• The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
  • It flows for 151 kilometres (94 mi) in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
  • For much of its reach the river is braided, with wide shingle beds. As with other braided river systems, the main channels frequently change within the primary riverbed, especially during periods of high flow rates.
  • It enters the Pacific north of Christchurch, near the town of Kaiapoi.
  • Geological evidence indicates that in the past the river has at times flowed through the current location of Christchurch into what is now the Avon Heathcote Estuary, and on a separate occasion flowed into Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, to the south of Banks Peninsula. To protect Christchurch and other settlements near the river, multiple flood protections have been constructed either side of the river since European settlement, dating as early as the Canterbury Rivers Act 1868.
  • The name Waimakariri comes from the Māori words wai, meaning water, and makariri, meaning cold
  • The Waimakariri is colloquially referred to as the ‘Waimak’, a shortening of the Māori name