Skip to content

Our lakes

  • All Lakes
  • Regions
    • Northland
    • Auckland
    • Waikato
    • Bay of Plenty
    • Hawke’s Bay
    • Taranaki
    • Manawatū/Whanganui
    • Wellington
    • Tasman
    • West Coast
    • Marlborough
    • Canterbury
    • Otago
    • Southland
  • Coastal Lakes
  • Lowland Lakes
  • Highland Lakes
  • Alpine Lakes
  • All Lakes
  • Regions
    • Northland
    • Auckland
    • Waikato
    • Bay of Plenty
    • Hawke’s Bay
    • Taranaki
    • Manawatū/Whanganui
    • Wellington
    • Tasman
    • West Coast
    • Marlborough
    • Canterbury
    • Otago
    • Southland
  • Coastal Lakes
  • Lowland Lakes
  • Highland Lakes
  • Alpine Lakes

Te Ana-au / Lake Te Anau

Depth: 417 metres

Area: 34296 hectares

Altitude: 169 metres

Lake ID: 52566

Main vegetation type:
Indigenous Forest and High Productivity Grassland

Te Anau

Southland
45° 15' 50" S
167° 45' 37" E
Highland

Iwi / representative groups:

  • Ngāi Tahu
    • Hokonui Rūnanga
    • Te Rūnanga o Awarua
    • Te Rūnanga o Ōraka Aparima
    • Waihōpai Rūnanga

Description

Lake Te Ana-au (Te Anau) lies in the south west of South Island New Zealand (www.kahurumanu.co.nz/atlas). The lake is the largest in the South Island, and second only to Lake Taupō in the North Island. With the surface of the lake at an altitude of 210 m and a depth of over 410m at its deepest point, much of its bed lies below sea level. It is the largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume (https://en.wikipedia.org).
The lake runs north-south over 65 km, with three large fiords forming arms to the west of the lake. These are the only inland fiords that New Zealand has. The main inflow is the Eglinton River and the outflow is the Waiau River, which flows south for 20 kilometres into Lake Manapōuri. The town of Te Anau lies at the south-eastern corner of the lake, close to the outflow (https://en.wikipedia.org). While Lake Te Ana-au has very good water quality, it has only moderate ecological condition due to invasive species (www.LAWA.org.nz). Most of the lake is within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site.
Lake Te Anau was important for the Māori tribes (Ngāi Tahu) as a stopping point on their trails between the east and west coasts of the South Island, where they obtained food and resources (https://en.wikipedia.org).

Image credit: “Lake Te Anau” by [email protected] is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

52566
Loading...

Lake Herengawe

Patea

Taranaki

Lake Rotoroa / Hamilton Lake

Hamilton

Waikato

Lake Story

Fiordland National Park

Southland

Lake Kaikiore

Tiniroto

Gisborne

Skeleton Lake

Garvie Mountains

Southland

Lake Waitawa

Kāpiti Coast

Wellington

Explore our lakes

See all lakes
Lakes 380 reversed logo
About
  • The Project
  • The Science
    • Field Sampling
    • Laboratory Analysis
    • Student Projects
  • Science Aims
  • Rohe Studies
    • Rangitīkei Iwi Rohe Study
    • Wairarapa Moana iwi rohe study
  • Virtual Experience
  • Social Science
  • Iwi Relationships
  • The Team
    • Advisory Groups
    • Lakes380 Co-lead Institutes​
    • National Collaborators
    • International Collaborators
  • Partners
Our Lakes
  • All Lakes
  • Regions
    • Northland
    • Auckland
    • Waikato
    • Bay of Plenty
    • Hawke’s Bay
    • Taranaki
    • Manawatū/Whanganui
    • Wellington
    • Tasman
    • West Coast
    • Marlborough
    • Canterbury
    • Otago
    • Southland
  • Coastal Lakes
  • Lowland Lakes
  • Highland Lakes
  • Alpine Lakes
Resources
  • Contact & Links
  • Blog, News & Publications
  • Video Gallery
  • Results
  • Glossary
Contact Us

Email us

Twitter Instagram Envelope
Sign up to our newsletter for updates
Our Privacy Policy | Our Copyright Policy

© 2023 Lakes380 Project

Home

Our Lakes

  • All Lakes
  • Regions
    • Northland
    • Auckland
    • Waikato
    • Bay of Plenty
    • Hawke’s Bay
    • Taranaki
    • Manawatū/Whanganui
    • Wellington
    • Tasman
    • West Coast
    • Marlborough
    • Canterbury
    • Otago
    • Southland
  • Coastal Lakes
  • Lowland Lakes
  • Highland Lakes
  • Alpine Lakes

About

  • The Project
  • The Science
    • Field Sampling
    • Laboratory Analysis
    • Student Projects
  • Science Aims
  • Rohe Studies
    • Rangitīkei Iwi Rohe Study
    • Wairarapa Moana iwi rohe study
  • Virtual Experience
  • Social Science
  • Iwi Relationships
  • The Team
    • Advisory Groups
    • Lakes380 Co-lead Institutes​
    • National Collaborators
    • International Collaborators
  • Partners

Resources

  • Contact & Links
  • Blog, News & Publications
  • Video Gallery
  • Results
  • Glossary