Murchison River (New Zealand)

Last updated

Murchison River
Oblique aerial view of Murchison River.jpg
Aerial view of the braided Murchison River
Murchison River (New Zealand)
Route of the Murchison River
New Zealand (relief map).png
Disc Plain red.svg
Mouth of the Murchison River
NZ-SI plain map.png
Disc Plain red.svg
Murchison River (New Zealand) (South Island)
Location
CountryNew Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source 
  location Murchison Glacier
  coordinates 43°36′55″S170°19′07″E / 43.6152°S 170.3185°E / -43.6152; 170.3185
Mouth  
  location
Tasman Lake
  coordinates
43°54′18″S170°10′30″E / 43.905°S 170.175°E / -43.905; 170.175
Basin features
ProgressionMurchison RiverTasman LakeTasman RiverLake PukakiPukaki RiverTekapo RiverLake BenmoreLake AviemoreLake WaitakiWaitaki RiverPacific Ocean

The Murchison River lies within the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in the South Island of New Zealand.

It is fed by the Murchison Glacier and flows into Tasman Lake, thus effectively feeding the Tasman River.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roderick Murchison</span> British geologist (1792–1871)

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and describing the Silurian, Devonian and Permian systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasman District</span> Government district of New Zealand

Tasman District is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council, a unitary authority, which sits at Richmond, with community boards serving outlying communities in Motueka and Golden Bay / Mohua. The city of Nelson has its own unitary authority separate from Tasman District, and together they comprise a single region in some contexts, but not for local government functions or resource management (planning) functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buller River</span> River in New Zealand

The Buller River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller has the highest flow of any river in the country during floods, though it is only the 13th longest river; it runs for 177 km (110 mi) from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport. A saddle at 710 m (2,330 ft) separates the Buller from the Motupiko River and that is divided from the Wairau River by a 695 m (2,280 ft) saddle, both aligned along the Alpine Fault, as is the top of the Buller valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murchison, New Zealand</span> Town in Tasman, New Zealand

Murchison is a town in the Tasman Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is near the western end of the "Four Rivers Plain", at the confluence of the Buller River and the Mātakitaki River. The other two rivers are the Mangles River, and the Matiri River. It is a rural service town for the surrounding mixed farming district, approximately halfway between Westport and Nelson. Murchison was named after the Scottish geologist Roderick Murchison, one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasman Glacier</span> Glacier in New Zealand

Haupapa / Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in New Zealand, and one of several large glaciers which flow south and east towards the Mackenzie Basin from the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mātakitaki River</span> River in the South Island, New Zealand

The Mātakitaki River is located in the north of New Zealand's South Island. An upper tributary of the Buller River, it flows north and west for 65 kilometres from its source north of the Lewis Pass, joining the Buller at Murchison. It has one major tributary, the Glenroy River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapawera</span> Settlement in Tasman District, New Zealand

Tapawera is a small town in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 76 km southwest of Nelson and 48 km southeast of Motueka. It is situated on the Motueka Valley Highway by the banks of the Motueka River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasman River</span> River in New Zealand

The Tasman River is an alpine braided river flowing through Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island.

The Murchison Glacier is an 18-kilometre (11 mi) long glacier flowing through Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. Lying to the east of the Malte Brun range and west of the Liebig Range, high in the Southern Alps, it flows from the Tasman Saddle at 2,435 m mostly southwestwards to around 1,110 m. The Murchison River, which takes its meltwater, flows under the larger Tasman Glacier to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Arnaud, New Zealand</span> Settlement in Tasman District, New Zealand

Saint Arnaud is a small alpine village in the Tasman district of New Zealand's South Island, west of the mountains of the Saint Arnaud Range and 90 kilometres southwest of Nelson near the historic Tophouse Settlement. It is situated at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti.

Tasman District Council is the unitary local authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand.

Mount Murchison may refer to:

Tasman is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1972 to 1996.

New Zealand Energy is a New Zealand electricity generation energy retailer company, servicing the Nelson and Tasman Regions of the country.

The Deepdale River is a river of New Zealand located in the Tasman Region of the South Island.

The Tutaki River is a river of the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows north from its sources southwest of Lake Rotoroa to reach the Mangles River 10 kilometres east of Murchison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Highway 63 (New Zealand)</span> Road in New Zealand

State Highway 63 is a state highway located in the northern parts of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 117 km long and runs between the settlements of Renwick and Kawatiri Junction via Saint Arnaud, providing a bypass of the city of Nelson. Despite being a convenient link between the West Coast and Marlborough, and being a relatively straight highway along most of its length, it is only classified by the NZTA as a secondary collector highway.

The Stanley River is a river of the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows southeast from its sources in the Douglas and Anatoki Ranges, reaching the Waingaro River 12 kilometres west of Upper Takaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braeburn Range</span> Mountains in New Zealand

The Braeburn Range is a mountain range in the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies to the west of Lake Rotoroa and much of the eastern flank of the range is within the Nelson Lakes National Park. The range runs south-southeast, with a westwards curve at the northern end and several westward-trending spurs.

The Blackwater River in Tasman flows due north along a long straight valley, parallel to and equidistant from, the Mātakitaki and Tutaki Rivers, reaching the Mangles River just to the east of the town of Murchison. It is some 20 kilometres (12 mi) in length.