Lake Disappointment in northwestern Australia

Lake Disappointment in northwestern Australia Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features Lake Disappointment in a remote region of northwestern Australia.

In 1897, an early explorer named Frank Hann believed that he was on the trail to a freshwater lake and drinking water supply. Instead, Gann discovered a salt lake and gave the water body its unique name.

The lake is dry most of the time, only filling up during very wet periods.

This image, captured by the Sentinel-2 mission for Europe’s Copernicus program, highlights the various depths of the lake which are represented by different shades of blue. Lake Disappointment is in the Western Desert Language, is a salt lake and is one of the largest Playa lakes in Western Australia covering 330 km2 and surrounding an area of the Great Sandy Desert over twice that size. The lake is important to Martu people for spiritual and ceremonial reasons, the lake is also an important place for water and traditional food. In indigenous culture also was off-limits to the tribes neighbouring the area, such as the Kurajarra, Wanman, Kartudjara and the Putidjara. The reason for the taboo.
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: European Space Agency