Explore Lake Mackay, Northern Territory, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Lake Mackay, NT map and move it around to re-centre it. You can change between standard map view and satellite map view by clicking the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. You can use the zoom buttons on the lower right side of the map to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets — plus a labelled MGA grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Lake Mackay, Northern Territory, Australia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of Northern Territory or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Lake Mackay and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Geoscience Australia National Base Map — seamless topographic mapping covering the mainland, Tasmania and the external territories. NATMAP 250K shows the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 map sheets, mosaicked nationwide — the printed sheets generations of Australians navigated the outback with. The search box finds any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Lake Mackay.
Reading the map like a paper sheet. Click Grid to overlay the Map Grid of Australia (MGA), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as an MGA grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what emergency services and search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need mobile coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load, which across much of inland Australia is most of the time.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Locality | Lake Mackay |
| Territory | Northern Territory (NT) |
| Local Government Area | Central Desert Region |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) - no daylight saving |
| Remoteness | Very Remote Australia |
| Latitude | -22.54041 |
| Longitude | 129.8352 |
| Area | 78354.1 km² |
| Postcode | 0872 |
| Area Code | 08 |
| Distance to Darwin | 1126 km south |
Lake Mackay is a locality in the Central Desert Region local government area of Northern Territory, Australia. The locality covers an area of 78354.1 km². It lies approximately 1126 km south of Darwin. Lake Mackay is located at 22.5404°S, 129.8352°E. It observes Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) - no daylight saving. Postcode: 0872. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Very Remote Australia.
Lake Mackay gleams a vast, shimmering expanse under the immense, unblinking sky of the Central Desert. It lies 433.4 km west-north-west of Alice Springs, NT (from Alice Springs, NT: bearing 287°T), and is situated 75.9 km west of Nyirripi. The land surrounding this ephemeral heart of the desert is a study in ochre and rust, a seemingly endless stretch of sand dunes that ripple and fold like a petrified sea, punctuated by sparse, hardy spinifex grass that catches the light with a metallic sheen. The air here is dry and carries the faintest scent of baked earth and distant, unseen wildflowers, a potent perfume that speaks of resilience and ancient endurance. At dawn, the light spills across the landscape in washes of rose and gold, painting the dunes with an ethereal beauty that seems to hold its breath before the full force of the day’s heat descends. The sheer scale of the emptiness is profound, a palpable presence that humbles any traveller who ventures into its embrace.
This immense salt lake, often a dry, cracked basin reflecting the bleached blue of the heavens, is a crucial landmark for Indigenous peoples and a site of deep cultural significance, its history stretching back for millennia. The traditional custodians have known its secrets and rhythms long before any European eye surveyed its potential. While the surrounding country is largely untouched by large-scale industry, the dream of mineral wealth has always whispered through the arid landscape, with exploration for valuable deposits a recurring theme in the region’s economic aspirations. The sparse population that calls the vicinity of Lake Mackay home lives a life dictated by the vastness of the country and the preciousness of water, their days marked by a quiet determination and a profound connection to the land, a testament to the enduring spirit of those who choose to dwell in this magnificent, wild heart of Australia.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
Loading news…
Loading news-world…
Loading news-world…
This page provides a street and satellite map of Lake Mackay, Northern Territory. Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorially written description provides background on Lake Mackay, in the Central Desert Region local government area.
Detailed location data for Lake Mackay includes the postcode (0872), telephone area code (08), and local government area (Central Desert Region), with an ABS remoteness classification of Very Remote Australia. These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Australian city, town or locality.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name; offers Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets as base layers; overlays a labelled Map Grid of Australia (MGA) so the map can be read like a printed topographic sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as an MGA grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020) and enriched with GeoNames and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, matched by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Lake Mackay is identified even where the name is shared across multiple localities.
| Page generated | October 2026 |
| Location data | Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020); enriched with GeoNames and ABS 2021 Census data, matched by coordinate proximity |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; © Geoscience Australia National Base Map and NATMAP 1:250 000 (CC BY 4.0); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Description | Editorial description generated with AI assistance from verified Geoscape, ABS and GeoNames location data. |