lake mackay (pintupi: "wilkinkarra") is a large salt lake in central australia. it stretches across the border between western australia and the northern territory. all around it is desert. the great sandy desert is to the northwest, the tanami desert is to the northeast, and the gibson desert is to the south. there are hundreds of salt lakes along this border area, and lake mackay is the largest. it has a surface area of , and is about long from east to west and north to south. it is the second-largest lake in australia.