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The Waimakariri River, formerly briefly known as the Courtenay River, is one of the largest of the North Canterbury rivers, in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. In Māori, ''Waimakariri'' has several meanings, one of which is "river of cold rushing water". The river is known colloquially in Canterbury as "The Waimak". The river rises on the eastern flanks of the Southern Alps, eight kilometres southwest of Arthur's Pass. For much of its upper reaches, the river is braided, with wide shingle beds. As the river approaches the Canterbury Plains, it passes through a belt of mountains, and is forced into a narrow canyon (the Waimakariri Gorge), before reverting to its braided form for its passage across the plains. It finally enters the Pacific north of Christchurch, near the town of Kaiapoi. In 1849, the chief surveyor of the Canterbury Association, Joseph Thomas, gave the river the name Courtenay River after Lord Courtenay, but it lapsed into disuse. Geological evidence indicates that the river mouth has been very mobile, at times flowing through the current location of Christchurch and even flowing into Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora south of Banks Peninsula for a time.〔(Waimakariri River, An important asset to the region ), Environment Canterbury website, retrieved 18 April 2008.〕 Instead of being unoccupied crown land as are most New Zealand river beds, the bed of the Waimakariri River is vested in the Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury).〔Waimakariri River Improvement Act 1922, (Section 17(1) ) - Parliament of New Zealand.〕 Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') were introduced from California in the 1900s and persist today.〔McDowall, R. M. (1990) New Zealand freshwater fishes: a natural history and guide. Heinemann-Reed, Auckland, 553 p.〕 ==Development== In 1923 the river was mainly investigated for a hydroelectric dam to supply electricity to Christchurch. It received support from the community but the dam was never built since the Government offered inexpensive electricity from the Lake Coleridge scheme. The Central Plains Water Trust is proposing to take of water from two points on the Waimakariri River as part of the Central Plains Water enhancement scheme.〔(Central Plains Water Trust applications for resource consent ) Environment Canterbury Resource Consents webpage, retrieved 6 October 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Waimakariri River」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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