[1]: 24  Occupying a shallow basin, it is mostly surrounded by farming pasture; although over the past few decades, exotic and indigenous forest cover has begun to appear.

[3] The lake has no permanent outflow, as it is above the water table of much of the surrounding land (perched by perhaps up to 5 m (16 ft) except at north-eastern side), but has an artificial overflow channel to the south east to control the maximum height.

[5] The area of the lake and its catchment has multiple rhyolitic pyroclastics from Mount Tarawera eruptions.

[6] The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera covered the lake area in tephra to a depth between 15–5 cm (5.9–2.0 in).

This includes the largest breeding population of banded dotterel in the Rotorua Ecological District.