![Near Tapawera New Zealand 1979](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Near_Tapawera_New_Zealand_1979.jpg)
The Motueka River is located in the north of the
South Island of New Zealand and is a popular tourist destination for watersports and fishing.
The Motueka flows
from the mountains 40 km west of the city of
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
in the southeast of the catchment and flows north to the
Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere
Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along ...
.
Geography
The Motueka River lies 60 kilometres to the south of
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, and flows for 120 kilometres, first through rough hill country and then the more gently undulating terrain southwest of
Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere
Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along ...
, passing by many small communities such as
Ngātīmoti
Ngātīmoti or Ngatimoti is a town near Motueka in New Zealand's South Island.
The town lies on the banks of the Motueka River and has been inhabited since 1855 when the Salisbury brothers arrived in the river valley. The local economy includes ...
,
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
, Riwaka, Brooklyn and many others as it makes its way its outflow into the bay close to the town of
Motueka
Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of
The surrounding ...
.
These communities are connected to the town of Motueka in the north and in the south by the
Motueka Valley Highway.
The Motueka has three major tributaries, the
Motupiko River,
Wangapeka River
The Wangapeka River is a river of the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It rises in two branches, the North Branch and the South Branch, in the Matiri Range within Kahurangi National Park, meeting some 25 kilometres southeast of Kara ...
and the
Baton River
The Baton River is a river in the Tasman District of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises near the Baton Saddle in the Arthur Range and flows ESE then northeast before feeding into the Motueka River south of Woodstock
Woodstock Musi ...
, as well as smaller tributaries called the
Pearse,
Dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
,
Tadmor, and
Rainy.
Geology
The river runs through a wide band of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
and areas of recent
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
, with a complex mix of
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
and
igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
rocks, originating from the mountainous terrain of the
Arthur Range which form the western boundary of the catchment area. and a region of clay-bound gravels to the eastern boundary. As well as the granites, the wide variety of rock types found along the course of the river include complex
basement rock,
ultramafic
Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...
, old and young
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
rocks.
Flooding and river flow
The Motueka is a large river with average annual flow of 59 cubic meters per second and a flow range from 6 to more than
2,100 cubic meters per second. The average monthly flow has seasonal variation and it at its highest in winter and
spring. The mountain catchment areas to the west and southeast have the highest rainfall and provide most of the mean annual flow for the Motueka River. Significant flooding was a serious problem for the local population and a major flood in 1877 led to widespread erosion and changed the course of the river in several areas. There have since been serious flooding in January 1895, July 1929, June 1954 and April 1957 but this was thought to have been addressed when the Motueka Catchment Control Scheme was completed in 1982.
In May 2010, however, twenty homes were flooded by the Motueka River in the Wangapeka area near Tapawera and residents had to be evacuated.
Fishing
The river is well known for its excellent
Brown trout fishing throughout its entire length. Large numbers of trout range below the Wangapeka confluence and very large trophy fish have been caught.
Watersports
The river is also noted for rafting, canoeing or just drifting down on an inner-tube. Kayaks can be hired from a number of commercial companies and organised trips are available.
Invasive algae
Precautions have been taken to control the spread of an invasive algae ''
Didymosphenia geminata'', commonly known as 'didymo' or 'rock snot', a species of
diatom, in the Motueka River and its tributaries,.
This algae grows in warm and shallow water and can form large mats on the bottom of rivers. It is not considered a health risk but can affect stream habitats and sources of food for fish and make recreational activities unpleasant. It is considered a nuisance organism or
invasive species. The microscopic
algae can be spread in a single drop of water, so anglers must clean their waders and boots before moving to different rivers or face a fine of up to $100,000 or up to five years in prison.
Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) project
The Motueka River has a wide range of land uses over its catchment of over 2000 square kilometers which include agriculture, with
hops,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
,
Asian pears Fruit commonly known as the Asian pear in different parts of the world include:
* ''Pyrus pyrifolia
''Pyrus pyrifolia'' is a species of pear tree native to East Asia. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Jap ...
and
kiwifruit
Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus '' Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwi ...
grown on the banks of the middle and the lower reaches and commercial
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
on lowland and hill areas. The livestock farming uses include sheep and beef farming and, increasingly, dairy farming, which requires a number of cow crossings on the river that can affect water quality, through introducing
fecal coliform
A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...
microbes
and conflict with sports such as fishing. A special research project was therefore established as part of a nine-year programme that began in July 2000 and ended in September 2010.
The aim of the research was to provide information to support the management of the environment of the area using an '
Integrated Catchment Management Integrated catchment management (ICM) is a subset of environmental planning which approaches sustainable resource management from a catchment perspective, in contrast to a piecemeal approach that artificially separates land management from water man ...
' (ICM) approach. This recognises the catchment or river basin as an
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
and includes consideration of social, economic and political factors.
Water quality
The Motueka River is relatively unpolluted compared to most New Zealand rivers and usually meets the water quality requirements for swimming under baseflow conditions.
References
External links
Detailed Motueka River mapKayaking the Motueka River (video)Motueka River Alexanders Bridge - Swimming Water QualityGraphs of River Flow (Updated Every 15 Minutes)Webcam of Motueka River at Woodstock (Updated Every 10 Minutes)
{{Coord, 41, 05, S, 173, 01, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki
Rivers of the Tasman District
Rivers of New Zealand
Tasman Bay