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Story: Natural environment

The Waimakariri River

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The Waimakariri River

As rivers such as the Waimakariri flow through the ranges of the Southern Alps, they carry material from the mountains and deposit it further downstream. Over time this process has formed the Canterbury Plains, New Zealand’s largest area of flat land (750,000 hectares).

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by Lloyd Homer

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Natural environment – Geography and geology, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2649/the-waimakariri-river (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 3 March 2009.