Lake Coleridge

Lake Cooleridge
	Lake Cooleridge
Geographical location	Selwyn District , Canterbury , South Island , New Zealand
Tributaries	Harper River , Wilberforce River
Drain	Coleridge Stream → Acheron River
Places on the shore	Harper , Cooleridge Village
	Data
Coordinates	43 ° 17 ′ 0 ″ S , 171 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E Coordinates: 43 ° 17 ′ 0 ″ S , 171 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E
surface	32 km²
Maximum depth	200 m
Catchment area	200 km²

Lake Coleridge ( Māori : Whakamatua ) is a lake of glacial origin in Selwyn District in the region Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand . It is located 35 northwest of Methven , has an area of 47 km² and a depth of up to 200 m.

The lake is part of one of New Zealand's earliest and first state hydropower projects. This makes use of the difference in altitude between the lake and the Rakaia River, which is 170 m lower in the north of the lake. The project was completed on November 25, 1914.

The settlement of Cooleridge Village was created on the lake when the women of the up to 400 people who worked on the construction of the hydropower plants followed .

In addition to natural tributaries, part of the rivers Harper and Wilberforce River, which flow into the Rakaia, are diverted across the lake.

For the Māori, the lake was an important stopover on their travels across the New Zealand Alps to acquire the coveted jade pounamu because of its wealth of eels and fish .

The first Europeans to see the lake were surveyors who were supposed to survey a road to the gold fields on the West Coast. The land around the lake was later used by the Europeans mainly as pasture for extensive farms.

The lake is named after a member of the Canterbury Association who was a descendant of the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge .

Web links

Lake Coleridge Power Station . IPENZ Engineers New Zealand,accessed on February 9, 2016(English).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Ken Taylor : Selwn-Waihora water management zone: observation on the water resources . (PDF 4.0 MB) Environment Canterbury Regional Council , September 5, 2010, archived from the original on February 14, 2016 ; accessed on April 25, 2019 (English, original website no longer available). }
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f History . Lake Coleridge High Country , accessed February 9, 2016 .

[Enviroment_Canterbury-1] Ken Taylor : Selwn-Waihora water management zone: observation on the water resources . (PDF 4.0 MB) Environment Canterbury Regional Council , September 5, 2010, archived from the original on February 14, 2016 ; accessed on April 25, 2019 (English, original website no longer available). }

[HC-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f History . Lake Coleridge High Country , accessed February 9, 2016 .