The Mataura River is in the

Southland Region Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The r ...

of the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is long.

Description

The river's headwaters are located in the Eyre Mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

, where it turns southward. It then passes through the town of Mataura, and enters the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Toetoes Bay Toetoes Bay is the easternmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Oreti Beach. The 240 km Mataura River drains to sea at Toetoes Bay, first passing through the ...

on the southern coast of the South Island. Much of its channel is

braided Braided is a musical group consisting of Casey LeBlanc, Ashley Leitão, and Amber Fleury, who all competed on the third season of '' Canadian Idol'' in 2005. They are the third music group to come from an Idol show in the world, after Young Div ...

. The Mataura is renowned as a source of

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

, and is a popular fishing venue, including whitebaiting. It has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

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 inva ...

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 250, ...

History

Until about 18,000 years ago the Mataura drained Lake Wakatipu. The Kingston Flyer follows part of the former river bed, now blocked by glacial moraine. For Māori, the Mataura was an important (traditional travel route) that provided direct access from Murihiku to Whakatipu Waimāori ( Lake Wakatipu). The Mataura was a significant (food-gathering place) for local Kāi Tahu, and was tribally renowned for its abundance of (lamprey, Geotria australis). Kanakana are normally caught when climbing natural waterfalls, such as Te Au-nui-pihapiha-kanakana (Mataura Falls). The Mataura, along with the three other main Southland rivers, the Waiau, Ōreti and Aparima, breached during the Southland floods of January 1984. Commercial and residential areas of the town of Mataura were particularly affected, including the pulp and paper plant.

References

Rivers of Southland, New Zealand Gore District, New Zealand Important Bird Areas of New Zealand Foveaux Strait Rivers of New Zealand {{Southland-river-stub