The Coongie Lakes is located in the north-east corner of South Australia about north of the Adelaide city centre. For management purposes, the wetland system has been given a boundary which is triangular in shape. The northern apex of the triangle is near Lake Moorayepe, the south western apex is near Marion Hill in the south and the eastern apex coincides with the South Australia-Queensland border to the immediate east of the town of Innamincka. The area of land within the boundary is reported as being. Land tenure is a mix of crown land, pastoral lease and protected area. The surrounding region is arid and has a very low human population density; it is used mainly for cattle grazing, as well as for oil and gas production, and is becoming increasingly important for tourism. Some of the wetlands fill only on rare occasions; some contain water for a short time after periodic flooding, while others are permanent or almost permanent. It lies within the traditional lands of the Yandruwandha, Yawarrawarrka, Ngamini and Dieri people.
Flora and fauna
The banks and the periodically flooded areas of Cooper Creek and Coongie Lakes wetland system are vegetated by river red gums and coolibahs, often with a dense understorey of lignum thickets. The adjacent gibber plains are sparsely covered with Mitchell grass, while the dune country has species of Dodonaea, sandhill wattle and sandhill canegrass. Major floods, generally originating in heavy rainfall in western Queensland, initiate a period of rapid, opportunistic plant growth and an influx of wildlife, especially of large numbers of waterbirds such as ducks, cormorants, pelicans, ibises, spoonbills, herons and waders that aggregate to feed and breed before dispersing as the waters recede. Mammals present in the area include red kangaroos, dingos and, in the wetlands, rakali. There are also a variety of frogs and reptiles, including the inland taipan.
The wetland system has recognition both internationally under the Ramsar Convention and within Australia with an identical listing in "A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia". It was listed on 15 June 1987 as Ramsar site 376 while it was listed in DIWA prior to 1995. While the Ramsar convention is a treaty obligation of the Australian government, jurisdiction for the management of the wetland system lies with the South Australian government agency, the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
South Australian government
The following protected areas proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 exist either wholly or partially within the extent of the wetland system: the Innamincka Regional Reserve, the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park and the Strzelecki Regional Reserve.
