| Lake Wakatipu | |
|---|---|
| Whakatipu Waimāori (Māori) | |
 View of Lake Wakatipu fromKingston | |
.png)  Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu is in the Otago Region of the South Island. | |
| Location | Queenstown-Lakes District,Otago Region,South Island |
| Coordinates | 45°3′S168°30′E / 45.050°S 168.500°E /-45.050; 168.500 |
| Lake type | Glacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu,Rees River |
| Primary outflows | Kawarau River |
| Catchment area | 2,674 km2 (1,032 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Max. length | 80 km (50 mi) |
| Max. width | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Surface area | 295.4 km2 (114.1 sq mi)[citation needed] |
| Average depth | ~217 m (712 ft)[citation needed] |
| Max. depth | 420 m (1,380 ft) |
| Water volume | 64.2 km3 (15.4 cu mi)[citation needed] |
| Residence time | c. 12 years |
| Surface elevation | 309 m (1,014 ft)[citation needed] |
| Islands | Pig Island,Pigeon Island, Tree Island &Hidden Island. |
| Settlements | Kingston,Queenstown,Glenorchy |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Lake Wakatipu | |
Lake Wakatipu (Māori:Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inlandlake (finger lake) in theSouth Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of theOtago region, near its boundary withSouthland. The nameWakatipu comes from theMāori name of the lake; there are two different etymologies as to the origin of the name.
With a length of 80 kilometres (50 mi), it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at 295 km2 (114 sq mi), itsthird largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level (−111 metres, or 364 feet), with a maximum depth of 420 metres (1,380 ft). It is at an altitude of 309 m (1,014 ft), towards the southern end of theSouthern Alps. The general topography is a reversed "N" shape or "dog leg". TheDart River flows into the northern end, the lake then runs south for 30 kilometres before turning abruptly to the east. Twenty kilometres (12 miles) further along, it turns sharply to the south, reaching its southern end 30 kilometres (19 mi) further south, nearKingston. At the north end of the lake is the settlement ofGlenorchy, in the north-east corner, and the smaller isolated locality ofKinloch in the north-west corner.
The lake is drained by theKawarau River, which flows out from the lake's only arm, the Frankton Arm, 8 km (5.0 mi) east ofQueenstown. Until about 18,000 years ago theMataura River drained Lake Wakatipu. TheKingston Flyer follows part of the former river bed now blocked by glacial moraine.[1] Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to the eastern end of its middle section. It has aseiche period of 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the water level to rise and fall some 200 millimetres (8 in).[2]
Lake Wakatipu is known for its scenery and is surrounded by mountains. Two mountain ranges,the Remarkables and theTapuae-o-Uenuku / Hector Mountains, lie along its southeastern edge. It is a common venue foradventure tourism, withskifields,paragliding,bungy jumping andtramping tracks within easy reach. A vintage steamboat, theTSSEarnslaw regularly plies its waters. Severalvineyards are nearby inGibbston.
The nameWakatipu is either a contraction ofWaka-tipua-wai-maori or derived fromWhakatipu.[3]
Waka-tipua-wai-maori means 'trough of fresh water where the giant lies' and comes from a legend that a giant created the lake when he died with the giant's inhalations and exhalations explaining the changing water levels.Whakatipu means 'to create' or 'to cause to grow'. The name is believed to come from a story about how the remainder of a Māori tribe sought refuge around the lake to rebuild their numbers.[3]
Wakatipu could mean "growing bay" if the original was Whakatipu and the h elided as a result of theSouthern Māori dialect.[4] The dialect is also known for dropping final vowels.Waka can also mean 'hollow'.[4]
Another proposed etymology is that the name is derived from the name of aMāori canoe (called awaka in the Māori language).[5]
Lake Wakatipu was first recorded on a map in 1843, it was not actually surveyed at the time and its position was based on details given by Māori; in September 1853Nathaniel Chalmers became the first European to view the lake being guided to the lake by Reko, a chief ofTuturau. Chalmers had only viewed the lake from a distance and the first Europeans to reach the lake were a party of three men in January 1856, who were shown a crude map drawn in the ground by Reko. One of the three men accidentally started a large scrub fire when discarding a match beside the lake. More men made the rough trip to see the lake and this led to settlment of the Wakatipu District with the Staircase and Nokomai Stations being established in 1859.[5]
William Gilbert Rees andNicholas von Tunzelmann visited the lake in 1860 and were later granted run holdings surrounding the lake. In 1862 gold was found atDunstan leading to the start of theOtago gold rush. Prospectors came to the lake in search of gold and an influx of people followed after news of gold being found by the lake had spread.[5]
Soon gold was discovered on Rees' land, which lead to the creation ofQueenstown.[5]: 56–69
Lake Wakatipu has experienced periodic flooding[6] affecting the lakeside communities of Kingston,Glenorchy and Queenstown. Notable flooding events include the 1878 Queenstown floods, which affected a large part of the outlying Queenstown and Otago areas, the 1995 Queenstown floods, and most notably the 1999 Queenstown floods, which significantly damaged the QueenstownCBD and road infrastructure resulting in approximately $50 million worth of damage.[7][8][9]
Lake Wakatipu is a habitat for thelongfin eel (a specimen caught in 1886 is the largest known of this species[10]), and for introducedbrown trout,salmon andrainbow trout.[11] These and other fish support predators such as thepied shag. Theblack-billed gull is often found around the lake while the most common birds are theblack-billed gull and the introducedmallard. A smaller bird often not noticed because of its size is theNew Zealand scaup.
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Lake Wakatipu doubled as the ScottishLoch Ness in the 2007 filmThe Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.[12]
The lake was a backdrop for several scenes inThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, includingAmon Hen.
Lake Wakatipu is the eponymous lake in the murder mystery television seriesTop of the Lake (2013).[13]
The first person to swim the length of the lake was Ben Campbell-Macdonald in 2012. The 81 km solo wetsuit swim from Kingston on the lake's southern point to Glenorchy took 18.5 hours.[14][15]
