Which artificial lake lies at the center of Canberra?

Lake Burley Griffin is the artificial lake at the center of Canberra, Australia’s capital.

The lake was created by damming the Molonglo River, which once ran through the planned city between the city center and the Parliamentary Triangle. It is named after Walter Burley Griffin, the American architect whose winning 1911 design for Canberra placed a geometrically shaped lake at the heart of the capital.

Construction finally began in 1960 after decades of delay caused by political disputes, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. The dams were closed in September 1963, and the lake was formally inaugurated on 17 October 1964. Its shores now frame institutions including the National Gallery, National Library, High Court, and Australian National University.

The lake is about 11 kilometres long, with an average depth of 4 metres. Lake Eyre, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Taupō are real Australian or New Zealand lakes, but none is Canberra’s central artificial lake.