Lake Mapourika is located on the West Coast of

New Zealand's 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 country b ...

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 lies north of

Franz Josef Glacier The Franz Josef Glacier (; officially Franz Josef Glacier / ) is a temperate maritime glacier in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Together with the Fox Glacier to the south, and a third glac ...

, and the out-flowing

Ōkārito River The Ōkārito River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows northwest from the northern end of Lake Mapourika, reaching the Ōkārito Lagoon 15 kilometres west of Whataroa. See also *List of rivers of New Z ...

drains it into the

Ōkārito Lagoon Ōkārito Lagoon is a coastal lagoon on the west Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located south of Hokitika, and covers an area of about , making it the largest unmodified coastal wetland in New Zealand. It pr ...

. It is the largest of the West Coast

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, a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

formation from the last ice age. Since the water from glacial melts no longer drains into the lake, it is filled with fresh rain water which runs through the surrounding forest floor, collecting tannins, giving it its dark colour. As the winds of the region sweep high above the mountains of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, the water is left unruffled and quite reflective of the forest on the lake fringes.

References

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