  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 mÄori word whakatipu wai-mÄori. 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&nbsp;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 [[matau
Lakes_of_Otago Queenstown-Lakes_District