Lake Awoonga was formed on the Boyne River by the dam located 30 km (19 mi) from Gladstone, in Central Queensland, Australia.

[2] Originally built across the Boyne River south west of Gladstone in the early 1950s as a 12m high mass concrete dam, it was raised by 6m shortly after.

[6] Lake Awoonga is home to an array of small animals, several of which are of conservation significance including the grey-headed flying fox and the yellow-bellied glider.

[7] Aquatic vegetation maintains an array of small animals that support the fish, eels, turtles, platypus and birds.

Other species of birds, reptiles, and native fauna including bandicoots, rufous bettongs, kangaroos, wallabies, greater gliders, and brushtail possums can be found around the lake.

[6] Other fish species include Agassiz's glass perch, banded grunter, barramundi, bony bream, eastern rainbowfish, eeltail catfish, fly-specked hardyhead, forktail catfish, gudgeon, long-finned eel, longtom, mouth almighty, sea mullet, snub-nose garfish and spangled perch.

Also present in low numbers are Hyrtl's tandan, mangrove jack, saratoga, silver perch, sleepy cod, sooty grunter, and yellowbelly.

Aquatic plants have an important function in that they provide food and cover for animals, stabilise the river bottom against erosion and recycle nutrients.

Several plants of conservation significance exist in the region Awoonga including Persoonia Amaliae and Eucalyptus melanoleuca which are listed as rare, while Cycas Megacarpa and Grevillea venusta are noted as vulnerable.

There are a number of declared alien plants and environmental weeds proliferating throughout the river system and the catchment including parthenium, salvinia, cat's claw vine, lantana, oleander and rubbervine.

The Gladstone Area Water Board has carried out vegetation re-establishment programs in order to replace remnant endangered regional ecosystems impacted by the lake.