The Aparima River, earlier known as Jacob's River, is one of the southward-flowing

braided river A braided river (also called braided channel or braided stream) consists of a network of river channel (geography), channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called ''braid bars'' or, in British English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''. ...

s of

Southland, New Zealand Southland () is New Zealand's southernmost Regions of New Zealand, region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago, Otago Region to the north ...

Description

The Aparima has its headwaters in the Takitimu Mountains, south of Lake Te Anau, and flows south for before entering

Foveaux Strait Foveaux Strait ( ; ) is a strait that separates Stewart Island from the South Island of New Zealand. The width of the strait ranges from about , and the depth varies between . The strait was first charted by an American Seal hunting, sealer, O ...

near Riverton at the north end of Oreti Beach. A Māori man lived at the mouth of the river who was called Jacob by local whalers, and 'Jacob's River' was in early use for both the river and the settlement that established itself. It is one of the rivers responsible for the large

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

plain known as the

Southland Plains The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two p ...

. It has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports breeding colonies of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

black-billed gull The black-billed gull (''Chroicocephalus bulleri''), also called Buller's gull or ( Māori), is a Near Threatened species of gull in the family Laridae. This gull is found only in New Zealand, its ancestors having arrived from Australia arou ...

References

Rivers of the Southland Region Important Bird Areas of New Zealand Foveaux Strait Rivers of New Zealand {{Southland-river-stub