The Mararoa River is one of the
braided rivers of the
Southland Region of the
South Island of
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 ...
.
The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long-lasting cultivations" for ''Māraroa''.
Description
The river feeds into the
Mavora Lakes
Mavora Lakes is a protected area in the South Island of New Zealand consisting of two lakes: North Mavora and South Mavora. The lakes are drained by the Mararoa River. The area is managed by the Department of Conservation
An environmental m ...
and discharges into the
Waiau River eight kilometres downstream from where it leaves
Lake Manapouri
Lake Manapouri is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.
Māori History
According to Māori legend ...
. Water from the Mararoa River is fed into the Waiau River by a control structure at the confluence of the two rivers.
This is used to control the level of Lake Manapouri for hydroelectric power generation.
The river has been identified as an
Important Bird Area by
BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
black-billed gull
The black-billed gull (''Chroicocephalus bulleri''), Buller's gull, or tarāpuka ( Māori) is a Near Threatened species of gull in the family Laridae. This gull is found only in New Zealand, its ancestors having arrived from Australia around 25 ...
.
, an invasive organism discovered in New Zealand in 2004, has been found in the river.
See also
*
List of rivers of New Zealand
This is a list of all waterways named as rivers in New Zealand.
A
* Aan River
* Acheron River (Canterbury)
* Acheron River (Marlborough)
* Ada River
* Adams River
* Ahaura River
* Ahuriri River
* Ahuroa River
* Akatarawa River
* Ākitio R ...
References
Rivers of Southland, New Zealand
Important Bird Areas of New Zealand
Rivers of New Zealand
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