Lake Okareka

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Lake Okareka
Overlooking Lake Okareka.jpg
NZ-NI plain map.png
Disc Plain red.svg
Lake Okareka
Location Rotorua Lakes, Bay of Plenty Region, North Island
Coordinates 38°10′S176°22′E / 38.167°S 176.367°E / -38.167; 176.367 Coordinates: 38°10′S176°22′E / 38.167°S 176.367°E / -38.167; 176.367
Type Crater Lake
Primary outflows Waitangi Springs
Catchment area 19.8 km2 (7.6 sq mi) [1]
Basin  countriesNew Zealand
Max. length2.8 km (1.7 mi) [1]
Max. width1.9 km (1.2 mi) [1]
Surface area3.4 km2 (1.3 sq mi) [1]
Average depth20.0 m (65.6 ft) [1]
Max. depth34 m (112 ft) [1]
Surface elevation355 m (1,165 ft) [1]
SettlementsLake Okareka
References [1]

Lake Okareka is one of four small lakes lying between Lake Rotorua and Lake Tarawera, in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The others are Lake Rotokakahi (Green Lake), Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), and Lake Okataina. All lie within the Okataina caldera, along its western edge.

Contents

Geography

Lake Okareka from DoC campsite Lake Okareka from DOC Campsite.jpg
Lake Okareka from DoC campsite

The lake has a circumference of 6 miles (9.7 km) and lies about 60 metres (200 ft) above Lake Tarawera. Its outlet flows underground for half a mile and forms the Waitangi waterfall. In fact, the Okareka lake seems to be connected with the Tarawera by underground channels. [2]

History

This small and little-visited lake is a place of much charm, surrounded by hills nearly everywhere thickly wooded. It is quite near, but out of sight from the tourist motor route of Rotorua and Tarawera; a side road gives access to it. Anglers find good sport there, but otherwise its solitude is not disturbed yet. Many years ago a settler acquired some of the land around it, and built his house on a low-lying isthmus which connects an island-like hill in the middle of the lake with the mainland. Some of the frontage is still in private hands, but the greater part of the basin in which the lake lies has now become residential property.

Okareka means "the lake of sweet food". [3] In early times, Māori grew sweet potatoes or kumara around the outside of the lake. It first described in print by Sir George Grey, and poetic mention of it is made by Alfred Domett in his "Ranolf and Amohia." Grey visited it on the course of his travels through the Lakes Country to Taupo in the summer of 1849-50. The journey is described in that rare little book entitled "Journal of an expedition Overland from Auckland to Taranaki", written for the Governor by his secretary G. S. Cooper, with a translation into Maori by his interpreter, Piri-kawau; the book was published in Auckland in 1851. In those days, the route from Ohinemutu to Tarawera was a track which skirted the shore of Okareka and reached the large lake near the mission station called Kariri (Galilee). It was a blistering hot day when Governor Grey and his party took the foot trail from Rotorua to Tarawera, and the narrator says they were "nearly stewed".

"We reached the beautiful lake of Okareka," the journal entry for 27 December 1849, runs, "just at a place where there is a spring of deliciously cool water, wherewith we all refreshed ourselves and then proceeded to cross the lake in canoes. The lake is really an extremely pretty sight, the shores being lofty and wooded, with the exception of a valley at each end, where the roads run. A peninsula, on which stands the pa called Taumaihi, juts out into the centre of the lake. The waters are beautifully clear, and very deep. There is no apparent outlet to this lake. Its vent consists of an underground stream, which is hidden for about half a mile, and then makes its appearance, looking like a fountain, gushing through a heap of rocks and square stones of a basaltic formation, whence it makes its way in a small stream to Tarawera, the level of which is about sixty feet lower than that of Okareka, and into which the water falls down a declivity of twenty feet, forming a beautiful cascade, surrounded and overshadowed by a clump of karaka and other evergreen trees."

In those days the shores of Okareka were a scene of Maori life; there were cultivations on the waterside, and the natives fished the waters for whitebait, the koura crayfish, and the little fish called toitoi, which abounded there before the Pakeha trout was introduced. In the ‘sixties Alfred Domett visited Okareka and Tarawera by the track Grey took.

The forest in this reserve extends to the western side of Lake Okataina and the Whakapoungakau Range. Red deer roam the bush, and however desirable they may be from the Rotorua sportsmen’s point of view they are not doing any good to this forest sanctuary.[ original research? ][ citation needed ]

Known for its natural environment, this lake has an adjacent settlement of approximately 600 people. The lake is accessible from the tourist location of Rotorua.

Pollution

Lake Ōkareka has reasonably clear, clean water and is used extensively for recreation such as boating, swimming and fishing. However, the quality of the water has been declining over recent years due to excess levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients come from surrounding farmland, residential septic tanks and from the release of existing and accumulated nutrients from sediments on the lake bed.

The Lake Ōkareka Catchment Management Plan was developed in 2004. This is a long-term plan to improve the water quality of the lake, through changes like sewage reticulation, in-lake chemical treatment and farm nutrient management. It has been calculated that the load nutrients needed to reach the target TLI of 3.0 are 2.5 tonnes per year of nitrogen and 0.08 tonnes per year of phosphorus.

The Trophic Level Index (TLI) is an overall indication of lake health based on a number of different criteria, values represent a three-yearly average. Better quality sites have a lower TLI. The three-yearly average for Ōkareka indicates little change over the last five years.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand that has been active for the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs north-eastward through the Taupo and Rotorua areas and offshore into the Bay of Plenty. It is part of the larger Central Volcanic Region that extends further westward through the western Bay of Plenty to the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula and has been active for four million years. The Taupo Volcanic Zone is widening east–west at the rate of about 8 mm per year. It is named after Lake Taupo, the flooded caldera of the largest volcano in the zone, the Taupo Volcano.

Pink and White Terraces Large silica sinter deposits in New Zealand destroyed in 1886 volcanic eruption

The Pink Terrace, or Te Otukapuarangi in Māori, and the White Terrace, also known as Te Tarata, were natural wonders of New Zealand. They were reportedly the largest silica sinter deposits on earth. Until recently, they were lost and thought destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera, while new hydrothermal features formed to the south-west i.e. Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley.

Rotorua City in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua from which the city takes its name, located in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. The majority of the Rotorua District is in the Bay of Plenty Region, but a sizeable southern section and a small western section are in the Waikato region. Rotorua is in the heart of the North Island, 60 kilometres south of Tauranga, 80 km (50 mi) north of Taupō, 105 km (65 mi) east of Hamilton, and 230 km (140 mi) southeast of the nation's most populous city, Auckland.

Mount Tarawera

Mount Tarawera is a volcano on the North Island of New Zealand. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissured down the middle by an explosive basaltic eruption in 1886. This eruption was one of New Zealand's largest historical eruptions, and killed an estimated 120 people. The fissures run for about 17 kilometres northeast-southwest.

Lake Tikitapu Crater lake in New Zealand

Lake Tikitapu or Blue Lake is the smallest of four small lakes lying between Lake Rotorua and Lake Tarawera in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The other three are Lake Rotokakahi, Lake Okareka, and Lake Okataina.

Lake Alexandrina (New Zealand)

Lake Alexandrina is a lake located in the Mackenzie Basin of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the west of the much larger Lake Tekapo and further to the east of Lake Pukaki, located to the north of Lake Tekapo township. It is a shallow lake with distinct indications of glacial origin and is spring fed with an outlet on its eastern shore midway down the lake. The outlet feeds into a smaller lake, Lake MacGregor before feeding into Lake Tekapo described as “Opaque and milky blue” in colour. In the desert terrain of the Mackenzie Plains, Lake Alexandrina is considered as an “oasis of life”. Lake Alexandrina is a Wildlife Refuge and a delight to a fisherman, well documented for its brown and rainbow trout and salmon.

Putauaki

Putauaki is a dacite volcanic cone in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. Located 50 km east of Rotorua and three kilometres east of Kawerau, it is the easternmost vent of the Okataina volcanic centre, within the Taupo Volcanic Zone. The mountain rises to 820 m above sea level, and is visible from the waters of the Bay of Plenty, 30 km to the north. Every year a King of the Mountain race is run on Putauaki as part of the international King of the Mountain series, and proceeds are donated to charity.

Lake Rotokākahi

Lake Rotokākahi or Green Lake, is one of four small lakes lying between Lake Rotorua and Lake Tarawera in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The others are Lake Tikitapu, Lake Okareka, and Lake Okataina. All lie within the Okataina caldera, along its western edge.

Lake Okataina

Lake Okataina is the northernmost and largest of four smaller lakes lying between Lake Rotorua and Lake Tarawera in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The others are Lake Rotokakahi, Lake Tikitapu, and Lake Okareka. All lie within the Okataina caldera, along its western edge.

Lake Rotomahana

Lake Rotomahana is an 800-hectare (2,000-acre) lake in northern New Zealand, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Rotorua. It is immediately south-west of the dormant volcano Mount Tarawera, and its geography was substantially altered by a major 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. Along with the mountain, it lies within the Okataina caldera.

Lake Tarawera

Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. Like the mountain, it lies within the Okataina caldera. It is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) to the east of Rotorua, and beneath the peaks of the Tarawera massif i.e. Wahanga, Ruawahia, Tarawera and Koa. The lake's surface area is 39 square kilometres (15 sq mi).

Lake Rotorua

Lake Rotorua is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2. With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It is located in the Bay of Plenty region. The city of Rotorua is sited on its southern shore, and the town of Ngongotahā is at the western edge of the lake.

Kaituna River

The Kaituna River is in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the outflow from Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, and flows northwards for 45 kilometres (28 mi), emptying into the Bay of Plenty near Te Puke. It was the subject of a claim concerning the effluent flowing down the river from Lake Rotorua, which resulted in movement to a land treatment system.

Lake Rotoiti (Bay of Plenty)

Lake Rotoiti is a lake in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. It is the northwesternmost in a chain of lakes formed within the Okataina caldera. The lake is close to the northern shore of its more famous neighbour, Lake Rotorua, and is connected to it via the Ohau Channel. It drains to the Kaituna River, which flows into the Bay of Plenty near Maketu.

Trophic state index A measure of the ability of water to sustain biological productivity

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Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, located in the Bay of Plenty.

Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand

The Bay of Plenty is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The Bay of Plenty Region, governed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, incorporates several large islands in the bay, in addition to the mainland area. Called Te Moana-a-Toi in the Māori language after Toi, an early ancestor, the name 'Bay of Plenty' was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay.

The trophic level index (TLI) is used in New Zealand as a measure of nutrient status of lakes. It is similar to the trophic state index but was proposed as alternative that suited New Zealand.

The region around the city of Rotorua, in New Zealand's North Island, contains several lakes. From biggest to smallest, these are Lake Rotorua, Lake Tarawera, Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoma, Lake Okataina, Lake Rotoehu, Lake Rotomahana, Lake Rerewhakaaitu, Lake Rotokakahi, Lake Okareka and Lake Tikitapu. There are also four smaller lakes: Lake Okaro/Ngakaro, Lake Rotokawa, Lake Rotokawau and Lake Rotongata. Most of the lakes have formed due to volcanic activity. The region is part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, the world's most active area of explosive silicic volcanic activity in geologically recent time.

1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera

The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera occurred in the early hours of 10 June 1886 in the North Island near Rotorua then extended to Waimangu, New Zealand. It is the deadliest eruption in New Zealand since the arrival of Europeans. Around 120 people were killed, and many settlements were destroyed or buried.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lowe, D.J., Green, J.D. (1987). Viner, A.B. (ed.). Inland waters of New Zealand. Wellington: DSIR Science Information Publishing Centre. pp. 471–474. ISBN   0-477-06799-9.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Edward Sauter (2010). New Zealand: its physical geography, geology and natural history, Kessinger Publishing, p. 406. ISBN   1-167-02635-7
  3. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.