Editing Lake Taupō

{{Short description|New Zealand's largest lake}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Lake Taupō
| other_name         = Lake Taupo
| image              = Lake Taupo.jpg
| caption            = 
| alt                = Lake Taupō
| pushpin_map        = New Zealand#North Island
| pushpin_map_alt    = Location of Lake Taupō
| image_bathymetry   = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
|image_map           = {{Infobox mapframe |area_km2=616|point=none|shape-fill-opacity=0|stroke-width=1}}
| location           = [[Taupō District]], [[Waikato]] region, [[North Island]]
| coords             = {{Coord|38|48|25|S|175|54|28|E|region:NZ_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Volcanic crater lake|Crater lake]], [[oligotroph]]ic
| inflow             = [[Waitahanui River]], [[Tongariro River]], [[Tauranga Taupō River]]
| outflow            = [[Waikato River]]
| catchment          = {{convert|3487|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| basin_countries    = [[New Zealand]]
| length             = {{convert|46|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|33|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|616|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| depth              = {{convert|110|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| max-depth          = {{convert|186|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| volume             = {{convert|67.76|km3|cumi|abbr=on}}
| residence_time     = 10.5 years
| shore              = {{convert|193|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| elevation          = {{convert|356|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.govt.nz/Lake-Taupo-Lake-Levels|title=Lake levels|publisher=[[Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)|Te Tari Taiwhenua {{!}} Department of Internal Affairs]]|access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref>
| islands            = [[Motutaiko Island]] (11&nbsp;[[hectares|ha]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/volunteer-join-or-start-a-project/start-or-fund-a-project/funding/nga-whenua-rahui/nga-whenua-rahui-fund/featured-projects/motutaiko-island/|title=Motutaiko Island: Current Nga Whenua Rahui and Matauranga Kura Taiao projects|publisher=Department of Conservation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304231419/http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/volunteer-join-or-start-a-project/start-or-fund-a-project/funding/nga-whenua-rahui/nga-whenua-rahui-fund/featured-projects/motutaiko-island/|archive-date=4 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cussen | first1 = Laurence | author-link = Laurence Cussen | year = 1887 | title = Notes on the Physiography and Geology of the King Country | url = http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_20/rsnz_20_00_006340.html | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand | volume = 20 | pages = 317–332 }} See [http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_20/rsnz_20_00_006460.html Lake Taupō], pp 328–331</ref>
| cities             = 
| native_name        ={{plainlist}}
*{{langx|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}}
*{{Lang|Mi|Taupōmoana}}{{endplainlist}}
| etymology          = From {{lang|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}}, [[Māori language|Māori]] for "great cloak of [[Tia (Māori explorer)|Tia]]"
}}

'''Lake Taupō''' (also spelled '''Taupo'''; {{langx|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}} or {{Lang|Mi|Taupōmoana}}) is a large [[volcanic crater lake|crater lake]] in [[New Zealand]]'s [[North Island]], located in the [[caldera]] of [[Taupō Volcano]].  The lake is the namesake of the town of [[Taupō]], which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With a surface area of {{cvt|616|km2}}, it is the [[List of lakes of New Zealand#Largest|largest lake by surface area]] in [[New Zealand]], and the second largest [[freshwater lake]] by surface area in geopolitical [[Oceania]] after [[Lake Murray (Papua New Guinea)|Lake Murray]] in [[Papua New Guinea]]. [[Motutaiko Island]] lies in the southeastern area of the lake.

==Geography==
Lake Taupō has a perimeter of approximately {{cvt|193|km}} and a maximum depth of {{cvt|186|m}}. It is drained by the [[Waikato River]] (New Zealand's longest river), and its main tributaries are the [[Waitahanui River]], the [[Tongariro River]], and the [[Tauranga Taupō River]]. It is a noted [[trout]] fishery with stocks of introduced [[brown trout|brown]] and [[rainbow trout]].

The level of the lake is controlled by [[Mercury Energy]], the owner of the eight hydroelectric dams on the Waikato River downstream of Lake Taupō, using gates built in 1940–41. The gates are used to reduce flooding, conserve water and ensure a minimum flow of {{convert|50|m3/s||abbr=on}} in the Waikato River. The [[resource consent]] allows the level of the lake to be varied between {{convert|355.85|and|357.25|m|}} above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://emidatasets.blob.core.windows.net/publicdata/Datasets/Environment/_AdditionalInformation/ArchivedDatasets/20100630_HydrologicalData/20090331_Lake_level_history/20090331_Lake_level_history_report.pdf |title=Lake Level History|last=Opus International Consultants Limited|date=27 February 2009}}</ref>

== Lake formation and volcanism ==
{{Main|Taupō Volcano}}
Lake Taupō is in a caldera created mainly by a [[supervolcano|supervolcanic]] eruption which occurred approximately 25,600 years ago.<ref name="Dunbar 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dunbar |first1=Nelia W. |last2=Iverson |first2=Nels A. |last3=Van Eaton |first3=Alexa R. |last4=Sigl |first4=Michael |last5=Alloway |first5=Brent V. |last6=Kurbatov |first6=Andrei V. |last7=Mastin |first7=Larry G. |last8=McConnell |first8=Joseph R. |last9=Wilson |first9=Colin J. N. |title=New Zealand supereruption provides time marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica |journal=Scientific Reports |date=25 September 2017 |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=12238 |doi=10.1038/s41598-017-11758-0 |pmid=28947829 |s2cid=6287940 |doi-access=free |pmc=5613013 }}</ref> According to geological records, the [[volcano]] has erupted 29 times in the last 30,000 years.<ref name="GeonetDataUnderpinsTaupoResearch">{{cite web |title=GeoNet volcano data underpins new research of Taupō volcano|url=https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/5NpTbuSuO1ON9AjLOab61m |website=[[GeoNet (New Zealand)|GeoNet]]|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> It has ejected mostly [[rhyolite|rhyolitic]] [[lava]], although [[Mount Tauhara]] formed from [[dacite|dacitic]] lava.

Taupō has been active for 300,000 years with a very large event known as the [[Oruanui eruption]] occurring approximately 25,600 years ago.<ref name="Dunbar 2017"/> It was the world's largest known [[eruption]] over the past 70,000 years, ejecting 1170 cubic kilometres of material and causing several hundred square kilometres of surrounding [[land]] to collapse and form the caldera. The caldera later filled with water to form Lake Taupō, eventually overflowing to cause a huge [[outburst flood]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00288306.2004.9515074 | last1 = Manville |first1= Vern | author2-link = Colin J. N. Wilson |last2= Wilson |first2= Colin J. N.]] | year = 2004 | title = The 26.5 ka Oruanui eruption, New Zealand: a review of the roles of volcanism and climate in the post-eruptive sedimentary response | journal = New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics | volume = 47 | issue = 3 | pages = 525–547 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Several later eruptions occurred over the millennia before the most recent major eruption, which was traditionally dated as about 181 CE from [[Greenland]] ice-core records. Tree ring data from two studies suggests a later date of 232 CE ± 5<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1177/0959683611425551  |last1=Hogg |first1=A. |last2= Lowe |first2=D.J. |last3= Palmer |first3=J. |last4=Boswijk |first4=G. |last5= Ramsey |first5=C.B. | year = 2011 | title = Revised calendar date for the Taupo eruption derived by 14C wiggle-matching using a New Zealand kauri 14C calibration data set | journal = The Holocene |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=439–449 |hdl=10289/5936 |hdl-access=free | bibcode=2012Holoc..22..439H |s2cid=129928745 }}</ref> and this is now accepted.<ref name="Illsley-Kemp 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Illsley-Kemp |first1=Finnigan |last2=Barker |first2=Simon J. |last3=Wilson |first3=Colin J. N. |last4=Chamberlain |first4=Calum J. |last5=Hreinsdóttir |first5=Sigrún |last6=Ellis |first6=Susan |author-link6=Susan Ellis (geophysicist) |last7=Hamling |first7=Ian J. |last8=Savage |first8=Martha K. |last9=Mestel |first9=Eleanor R. H. |last10=Wadsworth |first10=Fabian B. |date=1 June 2021 |title=Volcanic Unrest at Taupō Volcano in 2019: Causes, Mechanisms and Implications |journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1029/2021GC009803 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021GGG....2209803I }}</ref> Known as the [[Hatepe eruption]], it is believed to have ejected 100 cubic kilometres of material, of which 30 cubic kilometres was ejected in a few minutes. This was one of the most powerful eruptions in the last 5000 years (alongside the [[Minoan eruption]] in the 2nd millennium BCE, the [[Tianchi eruption]] of [[Baekdu Mountain|Baekdu]] around 1000 CE and the 1815 eruption of [[Mount Tambora|Tambora]]), with a [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]] rating of 7; and there appears to be a correlation, to within a few years, of a year in which the sky was red over [[Rome]] and [[China]]. The eruption devastated much of the North Island and further expanded the lake. The area was uninhabited by humans at the time of the eruption, as New Zealand was not settled by [[Māori people|Māori]] until about 1280.  Possible climatic effects of the eruption would have been concentrated on the [[Southern Hemisphere]] due to the southerly position of Lake Taupō.<ref>Climate, History and the Modern World, Lamb, H. (1995), Routledge</ref> Taupō's last known eruption occurred around 30 years later, with lava dome extrusion forming the [[Horomatangi Reef]]s, but that eruption was much smaller than the Hatepe eruption.

Underwater hydrothermal activity continues near the Horomatangi vent,<ref name="Jago">{{cite journal | first1 = C. E. J. |last1=de Ronde |first2= P. |last2=Stoffers |first3= D. |last3=Garbe-Schönberg |first4= B. W. |last4=Christenson |first5= B. |last5=Jones |first6= R. |last6=Manconi |first7= P. R. L. |last7=Browne |first8= K. |last8=Hissmann |first9= R. |last9=Botz|first10= B. W. |last10=Davy |first11=M. |last11=Schmitt |first12=C. N. |last12=Battershill | year = 2002 | title = Discovery of active hydrothermal venting in Lake Taupo, New Zealand | journal = Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research | volume = 115 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 257–275 | doi=10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00332-8 |bibcode = 2002JVGR..115..257D }}</ref> and nearby geothermal fields with associated hot springs are found north and south of the lake, for example at [[Rotokawa, Bay of Plenty|Rotokawa]] and [[Tūrangi]]. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain [[extremophile]] micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.<ref>C.Michael Hogan. 2010. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Extremophile?topic=49540 ''Extremophile'']. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC</ref>

The volcano is considered active and is monitored by GNS Science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/taupo|title=GeoNet Taupo|website=[[GeoNet (New Zealand)|GeoNet]]}}</ref>

== Biota ==
Much of the watershed of Lake Taupō is a beech and [[podocarp]] forest with associate [[understory]] ferns being ''[[Blechnum filiforme]]'', ''[[Asplenium flaccidum]]'', ''[[Doodia media]]'', ''[[Hymenophyllum demissum]]'', ''[[Microsorum pustulatum]]'' and ''[[Dendroconche scandens]]'', and some prominent associate shrubs being ''[[Olearia rani]]'' and ''[[Alseuosmia quercifolia]]''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 ''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |date=13 February 2012 }}</ref>

Native faunal species in the lake include [[northern koura|northern kōura]] or crayfish (''Paranephrops planifrons'') and [[kokopu|kōkopu]] or [[whitebait]] (''[[Galaxias]]'' species). The lake is noted for stocks of [[brown trout]] (''Salmo trutta'') and [[rainbow trout]] (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), introduced from Europe and California respectively in the late nineteenth century. There has also been a subsequent introduction of smelt ([[Retropinnidae]] species) as a food for the trout.

A community of sponges and associated invertebrates live around the underwater geothermal vents.<ref name="Jago"/>

== Tourism ==
[[File:Lake taupo landsat.jpg|thumb|200px|left|NASA satellite photo of Lake Taupō]]
[[File: Wharf and small jetty on Lake Taupo at the point where the Waikato River leaves the lake ATLIB 313225.png|thumb|left|Wharf and small jetty where the [[Waikato River]] departs the lake, 1928]]
[[File:01 New Zealand Lake Taupo.jpg|thumb|Māori rock carvings at Mine Bay are over 10 metres high and accessible only by boat or kayak.]]

Tourism is a major component of Taupō's commercial sector. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year.

The lake area has a temperate climate. Daily maximum temperatures recorded for Taupō range from an average of 23.3&nbsp;°C in January and February to 11.2&nbsp;°C in July,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Maximum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012616/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> while the nighttime minimum temperatures range from 11.6&nbsp;°C in February down to 2.2&nbsp;°C in July.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Minimum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012337/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> Rain falls in all seasons but is greatest in winter and spring, from June to December.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |title=Mean Monthly Rainfall |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015842/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref>

Taupō hosts the [[Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge]], a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours. [[Skydiving]] is a popular local sport and tourist attraction. Taupō also hosts the ANZCO [[Ironman Triathlon|Ironman]] event.

Crossing the 40.2&nbsp;km length of the lake is a challenge for open-water swimmers. In 2020, Michael Wells from Darwin, Australia, was the first to breaststroke across the lake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/darwin-man-breaststrokes-new-zealands-lake-taupo/11874820|title='Exhaustion, exposure, hypothermia' all possible in Lake Taupo record swim|last=Byrne|first=Conor|date=19 January 2020|publisher=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref>

===Māori rock carving===
On the north-west side of Lake Taupō on the cliffs of Mine Bay, there are Māori rock carvings created in the late 1970s by [[Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell]] and John Randall. Carved in the likeness of [[Ngātoro-i-rangi]], a navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupō area over a thousand years ago according to [[Māori mythology|Māori legend]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022 |title=Ngātoroirangi Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings |url=https://www.lovetaupo.com/en/see-do/art-maori-culture/mine-bay-maori-rock-carvings/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=www.lovetaupo.com}}</ref> The 10-metre-high carving is intended to protect Lake Taupō from volcanic activities underneath. The cliff has become a popular tourist destination with hundreds of boats and yachts visiting the spot yearly.

===Māori tribes===
Lake Taupō is a [[taonga]] (treasure or something special to the person) of [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] from the Te Arawa waka. Ngāti Tūwharetoa owns the bed of the lake and its tributaries. They grant the public free access for recreational use.<ref>{{cite press release| title=New deed of settlement for Lake Taupo | url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-deed-settlement-lake-taupô}}</ref>

== History ==
Lake Taupō previously housed a [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] village known as Te Rapa near the springs of [[Maunga Kākaramea]]. It was covered in a landslide on 7 May 1846 which killed 60 people, including the iwi's chief [[Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devastating landslide at Lake Taupō |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/new-zealands-most-devastating-landslide-at-te-rapa-lake-taupo |access-date=10 March 2024 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of lakes of New Zealand]]
* [[Taupō Volcanic Zone]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal
  | author = Ben G. Mason
  |author2=David M. Pyle |author3=Clive Oppenheimer
   | year = 2004
  | title = The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth
  | journal = Bulletin of Volcanology
  | volume = 66
  | issue = 8
  | pages = 735–748
  | doi = 10.1007/s00445-004-0355-9|bibcode = 2004BVol...66..735M |s2cid=129680497 }}
* {{cite gvp
  | vn = 241070
  | name = Taupo
  | access-date = 1 January 2009 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Lake Taupō}}
*[http://www.greatlaketaupo.com/ Great Lake Taupō Official Visitor Information Website]
*[http://www.laketaupo.co.nz/ Tūrangi and Lake Taupō Website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090627164106/http://www.laketauponz.com/taupo/webcam.html Lake Taupō Webcam]
*[http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Environment/Natural-resources/Water/Lakes/Lake-Taupo/ Lake Taupō] at the Waikato Regional Council
*[http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/central-north-island/turangi-taupo/lake-taupo-area/ Lake Taupō area] at the Department of Conservation

{{Waikato}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taupō, Lake}}
[[Category:Taupō Volcanic Zone]]
[[Category:Calderas of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Taupō District]]
[[Category:VEI-8 volcanoes]]
[[Category:Supervolcanoes]]
[[Category:Volcanic crater lakes]]
[[Category:Lakes of Waikato]]
[[Category:Lake Taupō|*]]
[[Category:Waikato River]]