Makatote River

Makatote River
Native name	Makatote (Māori)
Location
Country	New Zealand
Region	Manawatū-Whanganui
District	Ruapehu
Physical characteristics
Source	Mount Ruapehu
• coordinates	39°16′14″S 175°32′18″E
• elevation	2,050 metres (6,730 ft)
Mouth	Manganui o te Ao River
• coordinates	39°16′23″S 175°21′4″E
• elevation	595 metres (1,952 ft)
Length	30 kilometres (19 mi)
Basin features
Progression	Makatote River → Manganui o te Ao River → Whanganui River
River system	Whanganui River
Bridges	Makatote Viaduct

The Makatote River is a river of the centre of New Zealand's North Island.^[1] It flows west from the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and from the Hauhungatahi Wilderness Area,^[2] before entering rough hill country, veering southwest and entering a gorge cut almost 100 m (330 ft) into the volcanic rocks.^[2] It joins with the waters of several smaller streams to become the Manganui o te Ao River, part of the Whanganui River system.^[3]

The river is part of a water conservation order catchment to protect indigenous fish including lamprey, longfinned eel, short-finned eel, common smelt, banded kōkopu, short-jawed kokopu, koaro, torrentfish, redfinned bully, common bully, and Cran's bully.^[2] Trees in the gorge include rimu, matai and maire.^[4] The main trees logged were rimu, mataī, kahikatea, tōtara and miro.^[5] The lowest 3 km (1.9 mi) of the river is monitored for its whio population.^[6] A proposal to create a track to Te Kohatu waterfall was rejected as being inappropriate for a wilderness area.^[7]

The river is spanned by the third largest railway viaduct in the country,^[8] which is 79 m (259 ft) high.^[9] SH4 (originally built by the railway for access to its construction sites)^[4] crosses on a much lower bridge near the viaduct.^[10]

Just to the north of the viaduct, the Makatote Tramway has a Category 2 listing by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, with remnants of rails, skid sites, a log hauler, water pits and bogie wheels. In the 1930s Western Red Cedar and Lawson's Cypress were planted near the tramway by the State Forests Service as part of a wider experimental high-altitude planting programme.^[5] Japanese Cedar, Douglas Fir, Ponderous Pine, Weymouth Pine and Sugar Pine were also considered for the experiment.^[11]

See also

• List of rivers of New Zealand

References

1. "Place name detail: Makatote River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
2. "Tongariro National Park Management Plan Te Kaupapa Whakahaere mo Te Papa Rēhia o Tongariro 2006 – 2016" (PDF). Department of Conservation. 2006. p. 67.
3. "Makatote Viaduct, Manawatu-Wanganui". 1:50,000 NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
4. "Makatote Viaduct | Heritage New Zealand Register no.7778". www.heritage.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
5. "Makatote Tramway | Heritage New Zealand". www.heritage.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
6. "Blue Duck (Whio), Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos Recovery Plan Threatened Species Recovery Plan Series No. 22" (PDF). Department of Conservation.
7. "Tongariro/Taupo Conservancy recreation opportunities review Submissions analysis and decisions" (PDF). Department of Conservation. October 2004. p. 17.
8. "Makatote Viaduct Tower Pier Underpinning" (PDF). Makatote Viaduct Information Sheet. Kiwirail. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-27.
9. "A submission by ONTRACK for the New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards 2007" (PDF).
10. "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
11. "Bush-shorn Lands". Press. 1928-08-11. p. 16. Retrieved 2016-06-26.

External links

• Te Kohatu waterfall in 1908 - location on 1:50,000 map, on Panoramio, tramping route description
• Tramway photos on Facebook, map of tramway