Whanganui River

Whanganui River
The Whanganui River. Mount Ruapehu can partly be seen at the top right of the scene.
The Whanganui River system
Country	New Zealand
Region	Manawatu-Wanganui Region
Basin features
Main source	Mount Tongariro
River mouth	Tasman Sea 0 m (0 ft)
Basin size	7,380 km2 (2,850 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	290 km (180 mi)

The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people.

With a length of 290 kilometres (180 mi), the Whanganui is the country's third-longest river. Much of the land to either side of the river's upper reaches is part of the Whanganui National Park, though the river itself is not part of the park.

The river rises on the northern slopes of Mount Tongariro, one of the three active volcanoes of the central plateau, close to Lake Rotoaira. It flows to the north-west before turning south-west at Taumarunui. From here it runs through the rough, bush-clad hill country of the King Country before turning south-east and flowing past the small settlements of Pipiriki and Jerusalem, before reaching the coast at Whanganui. It is the country's longest navigable river.

The river valley changed in the 1843 Wanganui earthquake.

In the 1970s a minor eruption from Mount Ruapehu spilled some of the contents from the Ruapehu Crater Lake (the same root cause of the Tangiwai disaster). This toxic water entered the Whanganui River and had the effect of killing much of the fish life downstream. In the aftermath of the poisoning eels as large as 8.2 kilograms (18 lb) and trout as large as 2.3 kilograms (5.1 lb) were washed up dead along the banks of the river.

Māori legend explains the formation of the river in the Mount Taranaki legend. When Mount Taranaki left the central plateau for the coast, the land was split open, and the river filled the rift. According to Māori tradition, the river was first explored by Tamatea, one of the leaders of the original migration to the new land, who travelled up the river and on to Lake Taupo. Many places along the river are named in his honour.