Rakaia River flood plain

Rakaia River flood plain

This view is of the middle reaches of the Rakaia River, looking upstream across the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps. Like all major New Zealand rivers, the Rakaia originates in the mountains, spreading out when it emerges as a braided river over a wide flood plain. In times of high rainfall the flood plain is covered, and the river transports huge quantities of gravel towards the sea.

• Rivers

• GEOLOGY – LAND DISTRICTS OF NEW ZEALAND

• GEOLOGY – NEW ZEALAND'S GEOLOGICAL HISTORY

• LANDSCAPE

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