It is located about 20 km south-west of Hastings, New Zealand, close to the settlement of Te Hauke.

It was deeper in the past (about 2.5 metre) but it was artificially drained after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.

Lake Poukawa became a well-known paleontological site in 1956 when paleontologist Russell Price began with his excavations in the lacustrine deposits.

Extinct birds found at Lake Poukawa include Biziura delautouri, Oxyura vantetsi, Mergus australis, Chenonetta finschi, Pachyornis geranoides, Ixobrychus novaezelandiae, Gallinula hodgenorum, Fulica prisca, Malacorhynchus scarletti, and Cnemiornis gracilis.

Twelve km south of Lake Poukawa is the Te Aute swamp which is known for its moa fossils and tracks.