Lake Monowai
Lake Monowai
Lake Monowai Show map of New Zealand Lake Monowai Show map of South Island
Location	Southland District, Southland Region, South Island
Coordinates	45°52′S 167°27′E / 45.867°S 167.450°E / -45.867; 167.450
Primary outflows	Monowai River
Basin countries	New Zealand
Max. length	19 km (12 mi)
Max. width	1.6 km (0.99 mi)
Surface area	31 km2 (12 sq mi)
Average depth	71 m (233 ft)
Max. depth	158.5 m (520 ft)
Water volume	2.2 km3 (0.53 cu mi)
Surface elevation	196 m (643 ft)

Lake Monowai (officially Monowai Lake; Māori: Manokīwai) is a large lake (31 square kilometres or 12 square miles) in the southern part of Fiordland National Park, in New Zealand's South Island, 120 kilometres northwest of Invercargill.^[1] At an altitude of 196 metres in a long curved valley, the lake appears on maps shaped like a letter "U". The western part of the lake is set in beautiful mountainous country. It is drained in the northeast by the short Monowai River, which enters the Waiau River eight kilometres to the northeast.

Lake Monowai panorama

One of the South Island's oldest hydroelectric stations is powered by the waters of the Monowai. It is located at the junction of the Waiau and Monowai Rivers and was opened in 1925.^[2]

As a result of the Save Manapouri campaign, plans to raise the level of the lake to create more hydroelectric power were shelved by the Labour government of Norman Kirk in the 1970s, and an independent body, the Guardians of Lake Manapouri, Monowai, and Te Anau was created to oversee management of the lake levels (more information at Manapouri Power Station).^[2]