Well-known lakes

There are thousands of lakes in New Zealand. Here are some of the more well-known lakes.

Lake Benmore: The largest artificial lake in New Zealand.

Lake Hauroko: New Zealand's deepest lake at 462m.

Lake Manapouri: This lake has the largest inland island.

Lake Taupo: The largest lake in New Zealand.

Lake Te Anau: The largest lake in the South Island.

Lake Wakatipu : New Zealand's longest lake at 80km.

Te Whanga Lagoon: The largest lake outside of the North and South Islands

Types of lakes

These websites have information about different types of lakes and how they are formed.

Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA)

LAWA is a partnership between New Zealand's regional councils, the Cawthron Institute, Ministry for the Environment, Massey University, and the Tindall foundation. It shares information and date about the environment.

• Search for 'lakes.'

• Select the factsheet Lakes in New Zealand to find out about different types of lakes in New Zealand and their health and nutrient levels (trophic states).

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, eg lakes. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Science Learning Hub

Science Learning Hub connects New Zealand scientists with school students and teachers. It has a selection of science articles, activities and videos for intermediate and secondary students.

• Search for 'lakes'.

• Choose the article called The lakes of Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Or choose other articles about specific lakes or conservation.

New Zealand lakes

Check out these websites to find out about New Zealand lakes.

Te Ara: New Zealand Encyclopedia

This website gives excellent information and key facts and figures, about animals and plants, about life and environments in and around the lakes of New Zealand.

• Go to Topics and choose Geography.

• From the list, choose Lakes.

• Read through the different section for lots of information about New Zealand's many lakes. It includes information about lake processes and the human impact on lakes.

• Or use the search bar to find out about a specific lake eg Lake Wanaka.

Tips: This website is supported by the New Zealand government so you can be sure that the information is accurate and properly researched. We like websites with govt. or edu. as that means that they are reliable - they are from governments or education institutions overseas as well as in New Zealand.

Department of Conservation (DOC)

The Department of Conservation, also known as DOC, is a government agency in charge of conserving New Zealand's natural and historic heritage. It has lots of information about the different lakes in New Zealand including their geology, wildlife, and history.

• Select Parks and recreation.

• Choose a region from the map.

• Under the dropdown menu for Place, select a lake and then Search.

• This will take you to an information page about that area eg Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihora) area.

• Some pages have more information than others.

Britannica Secondary

This is one of the EPIC resources. EPIC is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.

• Enter 'lake New Zealand' in the search box.

• Select to read about a New Zealand lake eg Lake Manapouri (lake, New Zealand).

Tips: To use the EPIC resources, you need a password from your school librarian. Or chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians to help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

Conservation

Lakes are a type of freshwater. Cleaning up New Zealand's polluted waterways is an important part of conservation efforts. See these websites to find out more.

Ministry for the Environment

The Ministry for the Environment is responsible for providing national guidance and policy about the environment in New Zealand. They released a report in April 2020 about the state of New Zealand's freshwater.

• Select the tab What we are doing and choose Areas of work.

• Choose Freshwater.

• Find out about the Freshwater work programme to restore waterways, Latest news, guidance on implementing policies, and Acts and regulations.

Department of Conservation (DOC)

This website also has information about how DOC is contributing to conservation of New Zealand lakes.

To find out about freshwater:

• go to Nature at the top of the page and then select Habitats

• now select Freshwater, and

• explore the links to other pages to find out more.

To find out about other conservation efforts:

• go to Our Work at the top of the page

• then select Places with projects,

• and browse the projects to read about the Arawai Kākāriki wetland restoration programme and the Lake Whangape Restoration Project.

New Zealand Geographic Online

This is one of the EPIC resources. It gives online access to the entire archive of New Zealand Geographic magazine. It explains the Clean Water package.

• Search for the keyword 'lakes'.

• Select the viewpoint Explainer: New "Swimmable" Water Standards.

Tips: To use the EPIC resources, you need a password from your school librarian. Or chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians to help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

The Royal Society

This New Zealand Aotearoa website supports the learning of science and technology by providing information on current issues for students and teachers.

• Enter 'lakes' into the search bar.

• Select Catfish: A deceptively serious threat to NZ waterways to find out how this introduced species is impacting New Zealand lakes.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more.

Books

There are a number of books that have been written about lakes - check out your local public or school library to see what they have there.

• Up the river: explore & discover New Zealand's rivers, lakes & wetlands by Gillian Candler.

• Lakes, rivers and streams by Mina Flores.

• Going blue: a teen guide to saving our oceans, lakes, rivers & wetlands by Cathryn Berger Kaye.

• Water sources by Rebecca Olien.

SCIS no. 1968952