Panoramic view across Lake Pukaki to the snow-covered peaks of the Ben Ohau Range, Twizel, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Lake Pukaki is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand's South Island. The others are Lakes Tekapo and Ohau. All three lakes were created when the terminal moraines of receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys, forming moraine-dammed lakes. The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers. Lake Pukaki covers an area of km², and the surface elevation of the lake normally ranges from to 532 metres above sea level. Ben Ohau Range is a mountain range in Canterbury Region, South Island, New Zealand. It lies west of Lake Pukaki, at 44°S 170°E

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Size: 10084px × 3543px
Location: Lake Pukaki, Tekapo, Canterbury, New Zealand
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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