Lake Rotorangi is the largest

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 New Zealand region of

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was created in 1984 by the damming of the

Pātea River The Pātea River is in Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs for 105 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, passing east through Stratford before swinging south and reaching the South Taranaki Bight near the town ...

History

Lake Rotorangi was formed in 1984 as a reservoir for hydroelectric power. The lake was formed by building an 80-metre high earth wall dam near the end of Ball Road in

South Taranaki District South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46 ...

. The dam created then filled the

Patea River Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east ...

valley for a distance of about 46 kilometres to make the longest reservoir of its type 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 ...

. The Pātea Dam is owned by Manawa Energy (formerly Trust Power) and rated at 33 MW output (115 GWh per annum). Pātea is operated as a peaking station. With around one week's storage capacity, the station generates electricity over periods when electricity prices are highest. It is also a public camping ground, used in the summer time for various water sports.

References

External links

Taranaki Regional Council article about Lake Rotrangi

Manawa Energy Pātea Power Station

South Taranaki District Reservoirs in New Zealand Lakes of Taranaki {{Taranaki-geo-stub