Largest Lakes in New Zealand

Geography

Lake Taupō has a perimeter of approximately 193 km (120 mi) and a maximum depth of 186 m (610 ft). It is drained by the Waikato River (New Zealand's longest river), and its main tributaries are the Waitahanui River, the Tongariro River, and the Tauranga Taupō River. It is a noted trout fishery with stocks of introduced brown and rainbow trout.

The level of the lake is controlled by Mercury Energy, the owner of the eight hydroelectric dams on the Waikato River downstream of Lake Taupō, using gates built in 1940–41. The gates are used to reduce flooding, conserve water and ensure a minimum flow of 50 m3/s (1,800 cu ft/s) in the Waikato River. The resource consent allows the level of the lake to be varied between 355.85 and 357.25 metres (1,167.5 and 1,172.1 ft) above sea level.

History

Lake Taupō previously housed a Ngāti Tūwharetoa village known as Te Rapa near the springs of Maunga Kākaramea. It was covered in a landslide on 7 May 1846 which killed 60 people, including the iwi's chief Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II.

Tourism

Tourism is a major component of Taupō's commercial sector. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year.

The lake area has a temperate climate. Daily maximum temperatures recorded for Taupō range from an average of 23.3 °C in January and February to 11.2 °C in July, while the nighttime minimum temperatures range from 11.6 °C in February down to 2.2 °C in July. Rain falls in all seasons but is greatest in winter and spring, from June to December.

Taupō hosts the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours. Skydiving is a popular local sport and tourist attraction. Taupō also hosts the ANZCO Ironman event.

History

Lake Wakatipu was first recorded on a map in 1843, it was not actually surveyed at the time and its position was based on details given by Māori; in September 1853 Nathaniel Chalmers became the first European to view the lake being guided to the lake by Reko, a chief of Tuturau. Chalmers had only viewed the lake from a distance and the first Europeans to reach the lake were a party of three men in January 1856, who were shown a crude map drawn in the ground by Reko. One of the three men accidentally started a large scrub fire when discarding a match beside the lake. More men made the rough trip to see the lake and this led to settlement of the Wakatipu District with the Staircase and Nokomai Stations being established in 1859.

Geography

Lake Wānaka lies at the heart of the Otago Lakes in the lower South Island of New Zealand. The township of Wānaka, which sits in a glacier-carved basin on the shores of the lake, is the gateway to Mt Aspiring National Park. Lake Hāwea is a 15-minute drive away, en route to the frontier town of Makarora, the last stop before the West Coast Glacier region. To the south is the historic Cardrona Valley, a popular scenic alpine route to neighbouring Queenstown.

Lake Wānaka lies in a u-shaped valley formed by glacial erosion during the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. It is fed by the Matukituki and Makarora Rivers, and is the source of the Clutha River / Mata-Au.

At its greatest extent, which is roughly along a north–south axis, the lake is 42 kilometres long.

Human history

For Māori, the Wānaka area was a natural crossroads. The Haast Pass gave access to the West Coast and its pounamu; the Cardrona Valley led to the natural rock bridge "Whatatorere", which was the only place that the Kawarau River and Mata-Au (the Clutha River) could be crossed without boats. Native reeds were used to build mōkihi, small boats that enabled a swift return downriver to the east coast. The Cromwell basin supported a large population of moa, which were hunted to extinction about 500 years ago.

Until the early nineteenth century, Wānaka was visited annually by Ngāi Tahu who sought pounamu in the mountains above the Haast River and hunted eels and birds over summer, returning to the east coast by descending Mata-Au in mōkihi (reed boats).

Geography

The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers.

Lake Pukaki covers an area of 178.7 km2 (69.0 sq mi), and the surface elevation of the lake normally ranges from 518.2 to 532 metres (1,700 to 1,745 ft) above sea level.

The lake is fed at its northern end by the braided Tasman River, which has its source in the Tasman and Hooker Glaciers, close to Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the west of Lake Pukaki lies the Ben Ohau mountain range with Ben Dhu (1,607 metres; 5,272 ft) and Betty Hill (1,601 metres; 5,253 ft) closest to the lake. On the eastern side there is some farmland on the flatter contours between Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo.

Māori history

For Māori, the Wānaka and Hāwea area was a natural crossroads. The Haast Pass led to the West Coast and its pounamu (greenstone); the Cardrona Valley led to the natural rock bridge "Whatatorere" which was the only place that the Kawarau River and Clutha River / Mata-Au could be crossed without boats. Mōkihi reed boats enabled a swift return downriver to the east coast.

The Cromwell basin supported a large population of moa, which were hunted to extinction about 500 years ago.

Until the early nineteenth century, the area was visited annually by Ngāi Tahu who sought pounamu in the mountains above the Haast River and hunted eels and birds over summer, returning to the east coast by descending the Clutha River / Mata-Au in reed boats.

Geography

Lake Manapouri was formed by glaciers during the last Holocene. The lake is New Zealand’s second deepest lake measuring 444 metres (1,457 ft) deep. Lake Manapouri is 178 metres (584 ft) above sea level however due to glaciers, Lake Manapouri has been cut deep into the ground and the bottom of the lake now lies 267 metres (876 ft) below sea level. The lake has four arms, North, South, West and Hope with the smaller indentations of Shallow Bay and Calm Bay. Lake Manapouri contains 33 islands in total with 22 of these being wooded. Lying close to the centre of the lake is the largest island of Pomona Island. Other large islands include Holmwood Island, Rona Island and Mahara Island. The small settlement of Manapouri lies on the eastern shore.

Māori History

According to Māori legend Lake Manapouri was created by the tears of two sisters, Moturua and Koronae, who were daughters of an old chief in the region. Koronae journeyed deep into the forest one day only to become stranded after a fall. Her sister Moturua went looking for her and when she found Koronae she realised that Koronae could not be rescued. Moturua lay with Koronae and there they lay until they died, their tears creating Lake Manapouri. Lake Manapouri means anxious or sorrowful heart because of the grief of the two sisters. However, the present name was given by mistake. An early settler accidentally called it by the name of one of the Mavora Lakes, which lie between Lake Te Anau and Lake Wakatipu.

Geography

The lake covers an area of 83 km2 (32 sq mi) and is at an altitude of 710 m (2,330 ft) above sea level. It is fed at its northern end by both the braided Godley River and Macaulay River, which have their sources in the Southern Alps to the north. The meltwater from the Southern Alps is tinged with a light turquoise colour from the glacial silt. This gives Lake Tekapo its distinctive colour. To the east of Lake Tekapo lies the Two Thumb Range with Mount Toby (2,222 m); Braun Elwert Peak (2,086 m); Dobson Peak (2,095 m) and Mount Maude (1,797 m) amongst the mountains overlooking Lake Tekapo. On the western side of Lake Tekapo. Mount John (1,031 m) is closest to the town with Lake Alexandrina further north and Mistake Peak (1,931 m) sitting towards the head of the lake.

Geography

Lake Rotorua is fed with water from a number of rivers and streams. Some, such as the Utuhina, carry water that is warmer than the lake, due to thermal activity in the Rotorua area. Conversely, streams on the northern shore, such as the Hamurana Spring and the Awahou stream, have crystal clear water with a constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. Other notable tributaries include the Ngongotahā stream, famous for trout fishing. Lake Rotorua flows directly into Lake Rotoiti via the Ohau Channel at the north-eastern corner of the lake. The urban development of Rotorua city extends along the south portion of the lake shore.

The lake sits in the crater of a large volcano in the Taupō Volcanic Zone. The volcano's last major eruption was about 240,000 years ago.

Geography

The lake's catchment area is large, and includes the eastern slopes of the Remutaka and Tararua Ranges. The lake receives inflows from several rivers and was originally the main point of outflow for the Ruamāhanga. Lake Wairarapa drained slowly into Palliser Bay and Cook Strait ten kilometres south near the settlement of Lake Ferry, via what is now Lake Ōnoke, but was prone to flooding. The Ruamāhanga River was diverted away from Lake Wairarapa in the 1960s to assist its flow, reducing the risk of flooding for farmers. The lake today therefore covers an area significantly smaller than its historical size of around 210 km2 (81 sq mi).

The area around the lake is low-lying and swampy.

History

The name Wairarapa means "glistening waters" in te reo Māori. According to some oral histories, the Polynesian explorer Kupe named the wetlands after touching down in the area several times. According to other oral histories, explorer Haunui named the wetlands after the way the lake appeared to glisten from the Remutaka Ranges to the west.

The lake has long been used by Māori as a source of readily available food, and many species of waterfowl and fish uncommon elsewhere in New Zealand can be found in or around the lake.

Geography

Lake Hauroko is 462 metres (1,516 ft) deep; sources range from calling it the 16th deepest lake in the world to the 23rd deepest. The S-shaped lake is 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and has a surface area of 65 square kilometres (25 sq mi). The lake surface is about 155 metres (509 ft) above sea level.

One of the country's southernmost lakes, it is only 13 km from the southern coast of the South Island. It sits between the similarly-sized lakes Monowai and Poteriteri. According to the 1925 New Zealand Official Yearbook, it drains about 1,800 ft3 (51 m3)/sec via the 20 km (12 mi)-long Wairaurāhiri River into Foveaux Strait 10 kilometres to the west of Te Waewae Bay.

The largest island in Lake Hauroko is Mary Island, named in 1883 after the wife of the government surveyor John Hay.

Geology

Traditionally, Ngā Puna Wai Karikari o Rakaihautu say the lake was dug by rangatira Rākaihautū on his journey south with his ko. The lake is a Statutory Acknowledgement site under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.

From a geological perspective, it is a glacial lake formed near the Hauroko Fault. It and other faults in the area have slipped several kilometres. The higher ground consists of early carboniferous granites and metamorphic rocks, with much more recent Hauroko Formation Eocene - Oligocene sediments such as calcareous sandstone, on the lower ground, towards the southeast.

Hauroko granite is about 358 million years old, medium grained, white, granodiorite and granite, with red-brown biotite. It has intruded dikes, plugs and xenoliths into metasediment.

Natural history

Trees are mainly mataī, tōtara, rimu, tawhai pango, tawhai, Pseudopanax linearis and rautawhiri (Pittosporum Colensoi).

The lake is one of the few not yet colonised by invasive water weeds, except the bulbous rush, Juncus bulbosus, so it retains plants such as Nitella stuartii algae, Callitriche petriei water-starwort, Isoetes kirkii quillwort, Pilularia novaezelandiae pillwort fern, Trithuria inconspicua waterlilies and Charales fibrosa.

Pests include stoats and possums, which arrived in the 1990s. They are controlled by trapping, bait stations and periodic 1080 drops.

Location

Lake Ōhau is 320 kilometres (four hours drive) west of Christchurch and 275 kilometres (three hours drive) north of Dunedin. It is accessed by turning off State Highway 8 between Twizel and Omarama on to Lake Ōhau Road which arrives at Lake Ōhau after about 17 kilometres.

Climate

The warmest month of the year is February, with an average temperature of 15.4 °C | 59.7 °F. The lowest average temperatures in the year occur in July, when it is around 2.8 °C | 37.0 °F. Monthly rainfall ranges between an average of 57mm in February to 101mm in October. Snow is common in the winter months of June, July and August.

Geography, natural history and climate

Waikaremoana, the North Island's deepest lake (256 m deep), has its surface at 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level. A huge landslide dam about 250 metres (800 ft) high formed the lake around 2,200 years ago. Before the landslip was sealed, around 1950, much of the lake outflow flowed through the landslip rather than out of an overflow at a low point in the slip.

Other geographical features include Panekiri Bluff and Puketukutuku Peninsula, which is the site of a kiwi-conservation programme. Surrounded by mountains clad with native forest which has never been logged, Waikaremoana retains ecological importance. Many native bird-species scarce in most other parts of the North Island occur in the area. A possum-hunting programme operates in the area to help protect the forest.

Māori History

The famed Māori Language scholar Tīmoti Kāretu was raised at Waimako Marae at Waikaremoana by his whāngai parents.

Scotty Morrison (broadcaster), Leon Blake, Pānia Papa, Tama Potaka, Rāhui Papa, Hana O'Regan, Komene Cassidy, Paulette Taikawa-Ellife, Charisma Rangipuna, Paraone Gloyne, Rangi Mātāmua, Stacey Morrison, Mere Skerritt, Karyn Paringatai, and Eru Kapa-Kingi.

History

The area of the lake was formed by glacial erosion, probably during the Waimaungan, Waimean and Otiran glaciations. The lake sits close to multiple geological fault-lines, including the Porters Pass Fault, the Cass Fault and the Blue Hill Fault.

There is evidence of Māori activity in the area dating back potentially as far as the 13th century. Some nearby archaeological campfires and moa bones were carbon-dated to between 1340 and 1420 AD. Although the area was initially thickly forested, large fires destroyed most of the vegetation between 1200 and 1400.

Ecology

Early colonial explorers found the shores of the lake covered in mānuka (or kānuka), kōwhai, cabbage trees, flax and general swamp plants. The lake was also surrounded by southern rātā trees and native beech trees. The lake itself was fairly lacking in aquatic plants because of a lack of nutrients. It was known for a population of large eels.

Human activity has significantly changed the ecology. Colonial settlers introduced game fish, including rainbow trout, brown trout, Atlantic salmon and Chinook salmon. Changing water levels caused by the operation of the Coleridge Power Station killed most of the kānuka in 1914 and rata in 1923. In modern times a mixture of native and introduced plants surround the lake, including matagouri, broom, gorse, briar, coprosma and biddi-biddi.