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Story: Marlborough region

Marlborough landforms

  • Landforms

  • Vegetation

  • Highways

  • Districts

  • Place names

Marlborough’s landscape is dominated by mountains, which are broken into blocks by massive fault lines. Settlement is concentrated on the alluvial plains, particularly those formed by the Wairau and Awatere rivers, and at Kaikōura.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Marlborough region – Geology and landscape, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/31704/marlborough-landforms (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 9 May 2011, updated 1 November 2016.