Lake Pukaki in central South Island, New Zealand, occupying 169 square km of a valley dammed by a terminal glacial debris. The lake, 500 m above sea level, receives the Tasman and Hooker rivers, which draw some of their waters from melting glaciers east of the Southern Alps; its total drainage basin 1,355 square km. Pukaki is 8 km wide and 15 km long. A dam at the southern outlet, near the town of Lake Pukaki, regulates the lake’s surface elevation as it releases water to power hydroelectric stations.
