SPACEPHOTOS

A small section of Cooper Creek, one of the largest drainage basins associated with the extensive interior drainage of the arid center of Australia is visible along the upper edge of the image. Rivers in this region are generally dry but during the rare floods (several times per century) rivers can occupy a wide floodplain. The roughly oval shaped features within Cooper Creek become islands when flooding does occur. The large, whitish-looking feature is Queensland’s largest inland ephemeral lake, Lake Yamma Yamma, which is located on the western edge of Cooper Creek near the Queensland-South Australia border. Through the years the overflow from the creek has formed a triangular-shaped delta (dark shape) along the northeast side (top) of the lake. The lake is a classic example of an Australian feature known as a “floodout,” which fills during floods and then slowly drains as the flood subsides. The lake is surrounded by aeolian landforms, including sand dunes. A patch of scattered clouds (and their shadows) are visible along the south edge of the lake.