Type Brackish freshwater Basin countries Australia Max. width 4 km (2.5 mi) Surface elevation 2 m Mean depth 3 m Catchment area 430 km² | Primary inflows Max. length 23 km (14 mi) Area 64 km² Width 4 km Length 23 km Outflow location Southern Ocean | |
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Primary outflows Evaporation; Southern Ocean | ||
Lake Bonney SE (alternative name: Coonunda or Canunda) is a coastal freshwater lake located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Canunda. With a surface area of 5,056 square kilometres (1,952 sq mi), the lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Australia.
Contents
Map of Lake Bonney S.e., Canunda SA 5280, Australia
The lake is located 450 km (280 mi) south east of Adelaide and 13 km (8 mi) south west of Millicent. The Canunda National Park lies adjacent to the lake shore.
Naming
The lake was named Lake Bonney in 1844 by George Grey, the then Governor of South Australia.
The name was proposed in 1916 to be changed by the Nomenclature Committee to ‘Coonunda Lake’ but was not actioned without any reason provided. ‘Coonunda’ or ‘Canunda’ is the indigenous name fof the lake.
In both 1972 and 1981, the District Council of Barmera wrote to the South Australian government requesting that the lake be renamed with its native name, i.e. ‘Canunda’ or ‘Coonunda’, in order to avoid being confused with the lake in the Riverland. In response to the request sent in 1981, the Geographical Names Board renamed both lakes as ‘Lake Bonney, Riverland’ and ‘Lake Bonney SE’ in order “to differentiate between the lakes.” A further request for a name change sent in 1989 by the District Council of Barmera was not approved by the Geographical Names Board.