Carle Thulka

About

Carle Thulka, officially Carle Thulka / Lake Maurice is a salt lake in South Australia. It is the largest of many salt lakes in the eastern end of the Great Victoria Desert. It is normally dry, except during and after periods of heavy rainfall. When it is full, the lake covers an area of around 2,900 hectares (29 km2). It is part of the geological basin known as the Officer Basin. The smaller Lake Dey Dey is to the north. Since 1985, Carle Thulka is part of the lands belonging to the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern branch of the Pitjantjatjara. The community of Oak Valley is near the western shore of the lake. The exposed surface of the lake normally consists of dry clay, silt or sand, covered with a salty crust. The area around Carle Thulka is very dry. Two wells have been drilled to the southeast and northwest of Carle Thulka, to search for uranium and other minerals. Both wells yield very low levels of groundwater. The water contains high levels of salt. It has also been found to contain radium and sediments from the Cambrian period. The elevation of the surface above mean sea level is 193 m (633 ft).

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.