Ashburton River / Hakatere

The Ashburton River / Hakatere is a river in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. The official name of the river was amended to become a dual name by the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.DescriptionThe river has two branches which meet 21km from the coast, just inland of the town of Ashburton. The branches remain parallel and no more than 3km apart for a further 20km upstream of their confluence, finally diverging near the small settlement of Ashburton Forks. The rivers' path southeast across the Canterbury Plains lies in a shallow depression between the higher shingle fans created by the much larger Rakaia and Rangitata rivers. Both branches are crossed via siphons by the Rangitata Diversion Race, part of an irrigation scheme.The river separates Ashburton from its southern suburb, Tinwald. Both river and town are named for Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, who was a leading member of the Canterbury Association.