Lake Gairdner is a large endorheic

Endorheic

An endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans...

 lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in central South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, and is considered the fourth largest salt lake

Salt lake

A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 when it is flooded.

The lake is over 160 km (99.4 mi) long and 48 km (29.8 mi) across with salt over 1.2 metres (4 ft) thick in some places. It is located west of Lake Torrens

Lake Torrens

Lake Torrens is a salt lake in central South Australia. It is located in the Lake Torrens National Park....

, 150 km northwest of Port Augusta

Port Augusta, South Australia

-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

 and 440 km northwest of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. It is located in the Gawler Ranges

Gawler Ranges

The Gawler Ranges are a range of stoney hills in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The Gawler Ranges National Park and Gawler Ranges Conservation Reserve are in the ranges north of Wudinna...

.

Lake Gairdner was named by the Governor of South Australia, Richard MacDonnell

Richard Graves MacDonnell

Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell KCMG CB was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, judge and colonial governor...

 in October 1857 after Gordon Gairdner, a Chief Clerk of the Australian Department in the Colonial Office.

It has been a site for various land speed record

Land speed record

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...

 attempts on its salt flats.