Abel Lake was a small
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in the
Westland region of the
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It was located in the
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
, east of
Franz Josef and was fed by the
Abel Glacier. A short stream linked the lake with the
Perth River. The lake was (as of May 2017) was likely displaced with alluvial / glacial rock or the outlet was lowered by natural erosion or manually by gold prospectors.
[New Zealand 1:50000 Topographic Map series sheet BW17 – Harihari]
References
Westland District
Lakes of the West Coast Region
West Coast Gold Rush
{{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub