Waitaha River

Waitaha River
Waitaha River
	The lower reaches of the Waitaha River
Location
Country	New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Southern Alps
Mouth
• location	Tasman Sea
• coordinates	42°57′30″S 170°39′24″E / 42.9583°S 170.6567°E
Length	36 km (22 mi)

The Waitaha River is a river of the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island.

Waitaha is Māori and it literally means wai a river or stream taha to be passed on one side. It was named by the Waitaha, an early South Island iwi (tribe or nation) who named a number of South Island places.^[1] It flows northwest from the Bloomfield Range of the Southern Alps, some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Mount Whitcombe, and reaches the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of Ross. Near the coast, it is crossed by State Highway 6, and just downstream from the bridge, the Kakapotahi River or Little Waitaha River flows into the Waitaha River.^[2]

The Waitaha River is renowned for gold, both alluvial and from glacial deposition. Coarse gold has been dredged downstream of Morgans Gorge where the river opens into the flats. Several gold mining operations continue in the area today^{[citation needed]}.

There is a proposal by Westpower Ltd to divert water from the river for power generation. The project is supported by the Mayor of Westland, Bruce Smith. It is opposed by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Whitewater NZ (the group representing the interests of kayakers and canoeists), and the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC).^[3]^[4] The land alongside the middle and upper reaches of the river is conservation land administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and has "stewardship status", with puts its protection level below that of a national park.^[4] DOC had given approval in principle for a 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) water race to be built as a tunnel,^[4] and was to make a final decision after public hearings had finished in December 2016.^[3] The concession was denied in August 2019.^[5]

References

^ Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling (ed.). Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. p. 445. ISBN 9780143204107.
^ Harriss, Gavin. "NZ Topo Map". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b Carroll, Joanne (8 December 2016). "Battle rages over hydro on 'Mt Cook of rivers'". The Press. p. A3. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mitchell, Charlie (13 November 2016). "Wild Waitaha River to be tamed by hydro scheme". Stuff. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ "Waitaha refusal stuns Westpower". Otago Daily Times. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

External links

"Place name detail: Waitaha River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 12 July 2009.

[1] Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling (ed.). Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. p. 445. ISBN 9780143204107.

[2] Harriss, Gavin. "NZ Topo Map". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 8 December 2016.

[8_December_2016-3] Carroll, Joanne (8 December 2016). "Battle rages over hydro on 'Mt Cook of rivers'". The Press. p. A3. Retrieved 9 December 2016.

[13_November_2016-4] Mitchell, Charlie (13 November 2016). "Wild Waitaha River to be tamed by hydro scheme". Stuff. Retrieved 8 December 2016.

[5] "Waitaha refusal stuns Westpower". Otago Daily Times. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

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v t e Landforms of Westland District, New Zealand
Alpine passes	Arthur's Pass Browning Pass / Nōti Raureka Copland Pass Haast Pass
Bays	Bruce Bay Jackson Bay
Canyons, gorges and waterfalls	Fantail Falls Gates of Haast Hokitika Gorge Otira Gorge Roaring Billy Falls Thunder Creek Falls
Glaciers	Agassiz Glacier Douglas Glacier Fox Glacier Franz Josef Glacier Garden of Eden Ice Plateau Olivine Ice Plateau Volta Glacier
Headlands	Abut Head Awarua Point Gillespies Point Knights Point
Islands	Open Bay Islands
Lakes and lagoons	Abel Lake Alpine Lake / Ata Puai Lake Ellery Lake Gault Lake Ianthe Lake Kaniere Lake Mahinapua Lake Mapourika Lake Matheson Lake Moeraki Ōkārito Lagoon Lake Paringa Saltwater Lagoon Lake Wahapo
Mountain ranges	Butler Range Southern Alps
Mountains	Mount Adams Aoraki / Mount Cook Mount Aspiring / Tititea Mount Brewster Mount Dampier Mount Graham Mount Haast Mount Hopkins La Perouse Lendenfeld Peak Mount Rolleston Mount Sefton Silberhorn Mount Tasman Mount Vancouver Mount Whitcombe
River flats	Pleasant Flat
Rivers	Adams River Arahura River Arawhata River Balfour River Barlow River Barn River Bettne River Big Wainihinihi River Burke River Butler River Callery River Cascade River Clarke River Clearwater River Cook River / Weheka Copland River Cropp River Deception River Donald River Douglas River Drake River Duncan River Edison River Fork River Fox River Gorge River Gunn River Haast River Hacket River Hall River Hapuka River Harman River Hinatua River Hokitika River Hope River Jackson River Jerry River Kaniere River Karangarua River Kokatahi River Lambert River Landsborough River Lord River Macfarlane River Mahitahi River Jacobs River Manakaiaua River Maori River Martyr River Mikonui River Moeraki River Morse River Mueller River Mungo River Ngatau River North Barlow River Ohinemaka River Ōhinetamatea River Ōkārito River Okuru River Ōmoeroa River Oneone River Otehake River Ōtira River Ōtoko River Paringa River Perth River Poerua River Rolleston River Rotokino River Ruera River Ship Creek Smoothwater River Smyth River Spoon River Stafford River Strauchon River Styx River Taipo River Taramakau River Te Naihi River Te Rahotaiepa River Toaroha River Tōtara River Totarakaitorea River Troyte River Tuke River Turnbull River Waiatoto River Waiho River Waikūkūpa River Waipara River Waita River Waitaha River Waitangitāhuna River Waitangiroto River Wanganui River Whakaikai River Whakapohai River Whataroa River Whitcombe River Wilkinson River Willberg River Williamson River Wills River