Drawing from a catchment area of 1,280 square kilometres (490 sq mi), Lake Gordon is Tasmania's largest lake, with a surface area of 278 square kilometres (107 sq mi), with storage capacity of 12,359,040 megalitres (436,455.4×10^6 cu ft)[1] or 12.5 km3 (3.0 cu mi) of water, the equivalent of twenty-five times the amount of water in Port Jackson. Lake Pedder is connected to Lake Gordon through the McPartlans Pass Canal at 42°50′51″S146°11′45″E / 42.84750°S 146.19583°E / -42.84750; 146.19583 (McPartlans Pass Canal).
In early 2016, the lowest ever water supply levels in the lake were recorded during the 2016 Tasmanian energy crisis.[4][5] However, by July of next year the drought had ended, and the lake had swelled by twenty metres over ten months.[6]
^McKenry, Keith (1972) A History and critical analysis of the controversy concerning the Gordon River Power Scheme pp. 9–39 in Australian Conservation Foundation (1972) Pedder Papers – Anatomy of a Decision Parkville, Vic. Australian Conservation Foundation