Lake Matheson

Lake Matheson
Location	South Westland, South Island
Coordinates	43°26′22″S 169°57′52″E / 43.43944°S 169.96444°E / -43.43944; 169.96444Coordinates: 43°26′22″S 169°57′52″E / 43.43944°S 169.96444°E / -43.43944; 169.96444
Basin countries	New Zealand

Lake Matheson, near the Fox Glacier in South Westland, New Zealand, is famous for its reflected views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. A traditional mahinga kai (food gathering place) for Māori people, the lake contains long finned eel as well as being home to many water birds.

Lake Matheson just after the sunset

Geography

Lake Matheson was formed by glaciation ca. 14,000 years ago. It is situated on the valley floor about 12 km from the current Fox Glacier and Aoraki/Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, and Mount Tasman.

Conservation

The area around the lake is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and is surrounded by native kahikatea (white pine) and rimu (red pine) trees, as well as flax and a variety of New Zealand fern species.

Photographs

Lake Matheson shortly before sunrise
thumb|Lake Matheson just after the sunrise
thumb|Lake Matheson at night
thumb|Lake Matheson (New Zealand) just before the sunset

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Matheson.

Lake Matheson images (English) (German)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, September 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.