Lake Rerewhakaaitu
Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox body of water Lake Rerewhakaaitu shortened to Lake Rere, is a small, shallow lake in northern New Zealand, located 30 kilometres to the east of Rotorua. It is immediately south of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, and the geography was substantially altered by the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera.
Geography
At a mean autumn height of Template:Convert above sea level the lake is highest and southernmost of the Rotorua Te Arawa lakes.<ref name=White2016>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp Occupying a shallow basin, it is mostly surrounded by farming pasture; although over the past few decades, exotic and indigenous forest cover has begun to appear.
Water Flow
The lake is feed by the Awaroa and Mangakino Streams.<ref name=LAWA1/> The lake has no permanent outflow, as it is above the water table of much of the surrounding land (Template:Abbr by perhaps up to Template:Convert except at north-eastern side), but has an artificial overflow channel to the south east to control the maximum height.<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp Also, when the lake is high, water can flow down the Mangaharakeke Stream due to these water table issues. Further the Awaroa Stream is ephemeral.<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp
It is believed that the springs at the head of Te Kauae Stream are sourced from the lake as part of Template:Convert ground water outflow from its catchment into that of Lake Rotomahana to its north-west.<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp Groundwater also flows south-east of the lake into the Rangitaiki River catchment.<ref name=LAWA1/><ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp
| Source | Inflow to lake |
|---|---|
| Mangakino Stream | Template:Convert |
| Awaroa Stream | Template:Convert |
| Catchment | Template:Convert |
Geology
The lake is believed to be about 11,000 years old,<ref name=LRRR>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> having formed after the Waiohau eruption of 14,009 ± 155 years ago.<ref name="Lowe2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The area of the lake and its catchment has multiple rhyolitic pyroclastics from Mount Tarawera eruptions.<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp Parts of the Whakamaru Group of ignimbrite define the south-east and parts of the northern lake shore,<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp and that massive eruption sequence of the Whakamaru Caldera was about 335,000 years ago.<ref name="Froggatt1986">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera covered the lake area in tephra to a depth between Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of the ash deposits in the catchment, particularly the even thicker ones to the north of the lake, would have been washed into the lake within a year or two as described at the time.<ref name="Thomas1888">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
Ecology
The lake is home to 46 different bird species with nine of these classified as threatened. This includes the largest breeding population of banded dotterel in the Rotorua Ecological District.<ref name=LRRR/>
It is stocked with introduced rainbow trout.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The lake is classified as mesotrophic, with moderate productivity and water quality.<ref name=LAWA1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its trophic level index was 3.4 in 2014.<ref name=White2016/>Template:Rp
Culture
The shores of the lake are often the scene of dog shows, like those from Rotorua, Agility during Easter, and the obedience show in January.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Education
Lake Rerewhakaaitu School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,<ref name=moe>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a roll of Template:NZ school roll data as of Template:NZ school roll data.<ref name="ero">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>