Saltwater Lagoon ()
is a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
on the
West Coast of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
's
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
.
It is in the southern
Westland District
Westland District is a territorial authority district on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is
History
Westland was originally a part of Canterbury ...
, with
Abut Head to the west and the village of
Harihari to the east/southeast. The lagoon is located on the coast of the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
and has a narrow sea opening at the western end that lets in saltwater. No rivers feed into the lagoon, but the
Hinatua River passes very close to the lagoon's eastern shore.
References
Westland District
Lagoons of the West Coast Region
{{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub