Clarence River (Pacific Ocean)

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Clarence River
Course of the Clarence River

Course of the Clarence River

Data
location Canterbury , South Island , New Zealand
River system Clarence River
source below Clarence Pass at the northeast end of the St James Range
42 ° 6 ′ 15 ″  S , 172 ° 42 ′ 52 ″  E
Source height 1725  m
muzzle Pacific Ocean Coordinates: 42 ° 10 '31 "  S , 173 ° 55' 39"  E 42 ° 10 '31 "  S , 173 ° 55' 39"  E
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 1725 m
Bottom slope approx. 7.4 ‰
length approx. 232 km
Left tributaries Acheron River , Dillon River , Gloster River , Tweed River , Bluff River
Right tributaries Styx River , Hossack River
Flowing lakes Lake Tennyson
Clarence River with the Kaikoura Range

Clarence River with the Kaikoura Range

Clarence River , estuary with railway bridge

The Clarence River , with a length of about 232 km of the eight longest river in New Zealand and the fifth longest river on the South Island of the country. In the Māori language , the river is called Waiau-toa .

geography

The Clarence River rises west of the 2,114  m high Belvedere Peak and below the Clarence Pass , which is located at the northeast end of the St James Range . Almost 12 km south of the glacier stream flows into the glacial lake Lake Tennyson , from where it continues its path as a river almost 3 km south-southeast. From the lake, the river first runs south, after about 40 kilometers of the river makes a left curve and then follows the fault of the Clarence Fault to the northeast. Following the same direction, the river meanders through a rugged valley formed by the Inland Kaikoura Range in the northwest and the Seaward Kaikoura Range in the southeast. After a 180 ° turn around the northeastern end of the Seaward Kaikoura Range , there is a final turn to the southeast, towards the Pacific Ocean .

The river drains an area of ​​over 3,280 km². As with almost all New Zealand rivers, the fluctuations in the water level are large. The river already has water levels between 62 mm and 3,621 mm at the jollies measuring point of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), depending on the season and weather.

use

The Clarence River is popular for rafting and canoeing . From the tributary of the Acheron River to New Zealand State Highway 1 , just before it flows into the ocean, the river can be navigated for 175 km depending on the water level. You can fish in the river up to the glacier lake.

ecology

Since hardly any settlements can be found in the catchment area of ​​the river, the river is considered unpolluted. However, on October 11, 2007, the Biosecurity Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) issued a warning . In the upper course of the river, the alga Didymosphenia geminata ( Didymo ) , which was introduced to New Zealand and is already widespread, was detected.

Legends of the Māori

" Toa " in the name Waiau-toa stands for the masculine. A story of the Māori refers to the two rivers Waiau River and Clarence River , whose headwaters are only 3 km apart. According to the legend, “ Waiau-uha ” and “ Waiau-toa ” were two lovers who were separated and turned into two rivers. Waiau-uha is said to have wept so much over the separation that warm rain fell, melting the snow in the mountains and making the two rivers swell.

literature

Web links

Commons : Clarence River  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Topo maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed March 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Coordinates and longitudes were determined using Goggle Earth Pro Version 7.3.1.4507 on March 9, 2019
  3. ↑ Waiau-toa . In: Te Aka Online Māori Dictionary . John C Moorfield , accessed April 1, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Clarence at Jollies unvalidated data . In: Environmental Data Explorer New Zealand . NIWA, archived from the original on October 14, 2008 ; accessed on January 17, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
  5. ↑ Clarence / Acheron to Glen Alton bridge . Whitewater NZ , accessed March 9, 2019 .
  6. ^ Didymo found in upper Clarence River . Biosecurity New Zealand October 11, 2007, archived from the original June 17, 2009 ; accessed on March 9, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
  7. ^ Donald Rowe Gregg : Waiau River, North Canterbury . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed March 9, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Dyanna Jolly : Waiau River Catchment: Tangata Whenua Values, Report No. U04 / 72 . Ed .: Environment Canterbury . Christchurch August 2004 (English).