Lake Amadeo

Lake Amadeo (in English, Lake Amadeus) is a huge salt lake or endorheic basin about 50 km north of Uluru (Ayers Rock), located in the southwestern tip of Australia's Northern Territory, between the Macdonell and Musgrave ranges. It is common for the lake to dry completely, forming a large salt flat.

Physical features and nearby places

Due to the aridity of the region, the surface of Lake Amadeo is normally a dry salt crust. When it rains enough, it is part of a watershed that flows eastwards and eventually connects it to the River Finke. Lake Amadeo is 180 km long and 10 km wide, making it the largest salt lake in the Northern Territory. It contains around 600 million tonnes of salt, however collecting it is not feasible due to the remote from its location.

Near the lake are: Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (Olga Rock) and Mount Conner.

Discovery

The first non-Aboriginal discoverer of this lake was the explorer Ernest Giles, who initially intended to honor his benefactor Ferdinand von Mueller with the eponym Lake Ferdinand ("Lake Fernando"). However, it owes its name to King Amadeo I of Spain (Amadeo of Savoy), since Mueller preferred it that way, since Amadeo had previously conferred an honor on him. The expanse of the lake was a barrier to Giles who could see both the undiscovered Uluru and Kata Tjuta but could not reach them because the dry lake bed was not capable of supporting the weight of the horses. The following year, William Gosse ascended and gave his name to both heights.