NEW ZEALAND

NEW ZEALAND / AOTEAROA.

Lake Matheson (Te Ara Kairaumati) and Mount Cook (Aoraki), in South Island.
Third stamp in a set of 6, isued on 01.05.1996.
Face value: 40 cents of New New Zeland dollar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 25 x 30 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 1519IBA.
- Scott No. 1356.
- StampWorld No. 1562.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1988.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1463.

Lake Matheson (in Māori, Te Ara Kairaumati) is a small glacial lake in South Westland of New Zealand. It is famous for its reflected views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. The Lake was formed in between two moraine terraces left by the rapid retreat of Fox Glacier (Te Moeka o Tuawe) approximately 14,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period. It has 1.5 km (0.93 mi) shoreline and an average depth of 12 m (39 ft). Its surface is 30 ha (74 acres). Some of the creeks that feed it carry organic matter and tannins from the forest, which produce the brownish effect of the waters, which facilitates reflections. The lake was named in honor of Murdoch Matheson, a rancher from the area in the 1870s. In the stamp is Mount Cook (Aoraki), New Zealand's highest mountain at 3,724 m (12,218 ft), in the Southern Alps mountain range.

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Thanks to Kazimierz R. Leszczyński for his contribution (http://leszkarozdub.blogspot.com).