Waikaremoana, Lake

▪ lake, New Zealand

      lake in eastern North Island, New Zealand. Created by a landslide damming the Waikare Taheke River, the 21-square-mile (54-square-kilometre) lake, measuring 12 miles (19 km) by 6 miles (10 km), drains a 165-square-mile (427-square-kilometre) basin and empties via the same river, which is a tributary of the Wairoa. From its surface elevation of 2,015 feet (614 m), the lake extends to a depth of 840 feet (256 m). It is bounded on the west by the Huiarau Range and on the south by the sheer 2,000-foot (610-kilometre) wall of Panekiri Bluff. First sighted by Europeans in 1844, Lake Waikaremoana, whose name is Maori for “sea of rippling water,” now lies within the forested Urewera National Park but still belongs to the indigenous Maori. Once emptied by natural overflow and subsurface drainage, the lake may vary as much as 45 feet (14 m) in depth according to the amount of water being siphoned off to supply downstream hydroelectric stations. The town of Waikaremoana, on the lake's northeastern shore, is a resort centre.

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