Lake Wakatipu (Māori: Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori name Whakatipu wai-māori.[1]
With a length of 80 kilometres (50 mi), it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at 289 km2 (112 sq mi), its third largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level (−110 meters), with a maximum depth of 420 metres (1,380 ft). It is at an altitude of 310 metres (1,020 ft), towards the southern end of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. The general topography is a reversed "N" shape or "dog leg". The Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu flows into the northern end, the lake then runs south for 30 kilometres before turning abruptly to the east. Twenty kilometres (12.4 mi) further along, it turns sharply to the south, reaching its southern end 30 kilometres (19 mi) further south, near Kingston.
The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the lake's only arm, the Frankton Arm, 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Queenstown. Until about 18,000 years ago the Mataura River drained Lake Wakatipu. The Kingston Flyer follows part of the former river bed now blocked by glacial moraine.[2] Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to eastern end of its middle section. It has a seiche period of 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the water level to rise and fall some 200 millimetres (8 in).[3]
NASA false-colour satellite imageView of Lake Wakatipu from the Queenstown-Glenorchy Road
Etymology
The full original name of the lake is Whakatipu-wai-Māori.[4] While the lake lacks an official name,[5] it is generally referred to as "Lake Wakatipu".[4]
The name is believed to originate from the Waitaha people, who were later displaced by Kāti Māmoe. Elders from the modern iwi Ngāi Tahu say that while the name Whakatipu is archaic and its original meaning is a mystery, whaka means causative and tipu means growth.[4] Wakatipu could mean "growing bay" if the original was Whakatipu and the h elided as a result of the Southern Māori dialect.[6] The dialect is also known for dropping final vowels. Waka can also mean 'hollow'.[6] Wakatipua or Whakatipua (Canoe/Bay of spirits) have been recorded historically, as has Wakatapu (sacred vessel).
A legend says that the lake bed was formed when a giant ogre, Kopu-wai, was burned while lying asleep, leaving only his heart behind, which according to the same legend is the cause of the rhythmic rise and fall of the lake's seiche. A variation on that is that Wakatipu is a contraction of Waka (trough) and tipua (enchanted giant), the giant was burnt when the surrounding bush was lit and his breathing causes the seiche. Another possibility, if the name was Whakatipu (make grow), is that a defeated group regrew their strength here.[7]
Whakatipu is also the name of another six unrelated geographical features in the South Island, including Tarahaka Whakatipu, the Harris Saddle at the head of the Routeburn Track; Te Awa Whakatipu, the main Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu flowing into the lake; Whakatipu Katuka, the Hollyford River and Valley; and Whakatipu Kohurangi, Māori Bay in Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, Marlborough.[8]
Flooding
Lake Wakatipu has experienced periodic flooding [9] 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 Queenstown CBD and road infrastructure resulting in approximately $50 million worth of damage.[10][11][12]
Lake Wakatipu is the eponymous lake in the murder mystery television series Top of the Lake (2013).[16]
Sports
Swimming
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. [17][18]
