Blue River | |
---|---|
![]() Blue River gorge at Blue Pools | |
![]() Route of the Blue River | |
Location | |
Country | New Zealand |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Eyetooth |
• location | Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana |
• coordinates | 44°05′09″S169°07′57″E / 44.08581°S 169.13259°E |
• elevation | 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) |
Mouth | Makarora River |
• coordinates | 44°09′47″S169°16′14″E / 44.163105°S 169.270692°E |
• elevation | 320 metres (1,050 ft) |
Length | 18 km (11 mi) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Blue River North Branch |
• right | Blue River South Branch |
The Blue River is a small river in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows its entire length within the Mount Aspiring National Park, and although on the southeastern side of the main divide, the river is within the boundaries of the West Coast region for its entire length.
The headwaters are southeast of the main range of the Southern Alps near the mountain Eyetooth, with the smaller Blue River North Branch and South Branch joining the main Blue River later. Shortly before flowing into the Makarora River, the river passes through a narrow gorge.
At its confluence with the Makarora River, the aptly named Blue Pools are the destination of a popular [1] short walk from State Highway 6, with a bridge crossing the Blue River and providing good views upstream into the gorge and downstream over the river flowing into Makarora River. [2] The longer Blue Valley tramping track leads deep into the Blue River Valley and along most of the length of the river.
The Hutt River flows through the southern North Island of New Zealand. It flows south-west from the southern Tararua Range for 56 kilometres (35 mi), forming a number of fertile floodplains, including Kaitoke, central Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt.
The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,000 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor.
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Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.
The Makarora River is in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.
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State Highway 6 is a major New Zealand state highway. It extends from the Marlborough region in the northeastern corner of the South Island across the top of the island, then down the length of the island, initially along the West Coast and then across the Southern Alps through inland Otago and finally across the Southland Plains to the island's south coast. Distances are measured from north to south.
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