Lake Poteriteri is the southernmost of the large
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 ...
s in
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...
in
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 ...
's
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 ...
. Only Lakes Hakapoua and Innes lie further south on the southern of New Zealand's two main islands. It is located to the west of the town of
Tuatapere
Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Waewa ...
.
Lying in a steep-sided mountain valley, Poteriteri runs roughly north–south for a distance of with an average width of under . It covers an area of . The outflow of Poteriteri is the Waitutu River, a short river which flows into the western end of
Foveaux Strait
The Foveaux Strait, (, or , ) separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long (from Ruapuke Island to Little Solander Island), and it widens (from 14 km at Ruapuk ...
.
The naming of the lake is unclear. The
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
word may mean 'to drift forwards and backwards', with another theory that the spelling of the lake should be Poutiritiri, which would translate as a 'post on which offerings are hung'. A third theory is that the spelling should be Poeteretere, in which case it would mean 'dripping wet'.
Access to the lake is via helicopter, a rough deer trail from Slaughter Burn or Harry's Track, a marked route from the outlet of
Lake Hauroko.
See also
*
Lakes of New Zealand
*
List of lakes of New Zealand
This is a list of lakes in New Zealand.
A lake's location is identified by the region and either the territorial authority or national park (N.P.).
There are:
* 43 lakes with a surface area larger than 10 km² (1000 ha)
* 231 la ...
References
Lakes of Fiordland
{{Fiordland-geo-stub