The Hokitika River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about long, beginning 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 ...

, emerging from the narrow Hokitika Gorge after merging with the Whitcombe River, and flowing into the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

just south of the town of

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

. The river then feeds into the offshore Hokitika Canyon, which merges with the Cook Canyon to form the Cook Channel. The canyons extend to about and are important spawning areas for hoki,

hake The term hake refers to fish in the: * Family Merlucciidae of northern and southern oceans * Family Phycidae (sometimes considered the subfamily Phycinae in the family Gadidae) of the northern oceans Hake Hake is in the same taxonomic order ( ...

and

orange roughy The orange roughy (''Hoplostethus atlanticus''), also known as the red roughy, slimehead and deep sea perch, is a relatively large deep-sea fish belonging to the slimehead family (Trachichthyidae). The UK Marine Conservation Society has categori ...

The Hokitika River, and its eastern

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

, the Kokatahi River, have formed the Kowhitirangi- Kokatahi alluvial plain; a fertile and productive land extensively used for

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

. The entrance to the Hokitika River was once used as a harbour during the

West Coast Gold Rush The West Coast Gold Rush, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867. Description The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found near the Taramakau River i ...

; however, the sand bar at the river mouth created a treacherous and often fatal obstacle - resulting in many shipwrecks. After the gold-rush subsided, the use of the river as a harbour declined and is now no longer used.

References

http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/H/HokitikaRiver/HokitikaRiver/en
Westland District Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub