Lake Macdonald

This article is about the lake in outback Australia. For the reservoir in Queensland, see Six Mile Creek Dam.

Lake Macdonald (Pintupi: Karrkurutinyja) is an ephemeral lake that straddles the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It lies south of Lake Mackay, and south-west of Kintore, Northern Territory. Lying in country inhabited by Indigenous Australians for many thousands of years, it was first visited by Europeans in 1889, as part of an expedition supported by the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia. The expedition was led by William Tietkens; its activities included the first known photographs taken of Uluru.^[1] The lake is named after the secretary of the Victorian branch of the Geographical Society at that time.^[2]

Lake Macdonald
Karrkurutinyja (Pintupi-Luritja)
Lake Macdonald Location on the Northern Territory and Western Australian border
Location	Western Australia and Northern Territory
Coordinates	23°30′S 129°00′E
Type	Salt lake
Basin countries	Australia
Max. length	58 km (36 mi)
Max. width	23 km (14 mi)

The lake marks the southern boundary of the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area.^[3]

The land around Karrkurutinyja was the birthplace of contemporary Indigenous Australian artists including Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungarrayi, Shorty Lungkarta Tjungurrayi^[4] and Narputta Nangala, mother of Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri.^[5]

See also

• Tietkens expedition of 1889