Largest lakes & reservoirs in North Island, NZ by acres
There is no widely-accepted minimum surface area that defines a lake. What LakeLubbers describes as a lake, you might call a pond. Acreage of a lake (or sometimes square kilometers) is most often measured at the top surface area when the lake is at normal elevation. The surface area can be considerably smaller or larger when lake levels are lower or higher than normal. North America’s Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by this measure.The other measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s water volume. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
You can find many of the world’s largest lakes (acres) on LakeLubbers in the comparison table below. Note: For some lakes, "Largest Lakes - Acres" data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 14 articles we have published for North Island, NZ lakes.
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Below are lakes within New Zealand > North Island, NZ > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in North Island, NZ, only the 14 North Island, NZ lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Taupo, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Taupo Region, North Island, NZ) |
152,216 ac | If you are making your first visit to New Zealand, Lake Taupo in the Taupo Region of the North Island is an excellent first choice. New Zealand’s larg… |
| Lake Rotorua, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
19,714 ac | What greeting will you hear when you come to Lake Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island? Kia ora!! Kia ora means ‘Be healthy’ or ‘well’ in the Maori l… |
| Lake Tarawera, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
10,131 ac | Lake Tarawera in the Rotorua District of the Bay of Plenty Region is a highly prized vacation lake. This deep and clear volcanic lake lies in the Okat… |
| Lake Rotoma, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
2,768 ac | Lake Rotoma is a remarkable lake. The lake is the easternmost in a chain of three lakes northeast of Lake Rotorua. Here in the Rotorua Region of the B… |
| Lake Arapuni, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Waikato Region, North Island, NZ) |
2,323 ac | In Maori one of the meanings of “ara puni” is “blocked path” making Arapuni Lake an appropriate name for the man made reservoir on the North Island of… |
| Lake Rotomahana (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
2,224 ac | The Eighth Wonder of the World was the description conferred upon Lake Rotomahana’s geothermal “Pink and White Terraces.” The terraces were New Zealan… |
| Lake Rotoehu, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
2,002 ac | For the truly traditional New Zealand holiday, one must spend a week or two at Lake Rotoehu! Located in the Rotorua District of the Bay of Plenty Regi… |
| Lake Karapiro, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Waikato Region, North Island, NZ) |
1,920 ac | A 1,920-acre reservoir, Lake Karapiro is home to the New Zealand National Rowing teams. Located on the North Island of New Zealand in the Waikato Regi… |
| Lake Ferry, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Wairarapa Region, North Island, NZ) |
1,557 ac | Also known as Lake Onoke Lake Ferry, also known as Lake Onoke, sits at the southern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. The waves of the Tasman Sea crash against a narrow grave… |
| Lake Maraetai, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Taupo Region, North Island, NZ) |
1,013 ac | Also known as Maraetai Reservoir Lake Maraetai in the Taupo Region of New Zealand’s North Island is a little-known vacationer’s dream. The 1013 acre reservoir just 33 miles north of L… |
| Lake Okareka, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Rotorua Region, North Island, NZ) |
865 ac | One of four small crater lakes lying between Lake Tarawera and Lake Rotorua in the Rotorua District of the Bay of Plenty, Lake Okareka has always been… |
| Kai Iwi Lakes, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Northland Region, North Island, NZ) |
754 ac | Also known as Kai-Iwi Lakes About 10,000 years ago, while the Tasman Sea was rising and the islands that would become New Zealand were being reshaped, depressions in the late Ple… |