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Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu
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Lake Wakatipu 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 word Whakatipu wai-māori.
With a length of 80 kilometres (50 mi), it is New Zealand's longest
lake, and, at 291 km2 (112 sq mi), its third largest. The lake is
also very deep, its floor being below sea level, with a maximum
depth of 380 metres (1,250 ft). It is at an altitude of 310 metres
(1,020 ft), towards the southern end of the Southern Alps. 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 (19 mi) further south, near Kingston. |
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The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the
lake's 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.
Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to eastern
end of its middle section. It has a seiche 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, paragliding, bungy jumping and tramping tracks within
easy reach. A vintage steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw regularly plies
its waters. Several vineyards are nearby in the Gibbston Valley.
Getting
There
This tourist attraction
is well serviced by public transport including taxis, buses and
shuttle.
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