Sutton Salt Lake
{{Short description|New Zealand's only inland salt water lake}}
{{Other uses|Sutton Lake (disambiguation)}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Sutton Salt Lake
| image = Sutton Salt Lake 11.jpg
| alt = Sutton Salt Lake
| caption = Sutton Salt Lake
| image_bathymetry =
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|pushpin_map=New Zealand Otago peninsula
| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Sutton Salt Lake
| location = Otago, South Island
| coords = {{coord|45|34|35|S|170|5|12|E|type:waterbody_region:NZ|display=inline,title}}
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| basin_countries = New Zealand
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Sutton Salt Lake (also known as Salt Lake){{cite web|url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-45.575841,170.094323&z=14|title=NZTopoMap:Salt Lake|access-date=28 September 2024}} in Otago, is New Zealand's only inland salt water lake.{{cite journal|last1 =Craw|first1 =D.|last2 =Beckett|first2 =S|year =2004|title =Water and sediment chemistry of Sutton Salt Lake, east Otago, New Zealand|journal =New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research|volume =38|issue =2|pages =315–328|doi =10.1080/00288330.2004.9517240}}{{rp|p=315}}{{cite web|last=Craw|first=D.|title=Sutton Salt Lake, Otago|url=https://www.otago.ac.nz/geology/research/environmental-geology/geomorphology/sutton-salt-lake.html|publisher=University of Otago|accessdate=18 May 2021}}{{efn|New Zealand also has one coastal salt water lake, Lake Grassmere, a lagoon with no direct outflow to the sea.}}
Geography
Sutton Salt Lake is located {{convert|10|km|abbr=off}} west of Sutton, in the Strath Taieri, a valley surrounded by high hills. The hills to its north west are the Rock and Pillar Range, and south west the Lammermoor Range.
= Geology =
The lake is situated in schist basement and filled only by rainwater and dries up during periods of warm weather and little rain,{{cite web|title=Middlemarch - Walks|url=http://www.middlemarch.co.nz/activities/walks.html|publisher=Middlemarch|accessdate=17 February 2014}} in up to annual cycles.{{rp|p=315}} It has been doing this for about 20,000 years{{rp|p=3}} When full, the lake has salinity about one quarter to one third of that of seawater and a pH near 9. At other times it has salinity up to 50 mS/cm which is more than typical New Zealand oceanic waters.{{rp|p=7}} The salinity is due to marine aerosols in rainwater which has been concentrated by around 20000 evaporation and refilling cycles.
= Climate =
File:Sutton Salt Lake towards Rock and Pillar Range.jpg
Sutton Salt Lake is also unique in that it lies in a region of windy cool-temperate maritime climate. This makes it different from most of the world's saline lakes, which usually form in arid continental landscapes. The total area of the lake, when the shallow depression is filled with rainwater, is nearly two hectares. The nearest coast is {{cvt|50|km|abbr=off}} from the lake, and separated from the lake by to its south an area of high ground known as the Barewood Plateau.
The area around Sutton Lake gets {{cvt|500|mm}} of rainfall annually, about half of that of the coast nearby. It like much of Central Otago is in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps.{{rp|p=1}} Coastal hills create a minor barrier to the rain, halving the amount of rainfall that the lake receives. Strong winds increase the lake's surface evaporation rate, which is around {{cvt|700|mm}}/year.
Ecology
The lake site has surrounding halophytic vegetation.{{rp|p=316}} The margin flats around the lake have much lower salinity than the lake itself.{{rp|pp=8–9}} The most abundant salt grasses are the native Puccinellia walkeri and the introduced Puccinellia fasciculata.{{rp|p=16}} Since 1984 exotic weeds have displaced the native salt-tolerant herb Selliera radicans invading the lower saline margins around the lake.{{rp|p=16}}
Notes
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References
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{{Commons category|Sutton Salt Lake}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Dunedin|state=collapsed}}