Lake Okataina

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Lake Okataina
LakeOkataina.jpg
Aerial view from the south
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Disc Plain red.svg
Lake Okataina
Location Bay of Plenty, North Island
Coordinates 38°07′S176°25′E / 38.117°S 176.417°E / -38.117; 176.417 Coordinates: 38°07′S176°25′E / 38.117°S 176.417°E / -38.117; 176.417
Type crater lake
Basin  countriesNew Zealand
Max. length6.2 km (3.9 mi) [1]
Max. width5.0 km (3.1 mi) [1]
Surface area10.8 km2 (4.2 sq mi) [1]
Average depth44.0 m (144.4 ft) [1]
Max. depth78.5 m (258 ft) [1]
Surface elevation311 m (1,020 ft) [1]
References [1]

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 (Green Lake), Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), and Lake Okareka. All lie within the Okataina caldera, along its western edge.

Unlike many other lakes in the region, Lake Okataina is completely encircled by native forest. It also has no inlets or outlets. Perhaps as a result, over the past 30 years, the level of the lake has risen and fallen in a range of about 5 metres.

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of laughter" for Ōkataina. [2]

The lake can be accessed by road via Hinehopu on the southern shores of Lake Rotoiti. At the end of the road there is a large sandy beach, a massive grassed area and the privately owned Okataina Lodge. Due to changes in the surface level of the lake, the lodge jetty has at times been either completely submerged or left high and dry.

The area around the lodge is heavily populated by tammar wallabies introduced from Australia in the 19th century. [3]

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Rotorua City in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

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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 Rotoroa (Tasman)

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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.

Te Wairoa, New Zealand Ghost town in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

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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 Okareka

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, Lake Tikitapu, and Lake Okataina. 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.

Lake Rotoehu

Lake Rotoehu is the smallest in a chain of three lakes to the northeast of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is located between the city of Rotorua and town of Whakatane. The southern end of the lake occupies part of the Okataina caldera. It is fed by Lake Rotoma to the east, and flows westward joining Lake Rotoiti. The lake is one of the least visited, but offers great Kayaking and fishing. It has two access points, Otautu Bay and Kennedy bay and is well located centrally to many other places e.g. the ocean, mountain biking, hiking etc. It has very good wildlife and birdlife with several rarely seen birds. In particular the endangered Kokako is located close by.

Lake Rotoma

Lake Rotoma is the fourth largest lake of the 11 lakes in the Rotorua Lakes district, or the Hot Lakes district as it was known in the early decades of the 20th century. The Rotorua lakes are located in New Zealand's North Island in the Bay of Plenty Region. Lake Rotoma is the easternmost in the chain of three lakes to the northeast of Lake Rotorua The other two are Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoehu. Rotoma is located halfway between the city of Rotorua and town of Whakatane.

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 Waikaremoana

Lake Waikaremoana is located in Te Urewera in the North Island of New Zealand, 60 kilometres northwest of Wairoa and 80 kilometres west-southwest of Gisborne. It covers an area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). From the Maori Waikaremoana translates as 'sea of rippling waters'.

Rotorua Lakes

Rotorua Lakes District, known as Rotorua District from 1979 to 2014, is a territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. It has one urban area of significant size, the city of Rotorua. The district is governed by Rotorua Lakes Council, which is headquartered in Rotorua and is headed by a mayor. The district falls within two regional council areas, with the majority of the area and Rotorua city in the Bay of Plenty region and the rest in the Waikato region. Steve Chadwick has been the mayor of Rotorua since the 2013 local elections.

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.

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.

Ōwhata is a semi-rural suburb of Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  3. MacFarlane, Kristin (20 August 2006). "Where are the wallabies?". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 7 September 2010.