Lake Rototoa (formerly Lake Ototoa) is located at the northern end of the south head of the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckl ...

in the Rodney ward of the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

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 ...

. With a surface area of 1.39 km² and a maximum depth of 26 m, it is the largest and deepest of a series of sand-dune lakes found along the western coastline of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Its name was changed from ''Lake Ototoa'' to ''Lake Rototoa'' in 2013. Rototoa translates as 'Lake of the Warrior', and is part of a line of lakes known as 'the Footsteps of Kawharu' after the warrior Kawharu who fought with the

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te ...

tribe against the resident Waiohua, Ngaririki and Kawerau tribes in the late 17th to early 18th centuries.http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao40TeA/c19.html

Biodiversity

The lake is an important wildlife habitat for a number of New Zealand bird species, including the New Zealand grebe, New Zealand scaup and grey duck. The lake is vegetated with ''

Typha orientalis ''Typha orientalis'', commonly known as bulrush, cumbungi, or raupō, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus ''Typha''. It is native to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and the ...

'' and '' Eleocharis sphacelata''.

References

Rototoa Rodney Local Board Area {{Auckland-geo-stub

Biodiversity

See also

References