Lake Christabel is a small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the north of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It is located 12 kilometres southwest of the

Lewis Pass Lewis Pass (el. 907 m.) is a mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand. The northernmost of the three main passes across the Southern Alps, it is higher than the Haast Pass, and slightly lower than Arthur's Pass. State Highway 7 traver ...

. The lake is the source of the Grey River, one of the longest rivers on the South Island's

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, although its outlet is underground. The lake lies behind a landslide dam, thought to have been created by a prehistoric earthquake. The river runs under the debris for about . A 1976 survey said it was, "one of the very few lakes in New Zealand in a natural, unmodified state". It estimated its depth at over .

Galaxias brevipinnis The climbing galaxias or kōaro (''Galaxias brevipinnis'') is a fish of the family Galaxiidae found in Australia, New Zealand, and nearby islands. The name climbing galaxias is used in Australia, and koaro or kōaro in New Zealand. Further verna ...

(climbing galaxias) and Anquilla dieffenbachii (longfin eel) were the only fish found.

References

Buller District Lakes of the West Coast, New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub