642 THE FRESH-WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND 
Lake Taupo extends from lat. 38° 40' to 38° 57' S., and from long. 
175° 46' to 176° 6' E., lying 1211 feet above the sea. It has an area 
of about 238 square miles ; its length is 25 miles from north-east to 
south-west, its greatest breadth 16J miles, and its mean breadth, at 
right angles to the long axis, 9 J miles. The lake is roughly divided 
into three portions : (1) the southern end, the greater part of which is 
included between the 300 and 360-feet contours ; (2) the western 
bay, which lies chiefly between the 360 and 420-feet contours ; and 
(3) the north-east portion, which includes the maximun depth of 
534 feet. The mean depth is 367 feet. The hot springs of Tokaanu 
and of Waipahihi pour their waters into this lake. 
At about 45 miles from its mouth, and shortly after its junction 
with the Waipu, the river breaks through a chain of low hills and 
enters a broad plain, in its course through which it is flanked on 
either side by a series of shallow lakes — Waikare and Kimihia on 
the east, and Whangape, Roto Ngaro, and Wahi on the west. 
Lake Waikare, about 11 square miles in area, is separated from 
the Waikato River by a strip of low land, from which projects a 
peninsula dividing the lake into a larger north and a smaller south 
basin, leaving a channel one mile wide between them. The depth 
over the greater part of the lake is from 8 to 9 feet. A hot spring 
rises from the bed of the lake, in a small depression including the 
maximum depth of 12 feet ; and two streams, the Te Onetea and the 
Rangiriri, serve as outlets for the waters of the lake when the 
Waikato is low, but a rise in the level of the river is sufficient 
to reverse the current in them. In this May the Waikato serves 
as the chief source of water for the lake in certain seasons. As the 
Rangiriri joins the river at a lower level than the Te Onetea, the 
/former may serve as an inlet while the latter is serving as an 
outlet. Lake Waikare reduces the harmful action of floods on the 
Waikato River. 
Lake Whangape lies to the north-west side of the plain through 
which the Waikato runs, and drains to it by a small stream. Its 
length is 5J miles, its greatest breadth a little more than 2 miles, 
and its area about 4 square miles. A narrow channel a quarter of a 
mile broad divides a larger north from a smaller south basin. The 
greater part of the lake-floor is included within the 8-feet contour, 
the maximum depth being 9 feet. 
Lake Tarawera is about 9 miles long and 6^ miles broad, and 
drains by the Tarawera Creek to the Matata River, and thence to 
the Bay of Plenty. The temporary damming of the outlet from Lake 
Tarawera, and the subsequent breaking down of the barrier, will 
be referred to in the description of the Great Tarawera Volcanic Rift.^ 
^ See J). 647. 
