Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland encompasses a range of freshwater ecosystems, including lakes, rivers, streams, springs and wetlands. These ecosystems support a variety of indigenous flora and fauna, offer aesthetic and recreational values and are an integral part of Māori culture. The majority of naturally formed lakes in the region are dune lakes, except for Lake Pupuke which is a deep volcanic lake. There are an estimated 16,500 km of permanently flowing rivers across the region, which increases to 28,240 km when intermittent and ephemeral rivers are included. Most of these rivers reach the sea before they merge with others to form large rivers. As a result, catchments in the region are generally small, with rivers that are characteristically short in length and narrow in width. The largest rivers in the region are Hoteo River, which flows to the Kaipara Harbour, and Wairoa River which flows to the Hauraki Gulf.
Auckland’s topography is predominantly gentle in comparison to other regions of New Zealand. This strongly influences the nature of Auckland’s rivers, along with the underlying geology, typically resulting in slow flowing, low gradient, soft-bottomed rivers. High gradient rivers with hard stony stream beds are mostly restricted to catchments that drain the Waitākere Ranges, Hunua Ranges and Aotea/Great Barrier Island.
