Largest lakes & reservoirs in West Coast Region, South 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 3 articles we have published for West Coast Region, South Island, NZ lakes.
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Below are lakes within New Zealand > South Island, NZ > West Coast Region, South Island, NZ > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in West Coast Region, South Island, NZ, only the 3 West Coast Region, South Island, NZ lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name ![]() |
Surface area in acres ![]() |
Lake description |
---|---|---|
Lake Brunner, New Zealand (New Zealand, South Island, NZ, West Coast Region, South Island, NZ) |
10,151 ac | Moana Kotuku is what the Maori call Lake Brunner, naming it after the beautiful and rare white herons (kotuku) sometimes seen on the lake’s shores. Th… |
Lake Kaniere, New Zealand (New Zealand, South Island, NZ, West Coast Region, South Island, NZ) |
5,436 ac | At 5,436 acres, Lake Kaniere is the second largest lake among the West Coast lakes of the South Island of New Zealand. With 12 miles of shoreline and… |
Lake Matheson (New Zealand, South Island, NZ, West Coast Region, South Island, NZ) |
74 ac | The only way to approach Lake Matheson on the south island of New Zealand is on foot. Visitors to the South Westland lake park their cars, then start… |