Related Research Articles
Waikato is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of the Rotorua Lakes District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council.
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for 425 kilometres (264 mi) through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It then drains Taupō at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, and flows northwest through the Waikato Plains. It empties into the Tasman Sea south of Auckland, at Port Waikato. It gives its name to the Waikato region that surrounds the Waikato Plains. The present course of the river was largely formed about 17,000 years ago. Contributing factors were climate warming, forest being reestablished in the river headwaters and the deepening, rather than widening, of the existing river channel. The channel was gradually eroded as far up river as Piarere, leaving the old Hinuera channel through the Hinuera Gap high and dry. The remains of the old course are seen clearly at Hinuera, where the cliffs mark the ancient river edges. The Waikato's main tributary is the Waipā River, which converges with it at Ngāruawāhia.
The Thames Valley is a non-administrative region in the North Island of New Zealand. Broadly, it is the valley component of the Waihou River catchment. The lower part of the valley is more commonly known as the Hauraki Plains. Geographically the valley extends as far as the Hinuera Gap, although this is not often referred to as such. In geographical history of New Zealand, the Thames Valley was the path of the ancestral Waikato River when it discharged into the Firth of Thames over 20,000 years ago.
The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains. It is the dominant river system in the Matamata-Piako District, and on its journey it passes through the towns of Morrinsville and Ngatea.
The Hauraki Plains are a geographical feature and non-administrative area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower (northern) end of the Thames Valley. They are located 75 kilometres south-east of Auckland, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula and occupy the southern portion of a rift valley bounded on the north-west by the Hunua Ranges, to the east by the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges and to the west by a series of undulating hills which separate the plains from the much larger plains of the Waikato River. Broadly, the northern and southern parts of the Hauraki Plains are administered by the Hauraki District and the Matamata-Piako District respectively.
The Waikato Plains form a large area of low-lying land in the northwest of the North Island of New Zealand. They are the alluvial plains of the Waikato River, the country's longest river with a length of 425 km (264 mi).
The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau, with a branch line to Taneatua from the junction at Hawkens. The line is built to narrow gauge of 1,067 mm, the uniform gauge in New Zealand. It was known as the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until 2011, when the word "Railway" was dropped.
The Kopuatai Peat Dome is a large peatland complex on the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It consists of two raised domes, one in the north and the other in the south, that are up to three metres higher at the center than at the edge. The 10,201 hectares wetland contains the largest intact raised bog in New Zealand and was listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1989 as a Wetland of International Importance. Most of the wetland is ombrotrophic, meaning it receives water and nutrient inputs solely from rain and is hydrologically isolated from the surrounding canals and rivers. Locally, a popular misconception persists that water flows from the nearby Piako River into the bog and that the wetland acts as a significant store for floodwater.
The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at Waitoa.
The Mangatāwhiri River is a river of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from its sources in the Hunua Ranges southeast of Clevedon before flowing through a system of irrigation canals at the northern edge of the Waikato Plains close to the town of Pōkeno. It reaches the Waikato River close to the township of Mercer.
The Maramarua River is in the north-eastern part of the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is formed by the confluence of the Mangatangi River and the Ruaotehuia Stream just north of State Highway 2 between Mangatāwhiri and Maramarua. It flows through the northern part of the Whangamarino Wetland and joins the Whangamarino River shortly before that river flows into the Waikato River.
The Puniu River is a river of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. As a tributary of the Waipā River, and at a length of 57 kilometres (35 mi), it is one of the longest secondary tributaries in New Zealand.
The Waitakaruru River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows initially north before turning northwest across the northwestern corner of the Hauraki Plains, reaching the southwestern corner of the Firth of Thames close to the settlement of Waitakaruru.
The Whangamarino River is a lowland river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island, draining the Whangamarino Wetland and associated farmland catchment. The river converges with the Waikato River just north of Meremere. The main tributary is the Maramarua River, which starts in the Hunua Ranges and forms the northern catchment of the Whangamarino River.
The Waikato and King Country regions of New Zealand are built upon a basement of greywacke rocks, which form many of the hills. Much of the land to the west of the Waikato River and in the King Country to the south has been covered by limestone and sandstone, forming bluffs and a karst landscape. The volcanic cones of Karioi and Pirongia dominate the landscape near Raglan and Kawhia Harbours. To the east, the land has been covered with ignimbrite deposits from the Taupō Volcanic Zone. Large amounts of pumice from the Taupō Volcanic Zone have been deposited in the Waikato Basin and Hauraki Plains.
Hinuera is a settlement in the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located along State Highway 29, approximately halfway between the cities of Hamilton and Tauranga. It also contains the Hinuera cliffs along State Highway 29.
The Waitakaruru Stream is a major tributary of the Piako River, within the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It should not be confused with the similarly named Waitakaruru River, which is also in the Waikato Region.
Piarere is a locality in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is situated on State Highway 29 close to its junction with State Highway 1, close to the shore of Lake Karapiro. The nearest towns are Tīrau, six kilometres to the southeast, Matamata, 10 kilometres to the northeast, and Cambridge, 10 kilometres to the northwest.
Ngāti Hinerangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, based in Matamata, with 4 marae at Okauia. As well as Matamata, Te Rohe o Kōperu includes Te Tapui, Peria, Puketutu, the Kaimai Range, Tanners Point, Rereatukahia, Aongatete, Apata, Te Paeoturawaru, Pahoia, Ōmokoroa, Huharua, Motuhoa Island, the inner reaches of Tauranga harbour, Pukehou on the Wairoa River, Haukapa, Ngamuwahine, Whenua-a-kura and Hinuera. A 2021 Treaty Settlement gave $8.1m, returned 14 sites of cultural significance and apologised for confiscation of 100,000 ha in Tauranga in 1863 and for the invasion of villages in 1867, the 'bush campaign', when government forces destroyed the crops and homes of those opposing surveys of the confiscated area, to the south-west of Tauranga.
Kiwitahi is a rural community in the Matamata-Piako District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, located directly south of Morrinsville.
References
"Place name detail: Waitoa River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board . Retrieved 12 July 2009.
37°28′26″S175°32′2″E / 37.47389°S 175.53389°E