Lake Benmore is a lake located in the South Island of New Zealand. It was artificially created in the 1960s by construction of Benmore Dam. The lake covers an area of approximately 75 km². Parts of it lie in the Mackenzie, Waimate, and Waitaki districts within the southern portion of the Canterbury Region.
The major rivers with which it is fed are the Ohau, Pukaki and the Tekapo Rivers. Immediately downstream is Lake Aviemore. The lake has New Zealand's largest earth dam as part of the Waitaki hydroelectricity power scheme.
After the lake was created the incidence of seismic shocks increased by a factor of three to six times.
Famous quotes containing the word lake:
“Such were the first rude beginnings of a town. They spoke of the practicability of a winter road to the Moosehead Carry, which would not cost much, and would connect them with steam and staging and all the busy world. I almost doubted if the lake would be there,—the self-same lake,—preserve its form and identity, when the shores should be cleared and settled; as if these lakes and streams which explorers report never awaited the advent of the citizen.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)