Lake Moawhango is a small artificial lake located with the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

Waiouru Military Camp Waiouru Military Camp is a camp of the New Zealand Army in the central North Island of New Zealand near Waiouru. All New Zealand Army soldiers complete their initial basic training, the All Arms Recruit Course (AARC), at Waiouru Military Camp ...

. It is fed by the Mangaio Stream, boosted by tributaries diverted from the slopes of

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; English ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island North Island Volcanic Plateau, volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern s ...

, and by the

Moawhango River The Moawhango River is a tributary of the Rangitīkei River and is located the central North Island of New Zealand. Course The river flows generally southwest from its sources in the Kaimanawa Range east of Mount Ruapehu to reach Lake Moawha ...

. Water is taken from the lake for the

Tongariro Power Scheme The Tongariro Power Scheme is a 360 megawatt, MW hydroelectricity scheme in the central North Island of New Zealand. The scheme diverts water from tributaries of the Rangitikei River, Rangitikei, Whangaehu River, Whangaehu, Whanganui, and Tongar ...

, feeding the Tongariro River via the Moawhango Tunnel, although some water is released to continue down the Moawhango River nearby the settlement of

Moawhango Moawhango is a rural community in the northern part of Rangitikei District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is situated north of Taihape and 91 km northeast of Marton, New Zealand, Marton. Nearby Moawhango ...

. The lake is dammed at the southern end. Lake Moawhango contains a large population of wild

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

, and while these are easily caught, they very rarely exceed in weight. The lake contains three islands, the largest of which is known as Ayers Rock. The exact antipodes of this lake coincide exactly with the dam of Torre de Abraham, in Castilla - La Mancha, Spain (at coordinates ). The New Zealand government is exploring using the lake for a

pumped-storage hydroelectricity Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing (electrical power), load balancing. A PSH system stores energy i ...

as an alternative to Lake Onslow.

Gallery

File:Lake Moawhango, New Zealand.jpg, Lake Moawhango from west side looking east, January 2022 File:Lake Moawhango and Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand.jpg, Lake Moawhango looking north west to Mt Ruapehu, January 2022 File:Lake Moawhango and Moawhango Dam.jpg, Lake Moawhango and Mt Ruapehu from the Moawhango Dam, January 2022

References

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Ruapehu District