Cox River (New Zealand)

Cox River
Route of the Cox River
Mouth of the Cox River Show map of New Zealand Cox River (New Zealand) (South Island) Show map of South Island
Location
Country	New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Crawford Range
• coordinates	42°44′41″S171°54′25″E / 42.7448°S 171.907°E / -42.7448; 171.907
• elevation	1,250 m (4,100 ft)
Mouth
• location	Poulter River
• coordinates	42°54′02″S171°58′00″E / 42.90067°S 171.96676°E / -42.90067; 171.96676
• elevation	540 m (1,770 ft)
Length	29 km (18 mi)
Basin features
Progression	Cox River → Poulter River East Branch → Poulter River → Waimakariri River → Pegasus Bay → Pacific Ocean
Tributaries
• left	Ellis Stream, Cochran Stream
• right	Montgomery Stream, Row Stream, Beckett Stream

Cox River is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It arises in the Crawford Range of the Southern Alps and flows generally southward through the Arthur's Pass National Park to join the Poulter River. ^[1] The river was named for J. W. M. Cox, a landholder in the 1860s at the junction of Cox River and Bull Creek. ^[2]

Geomorphology

Prior to glaciation the Cox River flowed through the Pūkio Stream valley, discharging into the Esk River, a lower tributary of the Waimakariri River. This route was later blocked by a series of terminal moraines deposited by the Cox glacier during the Pleistocene period. The river then created a new outlet through to the main Poulter valley via a rocky gorge, known as McArthur Gorge, which now contains the East Branch of the Poulter. ^[3]

See also

• List of rivers of New Zealand

References

1. Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. Map 70. ISBN   0-7900-0952-8.
2. Discover New Zealand:A Wises Guide (9th ed.). 1994. p. 372.
3. Gair, HS (11 April 1962). "Notes on the Geology of the Esk Valley, Canterbury". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 5 (4). The Royal Society of New Zealand: 531–. Bibcode:1962NZJGG...5..531G. doi: 10.1080/00288306.1962.10423093 .