Talk:Lake Wakatipu

Southland
As far as I can tell from, the lake is entirely in Otago. I rephrased things to clarify that. It's still in the southland category, but I question whether that's appropriate. -- John Fader (talk | contribs) 01:19, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Freshwater?
Is Wakatipu freshwater? -- John Fader (talk | contribs) 03:22, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, it's glacial and river runoff from the nearby mountains. -dmmaus 07:06, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Black Billed Gull - I'm pretty sure at least one of the two references to these gulls here is intended to be Black Backed Gulls, which are also frequently seen on and around the lake. The syntax of the sentence would make more sense then. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2406:E000:5C9A:1:CCF:AC4:EE35:6CCE (talk) 06:48, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

What is the actual Māori name of the lake?
The Māori name of the lake has three different spellings/punctuations in the article: (1) "Whakatipu Waimāori" - in the lead sentence and the infobox, but with no reference. (2) "Whakatipu wai-māori" - noted once (with a reference) at the end of the lead paragraph. (3) "Whakatipu-wai-māori" - noted once (with a reference) in the "Etymology" section. We should try to be more consistent here. PatricKiwi (talk) PatricKiwi (talk) 05:25, 18 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Good catch! But there simply may not be a consensus, even in te ao Māori? The article based on an interview with Tipene O'Regan is interesting (reference 4). And, Kā Huru Manu says strongly "Whakatipu Waimāori is the correct spelling for Lake Wakatipu." - sorry i can't link directly to the page, you'll have to search in the atlas to find it.  Somej (talk) 08:00, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Unseen dangers
This article refers: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/glenorchy-fatal-drowning-lake-wakatipu-has-unseen-dangers-says-rescuer/XRXADEK4UBBOBBU3IVX3NJ54PA/

The article reports on the drowing death of a father trying to rescue his son who had been swept away from the shore by the current entering the lake from Rees River in Glenorchy. Five days later this artcle records a second drowning incident in Glenorchy: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/australian-man-drowns-trying-to-rescue-child-in-new-zealand-20230123-p5cet3.html

It says local residents are aware of the dnager and say that swimming should not be done there. I trust that someone with a better knowledge of the area than me can include something in the article on such dangers from the currents. Perhaps the cold water is a factor too. Strayan (talk) 10:06, 23 January 2023 (UTC)

Size and depth
What are the sources of size and depth?

Until the last revision it was shown as 291 km2 and is now 289 km2

Depth was 380m and is now 420m.

https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Files/Lake-water-quality-in-New-Zealand-2010-Status-and-trends.pdf shows 298.25km2 as area and 380m as depth.

https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/otago-region/lakes/lake-wakatipu/ shows 289km2 and 380m.

https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/51268-chart-nz-252-lake-wakatipu/ shows 376m as the greatest depth.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/culture/in-the-south/10541961/Hauroko-NZs-deepest-lake said 420m deep.

A lesser variation is that https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz17722/Lake-Wakatipu/Otago shows altitude as 308m, but the article says 310m, which is the figure given by LAWA.

As lake levels vary, maybe some of these variations depend whether the measurement was done in drought, or flood. Which are likely to be the most reliable, or should the article mention their range? Johnragla (talk) 16:53, 26 May 2023 (UTC)