Wairau River

The river flows along dense native vegetation of the Waipoua Forest throughout its whole length. The monitoring site is located just upstream of the State Highway 12. Although the catchment geology is predominantly volcanic basalt rocks, the geology upstream of the sampling site is dominated by mudstone and sandstone. Therefore, this site represents the natural state of region’s soft-sedimentary stream habitat type. The catchment receives elevated rainfall compared to other lowland areas in the region. The Wairau River provides an excellent habitat for a number of native fish species because of its forested landcover.