Lake Rotoroa lies within the borders of

Nelson Lakes National Park Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and v ...

in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

is fed by the D'Urville and

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

rivers. The greatest depth is 145 metres, and it has a surface area of just under 23.5 km. The lake is surrounded by

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forest. Rotoroa is a small community at the base of the lake. The

Gowan River Te Kauparenui / Gowan River is in the South Island of New Zealand. Its source is at Lake Rotoroa and travels 11 kilometres before feeding into the Buller River. Mixed farming and forestry occurs on both banks of the river. The river has intr ...

flows out of the lake at this point, thus making the lake one of the sources of the

Buller River The Buller River () is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller has the highest flow of any river in the country during floods, though it is only the 13th longest river; it runs for from Lake Rotoiti (Tasman), Lake Rotoiti throu ...

system. The Rotoroa Route, following the northeast side of the lake, has been permanently closed to public access. Several other walking tracks can be accessed near the settlement at the head of the lake, and a water taxi travels the length of the lake to ferry trampers. The lake has introduced

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

, which attract recreational fishermen. There is a

fly-fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is ins ...

lodge, Lake Rotoroa Lodge, on the lake. The word ''rotoroa'' is

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 Co ...

for ''long lake''.

Climate

References

Lakes of the Tasman District Nelson Lakes National Park {{Tasman-geo-stub zh:漢米爾頓湖