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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 , it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at , its third largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level, with a maximum depth of . It is at an altitude of , 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 further south, near Kingston. The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the lake's Frankton Arm, 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 . 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. ==Etymology== The original form and meaning of the name are not known for certain. The name is believed to originate from the Waitaha people, who were later displaced by Kāti Mamoe. 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'. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lake Wakatipu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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