Lake Wairarapa

lake, New Zealand

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

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Lake Wairarapa is a shallow, 31-square-mile (80-square-km) lake located on the Wairarapa plain in the southeastern North Island of New Zealand. It was formed when sediment deposits from the Ruamahanga River blocked the Tauherenikau River. The lake is fed by both these rivers and drains into Cook Strait via the Ruamahanga River. The Wairarapa plain itself is a geographic trough filled with sediments from the Ruamahanga and Manawatu rivers, bordered by the Rimutaka and Tararua ranges to the west. The region was pioneered in the 1840s and is important for agriculture, including olives, wine grapes, dairying, and livestock.1

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Wairarapa
Lake Wairarapa, a shallow, 31-square-mile (80-square-km) depression on the plain, was created when deposits laid down by the Ruamahanga River blocked the Tauherenikau River. The lake is fed by both streams and empties into Cook Strait by the Ruamahanga.
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Lake Wairarapa, a shallow, 31-square-mile (80-square-km) depression on the plain, was created when deposits laid down by the Ruamahanga River blocked the Tauherenikau River. The lake is fed by both streams and empties into Cook Strait by the Ruamahanga.
Read More