Southern Lakes (New Zealand)

The Southern Lakes is an unofficial name given to an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. Despite being an unofficial designation, the term Southern Lakes is sometimes used by organisations such as the New Zealand Meteorological Service and Automobile Association. Though exact definitions vary, the area encompasses parts of western Southland (including Fiordland) and Central Otago, and is occasionally extended to include the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury, a total of roughly 28,000 to 35,000 square kilometres (11,000 to 14,000 sq mi).

NASA satellite image of the Southern Lakes, looking north-northwest. The prominent central zigzag is Lake Wakatipu; to the north are the twin lakes of Wānaka and Hāwea, beyond which lie the Mackenzie Basin's Ōhau, Pukaki, and Tekapo. To the left of Wakatipu is the branched form of Lake Te Anau; south of this is the smaller Manapouri and – close to the south coast – Hauroko and Poteriteri.

The region is generally lightly populated, with much of its southwestern part being uninhabited national park. Much of the scenery was heavily glaciated during the last ice age, and as such contains many broad U-shaped valleys, several of which are filled with large lakes. These include the country's deepest lake, Lake Hauroko, and three of the country's four largest lakes. If the Mackenzie Basin is included, seven of the country's ten largest lakes form part of the Southern Lakes.

Many of the region's lakes feed the country's second-longest river, the Clutha River, and its tributaries — these include Lakes Wakatipu, Wānaka, and Hāwea, as well as the artificial lakes Dunstan (formed on the river by a hydroelectric dam at Clyde) and Roxburgh (formed behind a similar but smaller dam at Roxburgh). Other lakes, such as Te Anau and Manapouri, feed the system of the Waiau River. The northern group of Mackenzie Basin lakes form part of the Waitaki River system.

The areas main centres of population are Queenstown and Wānaka in Otago, and Te Anau in Southland.

List of lakes

Lake Te Anau

Lakes with a surface area of more than 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi). Those listed as being in Canterbury are often excluded from definitions of the Southern Lakes.

Rank	Name	Surface area	Region	Notes
1	Lake Te Anau	344 km2 (133 sq mi)	Southland	Largest lake in the South Island, Second largest in New Zealand
2	Lake Wakatipu	291 km2 (112 sq mi)	Otago
3	Lake Wānaka	192 km2 (74 sq mi)	Otago
4	Lake Pukaki	179 km2 (69 sq mi)	Canterbury
5	Lake Manapouri	142 km2 (55 sq mi)	Southland
6	Lake Hāwea	141 km2 (54 sq mi)	Otago
7	Lake Tekapo	83 km2 (32 sq mi)	Canterbury
8	Lake Hauroko	63 km2 (24 sq mi)	Southland	New Zealand's deepest lake
9	Lake Ōhau	63 km2 (24 sq mi)	Canterbury
10	Lake Poteriteri	43 km2 (17 sq mi)	Southland
11	Lake Monowai	31 km2 (12 sq mi)	Southland
12	Lake McKerrow	28 km2 (11 sq mi)	Southland
13	Lake Dunstan	26 km2 (10 sq mi)	Otago	Artificial

Other notable lakes include the Mavora Lakes of Southland, Lake Hayes in Otago, and the artificial Lake Ruataniwha, part of the Canterbury-Otago boundary.

Panorama of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu