Water, Landscape & Life: Exploring the hydrology of the Western District Lakes

FREE Ramsar Week 2026 event

Being further west, near Colac, the Western District Lakes are the lesser known of the two Ramsar sites in the Corangamite CMA Catchment.

This site is an incredibly unique system consisting of nine lakes amongst the lava flows of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. They are:

• Lake Beeac: a semi-permanent hypersaline lake of 672 ha

• Lake Bookar: a permanent saline shallow lake of 480 ha

• Lake Colongulac: a semi-permanent saline shallow lake of 1516 ha

• Lake Corangamite: a permanent saline deep lake of 25,232 ha

• Lake Cundare: a semi-permanent hypersaline lake of 30 ha

• Lake Gnarpurt: a semi-permanent saline shallow lake of 2513 ha

• Lake Milangil: a permanent saline shallow lake of 246 ha

• Lake Murdeduke: a semi-permanent saline deep lake of 1495 ha

• Lake Terangpom: a semi-permanent freshwater/brackish shallow lake of 220 ha

 Most of these lakes are saltier than the ocean and fill with water in unique ways – from surface water run off to groundwater inflows. All nine lakes are sensitive to environmental changes and have wetting and drying cycles dependent on rainfall and groundwater. The site supports two nationally threatened flora species and many migratory birds in their feeding, moulting and migration.

Join us to piece together the complex puzzle of these remote lakes and understand the broader picture of the Ramsar site.

We will be joined by Peter Dahlhaus, Principal Research Fellow and Federation University to learn about the system.

This event is part of Ramsar Week 2026 - a week of FREE activities from 2 to 6 February celebrating the internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands in the Corangamite CMA region. Learn more at www.ccma.vic.gov.au/ramsar-week