Lake Ruataniwha 4.58

Lake Ruataniwha is located in the Mackenzie Basin in New Zealand's South Island. An artificial lake, it was formed as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces with the town of Twizel two kilometres to the north.The lake is named after Ruataniwha Station, a large sheep station in the area, part of which was purchased by the NZ Electricity Department as the site for the township of Twizel. Ruataniwha was a Maori chief who was drowned when the canoe Arai-te-uru sank near Moeraki in the 12th century.It was one of the filming locations of the Zombie movie Last of the Living.FeaturesThe lake is approximately 4.5 km in length and covers 3.4 square km.It was formed by the New Zealand Ministry of Works as part of the Upper Waitaki Power Project between 1977 and 1981 in a gorge created by the Ohau River. The gorge was blocked by the building of the Ruataniwha Dam whose crest carries State Highway 8 between Twizel and Omarama.Lake Ruataniwha is fed by the output from the Ohau A power station and also by an overflow discharge from Lake Ohau down the normally dry bed of the Ohau River.