| Lake Buchanan | |
| Pushpin Map: | Queensland#Australia |
| Location: | 163 km South West of Charters Towers, Queensland |
| Coords: | -21.5324°N 145.849°W |
| Type: | Salt lake |
| Catchment: | Thomson River |
| Basin Countries: | Australia |
| Area: | 117km2 |
Lake Buchanan is a flat salt lake at Pentland in North Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 28 km long and 8 km wide at its widest point, with a surface area of about 117 km2. It is part of the Thomson River catchment and part of the Desert Uplands bioregion.[1]
Lake Buchanan is different from all other salt lakes in Australia because it occurs at a high elevation - on the Great Dividing Range. The lake is shallow and the water tends to be brackish.[2] The land around the lake is used for grazing.[2]
Lake Buchanan contains a number of significant species which are newly discovered and most probably endemic.[1] These include the Lake Buchanan button grass, fringing rush, Lake Buchanan fringe rush, Lawrenica buchananensis (Malvaceae), and Buchanan's fairy shrimp. The Lake Buchanan blue bush is a threatened species belonging to the genus Chenopodium.