Figure 1.5: River Environment Classification of rivers and streams in the Canterbury region
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Source: Snelder et al, 2001.
Text description of figure
Figure 1.5 shows a map of the Canterbury region in New Zealand’s South Island overlaid by its river network. The river network is mapped according to the River Environment Classification for source of flow and underlying geology. There are nine different types of river by their source of flow and underlying geology. These are:
- glacier mountain, hard sedimentary
- mountain, hard sedimentary
- hill, hard sedimentary
- hill soft sedimentary
- low elevation, hard sedimentary
- low elevation, soft sedimentary
- lake
- spring
- hill/ low elevation, volcanic.
The glacier mountain, hard sedimentary and mountain, hard sedimentary river types occur in the Southern Alps of the Canterbury region, with some of these river extending to the coast of the Canterbury region. The hill, hard sedimentary river type occurs predominantly at the base of the Southern Alps, with some rivers also extending to the coast of the Canterbury region. The river types between the base of the Southern Alps are predominantly low elevation, hard sedimentary and low elevation, soft sedimentary with some scattered springs and hill/ low elevation, volcanic river types.
