Story: Geomorphology – a history

Lake Rotoiti

Lake Rotoiti

Lake Rotoiti is a small glacial lake near St Arnaud, on the edge of the Southern Alps. The lake was filled by a glacier at the end of the last ice age, about 15,000 years ago. As temperatures warmed the ice melted, and the depression was filled with water. While exploring the area in 1859, Ferdinand Hochstetter noticed evidence for past glaciation – terminal moraines that marked the former extent of glacier ice.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Jock Phillips

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How to cite this page:

Rebecca Priestley, 'Geomorphology – a history - The extent of glaciers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/13106/lake-rotoiti (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Rebecca Priestley, published 24 Sep 2007