Lake Wakatipu
Encyclopedia
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
(finger lake) in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is in the southwest corner of Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
Region, near its boundary with Southland.
With a length of 80 kilometres (49.7 mi), it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at 291 km² (112.4 sq mi), its third largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being as low as 100 metres (328.1 ft) below sea level, giving it a depth of between 378 metres (1,240.2 ft) and 420 metres (1,378 ft) making it New Zealands third or forth deepest lake and ranked 32nd deepest in the world, putting it just behind Lake Hauroko
Lake Hauroko
Lake Hauroko is located in a mountain valley in Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The long S-shaped lake is 30 kilometres in length and covers an area of 63 km². The surface is at an altitude of 150 metres above sea level, and the lake is 463 metres deep...
-462m, Manapouri
Manapouri
Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern shore of Lake Manapouri, close to its outflow into the Waiau River, tourist boat services are based in the...
-444m, and possibly Te Anau
Te Anau
Te Anau is a town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Lake Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and second only within New Zealand to Lake Taupo. The 2001 census recorded the town's population as 1,857...
-418m and Hawea
Hawea
Hawea is the name of a small settlement at the southern end of Lake Hawea, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 18 kilometres to the northeast of Wanaka....
-392m. It is at an altitude of 310 metres (1,017.1 ft), towards the southern end of the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
. The general topography is a reversed "N" shape or "dog leg". The Dart River 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 (18.6 mi) further south, near Kingston
Kingston, New Zealand
Kingston is a small town at the southernmost end of Lake Wakatipu on the border of Otago and Southland, in New Zealand's South Island. It is 47 kilometres south of Queenstown by a road which winds between the lake to the west and The Remarkables mountains to the east...
.
The lake is drained by the Kawarau River
Kawarau River
Kawarau River drains Lake Wakatipu, in northwestern Otago, New Zealand. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 km and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. The Shotover River enters it from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south...
, which flows out from the lake's Frankton Arm, 8 km (5 mi) east of Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
. Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to eastern end of its middle section. It has a seiche
Seiche
A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors and seas...
of period 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the water level to rise and fall some 200 millimetres (7.9 in).
Lake Wakatipu is renowned for its scenic beauty, being surrounded by mountains. The Remarkables mountain range lies along its southeastern edge. It is a popular venue for adventure tourism, with skifields
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, paragliding
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
, bungy jumping and tramping tracks within easy reach. A vintage steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw
TSS Earnslaw
The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian vintage twin screw steamer plying the waters of Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. It is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Central Otago, and the only remaining passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere.-History:At the beginning of the...
regularly plies its waters. Several vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s are nearby.
Etymology
The original form and meaning of the name are not known for certain. The name is believed to originate from the WaitahaWaitaha
Waitaha is an early historical Māori iwi . Inhabitants of the South Island of New Zealand, they were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest first by the Kāti Mamoe and then Ngāi Tahu from the 16th century onward....
people, who were later displaced by Kāti Mamoe
Kati Mamoe
Kāti Mamoe, or Ngāti Mamoe, is an historic Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga area they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was occupied by Waitaha....
. Taken literally, Wakatipu would mean "growing canoe" or possibly "growing bay" if the original was Whakatipu and the h elided as a result of the Southern Māori dialect. The dialect is also known for dropping final vowels, and Wakatipua or Whakatipua (Canoe/Bay of spirits) have also 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. Waka can also mean 'hollow'.
Life
Lake Wakatipu is a habitat for the longfin eel (a specimen caught in 1886 is the largest known of this species), brown troutBrown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
. These and and other fish support predators such as the pied shag. The Black-billed Gull
Black-billed Gull
The Black-billed Gull is a species of gull in the Laridae family.It is endemic to New Zealand. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, but is now considered to be the genus Chroicocephalus...
is also found at the lake.
In popular culture
Lake Wakatipu doubled as the famous Scottish Loch NessLoch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
in the 2007 film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. Lake Wakatipu has many geographical similarities to 'Loch Ness' and was chosen as one of the main filming locations in the movie.
It was the filming location for the Lothlórien sequences in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.