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 ...

, according to the gazetteer maintained by

Land Information New Zealand Land Information New Zealand (LINZ; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with geographical information and surveying functions as well as handling land titles, and managing Crown land and property. The minister responsible ...

has "249 named

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s and 31 named

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

". There are perhaps seven named "Bridal Veil", and 17 whose names include "Rere" meaning "to leap or descend". In the North Island only 18 of 130 have non-

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

names (including 5 clustered around

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), officially Taranaki Maunga and also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. At , it is the second highest mountain in the North Island, afte ...

), but in the South Island only 15 of the 150 named waterfalls (or rapids) have retained their Māori name. There are disagreements on what constitutes a waterfall. For example, the

Browne Falls __NOTOC__ Browne Falls is a waterfall above Doubtful Sound, which is located in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. In a temperate rain forest, the falls cascade down to the fiord near Hall Arm. Heights of 619 metres and 836 metres have been g ...

is claimed by some to be a waterfall with a drop of 800 metres. Other sources describe it as a steep stream with numerous small cataracts.Kirkpatrick, pp. 128 and 130. __NOTOC__

List of waterfalls

This is a list of notable waterfalls in New Zealand. Many of the highest waterfalls are in

Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...

Fiordland

Many of the highest New Zealand waterfalls are in

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...

in the Southland region of the

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 ...

, and are geographically on the west coast; an area with very high rainfall. Several of the waterfalls empty into

fiord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the no ...

s off 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 ...

: :falls into

Doubtful Sound Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Ze ...

Chamberlain Falls Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Austen Chamberlain (1863-1937), British politician **Houston Stewa ...

Helena Falls Helena Falls is a waterfall in the Fiordland National Park in New Zealand that empties into Doubtful Sound. A walking track from the road end at Doubtful Sound goes to the base of the waterfall. They are named after Helene Fels (1882–1914). S ...

Lady Alice Falls Lady Alice Falls is a tall waterfall in Fiordland, New Zealand. It drops either 656 or 919 feet (200 or 280 m). The falls are formed by a mountain stream dropping out of a hanging valley down to Doubtful Sound, one kilometre inside Deep Cov ...

. :falls into

Milford Sound Milford Sound (, officially gazetted as Milford Sound / Piopiotahi) is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage ...

Bowen Falls The Bowen Falls (), also known as Lady Bowen Falls, is a popular tourist attraction at Milford Sound, a fiord in New Zealand. The long Bowen River located in Fiordland National Park supplies the waterfall with water; the Bowen River is also u ...

Stirling Falls Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Waterfalls in New Zealand
at Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
New Zealand Waterfalls Web Site
*

Waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...