Lake Christabel is 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 north 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 ...

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 ...

. It is located 12 kilometres southwest of the

Lewis Pass Lewis Pass is the northernmost of the three main mountain passes through the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand. With an elevation of 907 metres, it is slightly lower than Arthur's Pass and higher than Haast Pass. The pass is ...

. The lake is the source of the Grey River, one of the longest rivers on the South Island's West Coast, although its outlet is underground. The lake lies behind a landslide dam, thought to have been created by a prehistoric earthquake. The river runs under the debris for about . A 1976 survey said it was, "one of the very few lakes in New Zealand in a natural, unmodified state". It estimated its depth at over .

Galaxias brevipinnis The climbing galaxias or kōaro (''Galaxias brevipinnis'') is a fish of the family Galaxiidae found in Australia, New Zealand, and nearby islands. The name climbing galaxias is used in Australia, and koaro or kōaro in New Zealand. Further vernac ...

(climbing galaxias) and Anquilla dieffenbachii (longfin eel) were the only fish found.

References

Buller District Lakes of the West Coast Region {{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub