Big River (Tasman)
| Big River | |
|---|---|
Big River, as seen from the Heaphy Track | |
Route of Big River | |
Mouth of the Big River Big River (Tasman) (South Island) | |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Tubman Hill |
| • coordinates | 40°55′16″S 172°17′41″E / 40.9212°S 172.2947°E |
| Mouth | |
• location | Tasman Sea |
• coordinates | 40°45′57″S 172°15′28″E / 40.7659°S 172.2578°E |
• elevation | 0 metres (0 ft) |
| Length | 28 kilometres (17 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Big River → Tasman Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Weka Creek, Saxon River, Juno Creek |
| • right | Tasmanian Creek, Shiner Brook, Cave Brook, Sheep Creek, Corkscrew Creek, Lilian Creek, Vesta Creek, Slip Stream, Pallas Stream, Ceres Creek |
The Big River, Awaruata in Māori,[1] is a river in the Tasman District of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises on the slopes of Tubman Hill, elevation 897 metres (2,943 ft) in the Wakamarama Range. It flows northwest then north to the Tasman Sea. Big River is an official name.[2]
A 10.4 m (34 ft) bridge[3] carries the Heaphy Track over the river in its upper reaches.[4] A 2009 survey found that on average there was a whio for every 2.2 km (1.4 mi) of river.[5]
In 1836 Harriet anchored at Awaruata, 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Kahurangi Point, to land a gang from Te Awaiti whaling station.[1] The river is navigable inland for about 2 km (1.2 mi), until it meets a long cascade through large boulders,[6] which stretches back almost to the Pallas Stream, about 50 m (160 ft) above.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Ian Smith, June 2002. "The New Zealand Sealing Industry" (PDF). DoC.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Big River". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ "request for bridge research project" (PDF). Buller DC. 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Blue skies, sunshine, sandflies and the Heaphy Track |". Conservation blog. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ "Survey of the distribution and abundance of blue duck in Kahurangi National Park 2009" (PDF). DoC.
- ^ Gerard Hindmarsh (6 April 2019). "Hard-core big adventures on Big River". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ "Basemaps". LINZ. 2025.
- Land Information New Zealand – Search for Place Names