Lake Taupō, the largest lake by surface area in its country, is in New Zealand. It occupies the caldera of Taupō Volcano on the North Island and is one of the country’s defining volcanic landscapes.
The lake covers about 616 square kilometres and drains north through the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest river. Its Māori name, Taupō-nui-a-Tia, is commonly interpreted as “the great cloak of Tia,” linking the lake to the explorer Tia in Māori tradition.
Taupō is a crater lake rather than a glacial lake like many large South Island lakes. The enormous Oruanui eruption, about 25,500 years ago, formed much of the caldera; a later eruption in the same volcanic system occurred around AD 232 and was among the most powerful eruptions of the last 5,000 years. A common mix-up is confusing the lake with the nearby town of Taupō, which sits on its northeastern shore.