Photo: Lake Dunstan Landscape Central Otago New Zealand

Created through the damming of the Clutha River, Lake Dunstan is a reservoir for hydro power generation at the Clyde Dam, as well as a popular recreational lake surrounded by the arid landscape of Central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand.

The landscape of Central Otago, which surrounds Lake Dunstan, is characterised by its hot, dry summers and cold winters. The lake is fed by the Clutha River which, at 340 kilometres long, is the second longest river in New Zealand and is also considered the swiftest river in the southern hemisphere.

The Clutha River runs a course through the Cromwell Gorge in the form of Lake Dunstan, and offers superb recreational opportunities such as water skiing, boating, swimming, rowing, and fishing. The hills and landscape which borders Lake Dunstan is fairly unstable and was the focus of much controversy during the building of the Clyde Dam from the late 1970's until the late 1980's.

Lake Dunstan in the Cromwell Gorge between the towns of Clyde and Cromwell, Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand.