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Michael A. Stecker
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Lake Tekapo derives its name from taka (sleeping
mat) and po (night). The tourquoise color
of the lake is created by "rock flour" -- finely
ground
particles of rock held in suspension in the glacial melt water. Gouged out by a glacier thousands of years ago, Lake Tekapo is 2300 feet above sea level and fed by the Godley, Cass and Macauley Rivers -- all good fishing spots.
Tekapo is the second-largest of three
roughly parallel lakes
running north–south along the northern edge of the
Mackenzie Basin in
the
South Island of
New Zealand. It covers an area of 83 square kilometers (32 sq mi). The others lakes of the region are Lake Pukaki (see photo) and Lake Ohau.
On the shores of the lake is the
Church of the Good Shepherd
and a bronze statue of a New Zealand sheepdog
(photo below).
Nearby in the mountains is Mount John University (astronomical) Observatory . |
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