Haast River

Haast River
Haast River
	Gates of Haast Bridge in the mountains
Location
Country	New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana
Mouth
• location	Tasman Sea
Length	100 km (62 mi)

The Haast River / Awarua is a river on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

The Haast River

The Haast River drains the western watershed of the Haast Pass. It is 100 kilometres (62 mi) in length, and enters the Tasman Sea near Haast township. The river's main tributary is the Landsborough River.

The grassy flats on the lower reaches are grazed by cattle owned by the local farmers. Tourism operators offer jetboat tours on the river.

The river often has glacial silt in suspension in the water from glaciers in the Southern Alps. The majority of the surrounding land is publicly owned and administered by the Department of Conservation. It is set within the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site.

The 737m single-lane bridge over the Haast River

State Highway 6 follows virtually the complete length of the river. From near Haast Pass, the state highway is located on the river's true left. It switches to the true right at the Gates of Haast Bridge. At Pleasant Flat, where the valley widens out, the state highway crosses back to the true left.^[1] The final bridge is near the coast, just after the turnoff to the Haast township. At 737 metres (2,418 ft) it is the longest one-lane road bridge in New Zealand, and the 7th longest New Zealand bridge overall.^[2]

Julius von Haast named the river after himself, "directed, so he said, by his Provincial Superintendent".^[3] Von Haast explored a route from Otago to the West Coast that was long known to Māori; his four companions were William Young (a surveyor), Charles Håring (a retired sailor), William Francis Warner (later the proprietor of Warner's Hotel), and Robert Langley Holmes (later the Canterbury provincial meteorologist). They set out on 22 January 1863 and stood in the surf on 20 February.^[4]

The Māori name for the river is Awarua.

References[]

^ "NZ Topo Map". topomap.co.nz. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
^ "Transit New Zealand Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
^ Pascoe, John Dobree (1966). The Haast is in South Westland (1 ed.). Wellington: AH & AW Reed.
^ Holm, Janet (2005). Caught mapping: the life and times of New Zealand's early surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press. pp. 165–169. OCLC 636380050.

External links[]

Media related to Haast River at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 43°50′S 169°02′E / 43.833°S 169.033°E / -43.833; 169.033

[1] "NZ Topo Map". topomap.co.nz. Retrieved 5 January 2020.

[2] "Transit New Zealand Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008.

[Pascoe-3] Pascoe, John Dobree (1966). The Haast is in South Westland (1 ed.). Wellington: AH & AW Reed.

[4] Holm, Janet (2005). Caught mapping: the life and times of New Zealand's early surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press. pp. 165–169. OCLC 636380050.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Landforms of Westland District, New Zealand
Alpine passes	Arthur's Pass Browning Pass / Nōti Raureka Copland Pass Haast Pass / Tioripatea
Bays	Bruce Bay Jackson Bay / Okahu
Canyons and gorges	Hokitika Gorge Otira Gorge
Glaciers	Agassiz Glacier Douglas Glacier Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere Olivine Ice Plateau Volta Glacier
Headlands	Abut Head Awarua Point Knights Point
Islands	Open Bay Islands
Lakes and lagoons	Abel Lake Alpine Lake / Ata Puai Lake Gault Lake Ianthe / Matahi Lake Kaniere Lake Mahinapua Lake Mapourika Lake Matheson Lake Moeraki Ōkārito Lagoon Lake Paringa Saltwater Lagoon Lake Wahapo
Mountain ranges	Butler Range Southern Alps
Mountains	Mount Adams Aoraki / Mount Cook Mount Aspiring / Tititea Mount Dampier Mount Graham Mount Haast Mount Hopkins La Perouse Lendenfeld Peak Mount Rolleston Mount Sefton Silberhorn Mount Tasman Mount Vancouver Mount Whitcombe
Rivers	Adams River Arahura River Arawhata River Balfour River Barlow River Barn River Barrier River Bettne River Big Wainihinihi Creek Blue River Burke River Butler River Callery River Cascade River Clarke River Clearwater River Cook River / Weheka Copland River Cropp River Deception River Donald River Douglas River Drake River Duncan River Edison River Fork River Fox River Gorge River Gunn River Haast River Hacket River Hall River Hapuka River Harman River Hinatua River Hokitika River Hope River Jackson River Jerry River Kaniere River Karangarua River Kokatahi River Lambert River Landsborough River Lord River Macfarlane River Mahitahi River Makawhio River (Jacobs River) Manakaiaua River Maori River Martyr River Mikonui River Moeraki River Morse River Mueller River Mungo River Ngatau River North Barlow River Ohinemaka River Ohinetamatea River Ōkārito River Okuru River Omoeroa River Oneone River Otehake River Ōtira River Ōtoko River Paringa River Perth River Poerua River Rolleston River Rotokino River Ruera River Smoothwater River Smyth River Stafford River Strauchon River Styx River Taipo River Taramakau River Te Rahotaiepa River Toaroha River Tōtara River Totarakaitorea River Troyte River Tuke River Turnbull River Waiho River Waikukupa River Waipara River Waita River Waitaha River Waitangitāhuna River Waitangiroto River Wanganui River Whakaikai River Whakapohai River Whataroa River Whitcombe River Wilkinson River Willberg River Williamson River Wills River