Lake Benmore

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Lake Benmore is a lake located in the South Island of New Zealand.

The major rivers with which it is fed are the Ohau, Pukaki and the Tekapo Rivers. The lake has New Zealand's largest earth dam as part of the Waitaki hydroelectricity power scheme. The lake covers an area of approximately 75 km².

[edit] Hydro-Dam

The Dams core is an impermeable clay like gravel which is supported by two massive shoulders of river gravel. The dam is the largest earth-filled water-retaining structure in New Zealand, with a volume of 12.5 million cubic metres which is about 1.5 times as much water as Wellington harbour. The spillway can cope with 3,400 cubic metres of water per second, about 10 times the mean river flow. Construction began in 1958 and was commissioned in 1965. Southern end of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link which joins the North and South Island electricity systems.

[edit] Key statistics

• Lake Benmore area: ~ 75 kilometres square
• Dam crest length: 823 metres
• Dam crest height: 110 metres
• Nominal annual generation: 2,200 GWh
• Installed capacity: 540 MW

Lake Ruataniwha, which is basically a western arm of Benmore, is one of the country's main rowing venues.