Lake Wairarapa

Lake Wairarapa

Western shore looking South
Location South Wairarapa District, Wellington Region, North Island
Coordinates 41°13′S 175°15′E / 41.217°S 175.250°E / -41.217; 175.250Coordinates: 41°13′S 175°15′E / 41.217°S 175.250°E / -41.217; 175.250
Primary inflows Ruamahanga
Primary outflows Ruamahanga
Basin countries New Zealand
Surface area 78 km²
Average depth 2.5 m
Settlements Featherston

Lake Wairarapa is a lake at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometers east of Wellington. The lake covers an area of 78 km², and is the third largest in the North Island, fractionally smaller than Lake Rotorua. The nearest town to the lake is Featherston, which is located five kilometres from its northern shore.

The lake's catchment area is large, and includes the eastern slopes of the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges. The lake takes water from several rivers and was originally the main outflow for the Ruamahanga. This in turn drained slowly into Palliser Bay and Cook Strait ten kilometres south near the settlement of Lake Ferry, via what is now Lake Onoke. The river, however, was diverted in the 1960s to assist flow, thereby reducing flooding for farmers. The lake today therefore covers an area significantly smaller than its historical size of around 210 km²[1]

The area around the lake is low-lying and swampy, and recent efforts have been made to preserve its important wetland features and restore wildlife habitat that has been degraded through human use. Agriculture and river development, flood control, and waterway diversions have resulted in the drainage of large areas of the wetlands, reducing their ecological values.[2] The lake forms part of the Wairarapa Moana Wetlands Park.[3]

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.


Lake Wairarapa
Lake Wairarapa is in the Wellington Region of the North Island.
Lake Wairarapa is the large light area at the right of this satellite image of the Wellington area (composite landsat-7 image)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Flack, J: Wairarapa Times Age, Feb 2000.
  2. ↑ NZ Department of Conservation
  3. ↑ "Wairarapa Moana Wetlands Park". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
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