The Douglas River, formerly known as the Twain, is a river of the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. Its source is high in the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, south of

Mount Sefton Mount Sefton ( Māori: Maukatua) is a mountain in the Aroarokaehe Range of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, just south of Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the south lies Mount Brunner, and to the north The Footstool, both more than shorter. The mo ...

, and its upper reaches are fed by water from the Douglas Glacier. It flows west for , joined by runoff from the

Horace Walker Glacier Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, before joining the waters of the

Karangarua River The Karangarua River is located in the west of New Zealand's South Island. It flows northwest from the Southern Alps, entering the Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situ ...

. The Douglas River's entire course is within

Westland Tai Poutini National Park Westland Tai Poutini National Park is a national park located on the western coast of New Zealand's South Island. Established in 1960 as Westland National Park to commemorate the centenary of the European settlement of Westland District, it ...

. The river and glacier are named after

Charles Edward Douglas Charles Edward Douglas (1 July 1840 – 23 May 1916) was a New Zealand surveyor and explorer, who came to be known as Mr. Explorer Douglas, owing to his extensive explorations of the West Coast of New Zealand and his work for the New Zealand S ...

, a 19th-century explorer and mountaineer. The

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Au ...

maintains a

backcountry hut A wilderness hut, bothy, backcountry hut, or backcountry shelter is a free, primitive mountain hut for temporary accommodation, usually located in wilderness areas, national parks and along backpacking (wilderness), backpacking and hiking route ...

at the junction of the Douglas and Horace Walker rivers.

References

Land Information New Zealand
- Search for Place Names Westland District Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Westland Tai Poutini National Park Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub

See also

References