Exorheic Again in Magical Realism

There is a lake here, on the drive between here and Sydney.

Before we moved to Australia I was very excited because on the maps, it looked like a large inland lake at altitude, possibly swimmable, without too many critters. I did not realise it was mostly a dry lake, a grazing lake for cattle, made toxic by their excrement.

This lake is called an endorheic lake, as it has no outflow of water to rivers and oceans. It holds the same name as the “Queen of the American Lakes,” Lake George in New York State, 52 km / 32 miles from end to end. This is a beautiful, perennial, lake I have swum twice and enjoyed.

The Lake George in Australia is one of the country’s most studied lakes. A paleontologist once commented that “it is actually a depression that turns into a lake when it fills. There’s always water below the lake floor, and amazingly, it is saline, but if you have more rainfall, the lake fills up”. What a mystery.

At 25 km / 16 miles long and 10 km / 6.2 miles wide, Lake George is long, largely flat and extremely shallow, with a very small catchment. Evaporation and locals winds supposedly explain the mysterious drying and flooding episodes short and long term have been observed.

UFO sightings and stories of hauntings are common, especially for Australia. A boatload of young military men, drowned of hypothermia during WW2. Ghostly hitch hikers.

Just before I was born swans were common on the lake but afterwards they left because the lake dried up. Artists made installations out of their abandoned feathers.

When I came to this place, the lake had been dry for many many years. Since I have been here, it flooded and effectively became a true lake. Not one I would swim in, but a real lake. It is unique and beautiful in colour.

I am leaving this place tomorrow, and while I’m not a betting woman (I prefer to save my luck for more important things) I will not be surprised if the lake dries up again.

I have so missed the sea.

Last updated July 24, 2024