Lake Mapourika is located on the West Coast of New Zealand's

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 lies north of Franz Josef Glacier, and the out-flowing

Ōkārito River The Ōkārito River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows northwest from the northern end of Lake Mapourika, reaching the Ōkārito Lagoon 15 kilometres west of Whataroa. See also *List of rivers of New ...

drains it into the

Ōkārito Lagoon Ōkārito Lagoon is a coastal lagoon on the west Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located south of Hokitika, and covers an area of about , making it the largest unmodified coastal wetland in New Zealand. It p ...

. It is the 3rd largest of the West Coast

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 ...

s, a

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

formation from the last ice age. Since the water from glacial melts no longer drains into the lake, it is filled with fresh rain water which runs through the surrounding forest floor, collecting tannins, giving it its dark colour. As the winds of the region sweep high above the mountains of 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 ...

, the water is left unruffled and quite reflective of the forest on the lake fringes.

References

Westland District Lakes of the West Coast Region Westland Tai Poutini National Park {{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub