Waihou River
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Waihou River obsolete: Thames River |
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| Data | ||
| location | Region Waikato (Region) , North Island (New Zealand) | |
| River system | Waihou River | |
| source | in the Mamaku Plateau 38 ° 4 ′ 35 ″ S , 176 ° 0 ′ 57 ″ E |
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| muzzle | at Thames in the Firth of Thames Coordinates: 37 ° 10 ′ 5 ″ S , 175 ° 32 ′ 30 ″ E 37 ° 10 ′ 5 ″ S , 175 ° 32 ′ 30 ″ E
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| length | approx. 150 km | |
| Right tributaries | Waitoa River | |
| Small towns | Putaruru , Te Aroha , Paeroa | |
 Waihou River at Putaruru |
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 Waihou River at Kopu as seen from the bridge of the SH25 |
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The Waihou River is a river in the north of the North Island of New Zealand . Its previous name, Thames River, was given to it by Captain James Cook in 1796 . Back then, Cook was the first European to go up the river. The river reminded him of the Thames in London, so he gave it the same name. The name lasted for a while, today the name Weihou is in use. Discovered by Cook Kahikatea -Trees were later used by many ships as masts and spars.
Around 1900 the Waihou was navigable up to Matamata because the river had not silted up at that time.
The river flows from the Mamaku Plateau for 150 km to the north past the cities of Putaruru , Te Aroha and Paeroa . Other places along the river are Kopu , Turua , Matatoki , Puriri , Hikutaia and Matamata .
It opens at the southern end of the Hauraki Gulf at Thames in the Firth of Thames . At its lower course, the river and the neighboring Piako River form the wide alluvial Hauraki Plains .
Shortly before its mouth, the New Zealand State Highway 25 crosses the river with the Kopu Bridge , the longest single-lane bridge in the country at 463 m and the only swing bridge on a state highway in New Zealand. This bridge is notorious for the traffic jams of the cars trying to use this connection to the Coromandel Peninsula .
