulating organic matter and sand
cementing together into a largely impervious seal. Perched lakes are
dependent on rainfall for the maintenance of water level. There is a
slow loss of water from perched lakes due to evaporation and seepage
through the coffee rock.
- There are numerous freshwater creeks flowing into the ocean from
Fraser Island. Many of these creeks begin life as freshwater springs
and some flow from points where the water table slowly seeps through
the ground surface. During intense rainfall, water will run off
dunes along drainage lines and into streams.
- The largest number of creeks are on the eastern beach, best
known is Eli Creek which pours out 80 megalitres of water daily. But
at 160 megalitres per day, Bogimbah Creek, on the western side, is
responsible for nearly half the island’s surface run off of 325
megalitres per day.
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| "Fraser Island's beautiful,
emerald-green Lake Wabby is slowly being engulfed by Hammerstone
Sandblow. The sandblow has blocked a creek to form a 'barrage'
lake." |
"Eighty megalitres of freshwater per
day flow into the sea from Fraser Island's Eli Creek. The name
Eli comes from the Aboriginal eeli which means sand crab. A
board walk circles the creek's wildflower-clothed banks." |
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