Rakaia
Rakaia is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- -43.52°, 171.65°
About Rakaia
The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of 203 cubic metres per second (7,200 cu ft/s) and a mean annual seven-day low flow of 87 m3/s (3,100 cu ft/s). In the 1850s, European settlers named it the Cholmondeley River, but this name lapsed into disuse. The name Rakaia comes from Māori "Ō Rakaia", meaning the place where people were arranged by ranks.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Rakaia River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rakaia in Depth
Description
It rises in the Southern Alps, travelling 150 kilometres (93 mi) in a generally easterly or southeasterly direction before entering the Pacific Ocean 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Christchurch. It forms a lagoon as it reaches the ocean.
For much of its journey, the river is braided, running through a wide shingle bed. Close to Mount Hutt, however, it is briefly confined to a narrow canyon known as the Rakaia Gorge.
The Rakaia River is bridged in two places. The busiest crossing is at the small town of Rakaia, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the river mouth, where State Highway 1 using Rakaia Bridge and the South Island Main Trunk Railway cross the river using separate bridges.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Rakaia River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rakaia: Key Facts
| Length | 150 km |
|---|---|
| Mouth | Canterbury Bight |
| Tributaries | Acheron River, Mathias River, Wilberforce River |
Facts from Wikidata Q2128994 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Rakaia: Quick Answers
- Where is Rakaia?
- Rakaia is located in New Zealand, at 43.5184° S, 171.6516° E.
- Are there dams on the Rakaia?
- No dam on the Rakaia is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.