Lake Karapiro

Lake Karapiro
Lake Karapiro with the Maungatautari Road bridge
Location: southwest of the city of Cambridge in the Waikato region , North Island , New Zealand Tributaries: Waikato River Drain: Waikato River
New Zealand
Coordinates	37 ° 56 '34 "  S , 175 ° 33' 36"  O Coordinates: 37 ° 56 '34 "  S , 175 ° 33' 36"  O
Data on the structure
Lock type:	Arch dam
Construction time:	1940-1947
Height of the barrier structure :	52.4 m
Crown length:	335 m
Crown width:	2.4 m
Base width:	15.2 m
Power plant output:	90 MW
Operator:	Mercury NZ Limited
Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination )	50.62 m - 53.45 m
Water surface	7.7 km²
Reservoir length	20 km
Reservoir width	80 - 620 m
Maximum depth	34 m
Catchment area	839 km²

The Lake Karapiro is the river system of the Waikato River belonging Reservoir on the North Island of New Zealand .

Origin of name

In the Māori language, the name " Karapiro " is composed of the words " kara " for "stone" and " piro " for "foul smelling" . According to legend, Karapiro was under the influence of chief O-Te-Ihingarangi and was the place where the Ngati Haua tribe and their allies from the Tauranga area made a defense pact during the land wars of 1864.

geography

The 7.7 km ² large Lake Karapiro is located 5 km southeast of the city of Cambridge and around 8 km west of the city of Tirau . The lake, which extends in the valley of the former river bed of the Waikato River , has a length of around 20 km and its width varies between 80 and a maximum of 620 m. The height of the lake varies depending on the water level between 50.62 m and 53.45 m, with a maximum lake depth of 34 m. Its immediate water catchment area is 839 km ² .

The reservoir can be reached from New Zealand State Highway 1 , which flanks the lake on its lower half on its north side.

Administratively, the lake belongs to the Waikato region .

The Lake Karapiro go reservoirs Lake Arapuni , Lake Waipapa , Lake Maraetai , Lake Whakamaru , Lake Atiamuri , Lake Ohakuri and Lake Aratiatia advance.

history

The reservoir and the associated hydropower plant were put into operation in 1947 and were designed for a nominal output of 90  MW . As of 2020, the operator of the hydropower plant is the majority state-owned company Mercury NZ Limited .

Panoramic photo

and display information about the image

View from northeast to south of Lake Karapiro

See also

• Karapiro Power Station

literature

• CHD Magadza : Physical and chemical limnology of six hydroelectric lakes on the Waikato River, 1970-72 . In: New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research . Vol. 13, Issue 4 , 1979, pp. 561-572 , doi : 10.1080 / 00288330.1979.9515835 (English).
• Tracey Edwards, Mary de Winton, John Clayton : Assessment of the ecological condition of lakes in the Waikato region using LakeSPI - 2010 . In: Environment Waikato (Ed.): Environment Waikato Technical Report . 2010/24 , June 2010, ISSN  1177-9284 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Topo maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed January 5, 2020 .  
2. ↑ 09. Karapiro - Overview . Mighty River Power , archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; accessed on January 10, 2020 (English, original website no longer available).  
3. ^ ^{A b} Edwards, Winton, Clayton : Assessment of the ecological condition of lakes in the Waikato region using LakeSPI - 2010 . 2010, p.  3 .
4. ↑ Coordinates and longitudes were determined using Goggle Earth Pro Version 7.3.2.5776 on January 5th, 2020
5. ^ Waikato Lake Levels . Mercury NZ Limited , accessed January 5, 2020 .  
6. ↑ Magadza : Physical and chemical limnology of six hydroelectric lakes on the Waikato River, 1970-72 . 1979, p.  572 .
7. ↑ Hydro Generation . Mercury NZ Limited , accessed January 5, 2020 .  
8. ↑ 09. Karapiro . Mighty River Power , archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; accessed on January 5, 2020 (English, original website no longer available).