Young River is in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region 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 lies within the

Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...

and feeds into the Makarora River upriver from

Makarora Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on on the eastern side of the Haast Pass and adjacent to the Makarora River. Local tourism operators offe ...

Course

The ultimate source of the Young River is at the head of Young River North Branch on the eastern slopes of Mount Doris on the main divide of the

Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana 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 ...

. The river flow eastwards from it source. There is a landslide dam and long lake downstream, that formed in 2007. At the lake the river bends to the right and flows southwards for . The Gillespie Pass Circuit tramping track crosses the river using the Young Fork Bridge. At Young Fork approximately downstream from the source of the north branch the Young River South Branch merges from the right. The river continues in flowing eastwards for until it ultimately merges with the Makarora River north of the village of

2007 Landslide

At 4:40 a.m. on August 29 2007, a

debris avalanche Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented rock rush down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. They generally ...

occurred blocking the Young River North Branch. Approximately of material fell in to the river valley from above forming a high landslide dam. A new lake began forming behind the dam. The lake eventually overtopped the dam on 5 October 2007. When fill the lake is long and wide and has a volume of .

References

{{reflist Rivers of Otago Mount Aspiring National Park Rivers of New Zealand

Course

2007 Landslide

See also

References