The Neck, Otago • New Zealand Both Lake Wanaka and its close neighbor, Hawea, occupy basins excavated by successi
The Neck, Otago • New Zealand Both Lake Wanaka and its close neighbour, Hawea, occupy basins excavated by successive advances of great glacial systems that rose on the main divide between Mount Aspiring and the head of the Hunter River. The ice occupying the two lake basins was connected over a low pass now called the Neck, and the lake basins had a similar glacial history. Ice extended over the Wanaka area south-east down the Clutha River, at least as far as the Lindis River Junction, in later Pleistocene time. Ice submerged Mount Barker and Mount Iron, sculpturing Mount Iron into a typical “roche moutonnée” shape. A prominent loop of terminal moraine encircles the lower end of the lake, encloses Wanaka township, and marks the limits of the last of the great Pleistocene ice advances. The early Lake Wanaka was formed during the retreat of the ice terminal northwards from this loop about 10,000 years ago. It stood at first at a much higher level than at present. The outlet became entrenched in the glacial silts forming part of this moraine, and water level sunk in post-glacial time to its present 928 ft above sea level. Source: How to cite this page: . 'WANAKA, LAKE', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Apr-09 URL:
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Location: New Zealand
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