Lake Alabaster / Wāwāhi Waka, also known by the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name of ''Waiwahuika'', lies at the northern end of

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...

, in the southwest of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

runs from northeast to southwest, is , and covers . Lake Alabaster drains, and is drained by, the Pyke River, a small tributary of the

Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka The Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka is in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for through Fiordland, its sources being close to the Homer Tunnel and in Gertrude Valley in the southern Darran Mountains. At first, the ...

. It is one of two lakes (along with Lake McKerrow / Whakatipu Waitai) found in the lower reaches of the Hollyford River system. A branch of the

Hollyford Track The Hollyford Track is a tramping track in New Zealand. Located at the northern edge of Fiordland, in the southwestern South Island, it is unusual among Fiordland's major tracks in that it is largely flat and accessible year-round. It follows t ...

, one of New Zealand's most well-known and popular

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

tracks, extends along the eastern shore of the lake. The lake was formed at the southern end of a glacial valley and, had the sea level been slightly higher, would have been the northern arm of what might have been McKerrow Fiord.

References

Lakes of Fiordland {{Fiordland-geo-stub