Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-22
PLANES SURVEY
AUSTRALIAN LAKE
Eyre, dead Heart" of
Country, Is Dry Most
of Year.

4 region whose edge has been In sight
y railway for 40 years, yet has come
% be really known only In the last year,
b the Lake Eyre basin Of Australia. ac-
sprding to bulletin from the National
Geographic Society.
Lake Eyre might be called Australia's
Nreat Salt Lake." says the bulletin.
vt is located only about .250 miles
eoutheast Of the geographical center Of
surroundings has been called Aus
tralia's dead heart
1.-THE lake and It's immediate sur
eoundtngs constitute the only area In
Australia that lies below sea level. It's
shore line is 80 feet lower than the
ocean waters that surround the CONT
nent. The bottom Of the lake can be
considered with little error as at the
sanle level, for Lake Eyre Is In reality
only o tremendous salt fat that Is
covered from time to time with few
inches Of water. It becomes O lake
after droughts are broken by unusual
rains In the far-away Queensland
plains, 30 that floods rush down the
usually dry river courses that lead to
this closed basin. But quickly the shall
low covering Of water evaporates and
fhe lake becomes first damp and then
"The recent exploration Of the basin
WAS accomplished In airplanes, from
which Photographic maps were made.
At the time of the, flights the lake was
% dry that land plane TAXED along
ecs center, stirring up cloud OF dust.
Later to check on the observations
shat had been made from the air, q
party left railway station so miles
from the main lake and after great
dtfdculty covered the intervening rough
country In motor car. Near the shore
the lake bed was found to consist of o
thin salt crust underlain by dry gypsum
sand from q few inches to Q foot In
depth. with damp clay beneath. Farther
from the shore the salt crust increased
In thickness, reaching II inches at IL
miles out, the greatest distance pene.
trated. This crust Is pinkish. When
dry 1t buckles up 50 that slabs lean
against each other like children's card
houses.
ga surprising discovery on the bed
bf Lake Eyre was the existence Of colo
nles OF ants some distance from the
shore. Lizzards half q foot long scamper
over the surface as far as miles from
tho shore. They are pinkish gray, the
exact color Of the salt crust.
along the western margin Of Lake
Eyre are mound springs which APP
Rrtesian waters that underlie large sec
tons Of Australia. Az the waters bubble
Up they bring large amounts Of min
erAl matter which are precipitated,
building up roughly circular dykes
Eventually elevated mounds are created
(which contain In their tops little pools
of water.
by means Of airplanes the unin-
Aabited, formerly unknown region north
Of Lake Eyre has also come to be known.
Effort after effort was made in the past
to enter this region, but 1t was found
impossible to penetrate 1t even with
icamels which have conquered many of
the out-of-the-way sections Of Australia.
The area Is waterless and Is covered
with parallel sand hills hundreds Of
miles long and only few hundred yards
apart. The hills are from SO to 100 feet
high and 30 steep on one side that even
IN unladen camel can climb over only O
few Of them. From the air the region
has the appearance of q vast field fur
Fowed by titanic pillow.
1.-THE railway from Adelaide and Port
Augusta, South Australia, which viii In
time cross the continent from south to
north, skirts the southern shore Of Lake
Eyre. For more than IS years its termi-
nus was at Oodnadatta In the high
lands 100 miles west OF the northern
end Of Lake Eyre. Within the last few
years the road has been extended to
Alice Springs, 800 miles farther to the
north. The country has q very sparse
population. When railroad construction
= not under way. trains are operated at
intervals OF two weeks"