Description
Whether rendered in English or Māori, the name of these teal-tinted lakes hints at a verdant precious stone. On most maps they're called the Emerald Lakes, while the older name Ngā Rotopounamu references pounamu – a word for nephrite jade and similar hard, green stones found in other parts of New Zealand. It's not just the names here that bear a geological air: set in the contours of Tongariro National Park – the country's oldest – the lakes are formed from extinct volcanic craters and surrounded by geothermal activity.