Alegzandrina (Lake, Australia)

The lake was named after Princess Alexandrina , niece of William IV . When the princess ascended the throne, the idea came up to rename Lake Alegzandrina to Lake Victoria. But this idea was rejected due to the fact that too many geographical objects were named in honor of Queen Victoria .

Lake Allegsandrina is located north of Encanter Bay and east of the Fleurie Peninsula. The rivers Murray , Bremer , Angas and Finnis flow into Lake Alegzandrina. All rivers flow from the eastern side of the lake. The lake is shallow and contains a number of islands at the southern tip.

Not far from Gulva is the Murray Roth Canal, through which the lake connects to the Great Australian Gulf . But when the river is weak, the entrance is often blocked by a sand spit. Very often, sea water gets into the canal due to storm waves, therefore, water filtration is being carried out on the islands of the lake.

Although the lake is connected to the ocean, water flows mix very little. More than 95% of the lake area is preserved from the normal tributary of the Murray River. Salt water from the ocean leads to relatively small mixes of fresh and salt water. Hindmarsh Island, according to some scholars, is the largest island in the world, surrounded by salt water on one side and fresh water on the other. Also, Lake Allegsandrina is connected by a narrow channel with Lake Albert in the southeast.

According to the mythology of Australian aborigines, a creature called Muldjewangk lives in the lake.

Edward Wilson , who visited the lake in the early 1850s, described it as follows:

Alegzandrina Lake is the best freshwater surface I have ever seen. In fact, it looked so formidable when a fresh wind blew, creating a swell sufficient to cause sea sickness, that I could not believe in its fresh water. However, this is a fact. It stretches forty or fifty miles in length and twelve or fifteen miles in width, and the banks around it dissolve in the distance, until they are lost sight of - such impressions are usually associated with us only with sea water. Almost completely nourished by Murray , the entire lake retains the muddy hue that I spoke about, and this, unfortunately, downplays the otherwise beautiful impression of this magnificent water surface ^[2] .

Original text

Lake Alexandrina is the finest sheet of fresh water I ever saw. Indeed so formidable did it look, with a stiff wind blowing up quite a sufficient swell to make one seasick, that I could scarcely believe it to be fresh. Such is the fact however. It is forty or fifty miles long by twelve or fifteen wide and the shores around it receded into the dim distance until they become invisible, in the way which we are accustomed only with ideas of salt water. Supplied almost entirely by the Murray, the whole lake retains the muddy tinge of which I have spoken, and this sadly detracts from the otherwise beautiful appearances of this magnificent sheet of water.

In 2008, the water level in Lake Alegzandrina and in Lake Albert became so low that there was a danger of the formation of a significant number of soils with acid sulfates. The soil at the bottom of the lake turned out to be rich in iron sulfides. Upon contact with air, for example during a period of severe drought, sulfides are oxidized and sulfuric acid is formed . Gulva dam limits the inflow of sea water, which counteracted this phenomenon in all dry periods since the last ice age ^[3] . The dam was built near the island of Pomanda to protect the water supply and, if necessary, open it.

Turtles live in the lake, and lizards and snakes live along the coastline. Of the insects, dragonflies, moths and butterflies are found, as well as a large number of beetles ( Coleoptera ). The lake is home to a large number of freshwater fish, including European carps brought here. The soil around the lake is low in organic carbon, although good barley and vegetable crops can be grown.

Birds

The lake is home to many species of waterfowl , including migratory waders, or waders that breed in northern Asia and Alaska. The lake is also inhabited by an orange bellied parrot , an endangered Australian bittern , a vulnerable , as well as more than 1% of the global population of chicken goose , Australian pegans , cormorants, and sharp-tailed sandpits ^[4] .