Narran Lake Nature Reserve New South Wales | |
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Nearest town or city | Brewarrina |
Coordinates | 29°47′42″S 147°23′22″E / 29.79500°S 147.38944°E |
Established | October 1988[2] |
Area | 264.8 km2 (102.2 sq mi)[2] |
Visitation | Closed to the public |
Managing authorities | NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service |
Website | Narran Lake Nature Reserve |
See also | Protected areas of New South Wales |
The Narran Wetlands, also known as the Narran Lakes, contained within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve, comprise a series of protected ephemeral lakes and swamps fed by the Narran River in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The 26,480-hectare (65,400-acre) reserve is located approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Brewarrina.
An 8,447-hectare (20,870-acre) area contained within the reserve is protected under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. It is internationally important because of its rarity and naturalness; its significance for waterbirds, supporting large colonial waterbird breeding events of ibis, spoonbills and cormorants; and its importance as a drought refuge for waterbirds.[3] The vegetation and the waterbird colonies are at risk from reduced flooding caused by upstream water abstraction for agriculture in Queensland.[4]