Opihi River

Last updated

The Opihi River flows through south Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull. [1]

Contents

Description

The river flows south-east for 75 kilometres (47 mi), reaching the Pacific Ocean 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Timaru. The town of Fairlie lies on the river's banks.

History

The banks of the river around the settlement of Waitohi were possibly the site of the first powered heavier-than-air flight on March 31, 1903, when pioneer aviator Richard Pearse is reputed to have got his home-made machine airborne several months before the Wright Brothers.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were introduced from California in the 1900s and persist today. [2]

In 2000 Environment Canterbury approved the Opihi River Regional Plan for sustainable management of the resources of the river. [3]

Related Research Articles

Mataura River

The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 240 kilometres (150 mi) long.

Waimakariri River

The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 151 kilometres (94 mi) in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean.

Ōreti River

The Ōreti River is one of the main rivers of Southland, New Zealand, and is 170 kilometres (110 mi) long. The river has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because, for much of its length, it supports breeding colonies of black-billed gulls.

Rakaia River

The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of 203 cubic metres per second (7,200 cu ft/s) and a mean annual seven-day low flow of 87 m3/s (3,100 cu ft/s). In the 1850s, European settlers named it the Cholmondeley River, but this name lapsed into disuse.

The Opuha Dam is located on the Opuha River, a tributary of the Opihi River in South Canterbury, New Zealand. The dam is used for water storage for farming irrigation and provides 7.7 MW of electricity to New Zealand's national grid. The site has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.

The Opuha River is in Canterbury, New Zealand. A tributary of the Opihi River, its two branches flow southeast for 35 kilometres (22 mi) before joining the larger river between Geraldine and Fairlie.

Rangitata River

The Rangitata River is one of the braided rivers that helped form the Canterbury Plains in southern New Zealand. It flows southeast for 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the Southern Alps, entering the Pacific Ocean 30 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Timaru. The river has a catchment area of 1,773 square kilometres (685 sq mi), and a mean annual flow of 95 cubic metres per second (3,400 cu ft/s) at Klondyke.

The Tengawai River flows through south Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island. It flows east for 35 kilometres (22 mi) before joining the Opihi River at Pleasant Point, New Zealand, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north west of Timaru.

Durance

The Durance is a major river in south-eastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is 323.2 km (200.8 mi) long. Its drainage basin is 14,472 km2 (5,588 sq mi).

Waitohi, Waitohi Flat and Upper Waitohi are small farming centres from 5 to 16 km west of Temuka and north of the Opihi river, South Canterbury in New Zealand. They are about 20 km north of Timaru.

Hurunui River River in Canterbury, New Zealand

The Hurunui River is the fourth largest of the four principal rivers in north Canterbury, New Zealand, with a catchment area of 2,670 square kilometres (1,030 sq mi). The river flows from the eastern side of the Southern Alps, to the Pacific Ocean.

Washdyke Lagoon

Washdyke Lagoon is a brackish shallow coastal lagoon approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. The lagoon has drastically reduced in size since 1881 when it was approximately 253 hectares, now it is less than 48 hectares (0.48 km2) in area. It is enclosed by a barrier beach that is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long and 3 metres (9.8 ft) above high tide at its largest point. The reduced lagoon size is due to the construction of the Timaru Port breakwater which is preventing coarse sediments from reaching and replenishing Washdyke Barrier. This is important as the lagoon and the surrounding 250 hectares are classified as a wildlife refuge and it demonstrates the role human structures have on coastline evolution.

Waihao River

The Waihao River is a natural watercourse in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows into the Wainono Lagoon near Studholme.

Arundel, New Zealand

Arundel is a small rural village about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Geraldine, in the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is near the south bank of the Rangitata River, 3 kilometres (2 mi) from Peel Forest, an extensive podocarp forest with abundant birdlife. Arundel is flat and fertile, with fields and many mature trees.

Hae Hae Te Moana River

The Hae Hae Te Moana River is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It originates in the Four Peaks Range of the Southern Alps, with a North Branch and South Branch merging to the north of Pleasant Valley. The river runs south-east to join the Waihi River near Winchester. The combined river is called the Temuka River, which flows past Temuka to join the Opihi River shortly before it runs into the Canterbury Bight.

Mathias River

The Mathias River is a river of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows from its origins in three rivers in the Southern Alps. Of these, the North Mathias River is the longest, flowing predominantly southwards from its source northeast of Mount Williams. After 18 kilometres (11 mi) its waters combine with those of the West Mathias River, which flows predominantly southwest for 13 kilometres (8 mi) from its sources 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Mount Williams. The South Mathias River, a tributary of the West Mathias River, is a 6-kilometre (4 mi) long easterly-flowing river which meets the West Mathias 5 kilometres (3 mi) from its confluence with the North Mathias.

Orari River

The Orari River is a river of the south Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It rises to the northwest of the Four Peaks Range, initially flowing north then east to circumnavigate the range before flowing southeast across the Canterbury Plains. It reaches the Pacific Ocean 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of Temuka. The towns of Geraldine and Orari are both close to its banks. The river has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.

The Pareora River is a river of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It has its origins in several small streams flowing from the Hunters Hills, and flows north before turning southeast to reach the Pacific ocean at the southern end of the township of Pareora, 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Timaru. The river ends in a hapua-type river mouth, this means the flow to the ocean is impeded by a gravel bank.

Ashburton River / Hakatere

The Ashburton River / Hakatere is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, flowing across Mid Canterbury from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean. The official name of the river was amended to become a dual name by the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.

Hapua

Hapua is the Māori term for river-mouth lagoons on mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beaches which form at the river-coast interface where a typically braided, although sometimes meandering, river interacts with a coastal environment that is significantly affected by longshore drift. The lagoons which form on the MSG coastlines are common on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand and have long been referred to as hapua by the Māori. This classification differentiates hapua from similar lagoons located on the New Zealand coast termed waituna. Hapua are often located on paraglacial coastal areas where there is a low level of coastal development and minimal population density. Hapua form as the river carves out an elongated coast-parallel area, blocked from the sea by a MSG barrier which constantly alters its shape and volume due to longshore drift. Longshore drift continually extends the barrier behind which the hapua forms by transporting sediment along the coast. Hapua are defined as a narrow shore-parallel extensions of the coastal riverbed. They discharge the majority of stored water to the ocean via an ephemeral and highly mobile drainage channel or outlet. The remainder percolates through the MSG barrier due to its high levels of permeability. Hapua systems are driven by a wide range of dynamic processes that are generally classified as fluvial or marine; changes in the balance between these processes as well as the antecedent barrier conditions can cause shifts in the morphology of the hapua, in particular the barrier. New Zealand examples include the Rakaia, Ashburton and Hurunui river-mouths.

References

  1. "Opihi River". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  2. McDowall, R. M. (1990) New Zealand freshwater fishes: a natural history and guide. Heinemann-Reed, Auckland, 553 p.
  3. Environment Canterbury (2000). Opihi River Regional Plan Report R00/16. Environment Canterbury. ISBN   1-86937-392-8. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.

Coordinates: 44°17′S171°21′E / 44.283°S 171.350°E / -44.283; 171.350