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33-579: The Manawatu Plains is an area of low-lying land in New Zealand, located on the floodplains of the Manawatū and Rangitīkei Rivers . It is some of the most fertile lands in the southwestern North Island . Stretching from the northern Horowhenua around Levin in the south to Marton in the north, the triangular area of land extends inland from the South Taranaki Bight to almost as far as Ashhurst at

66-583: A classic example of wetland loss from these combined factors. Europe has likely lost nearly half its wetlands. New Zealand lost 90 percent of its wetlands over a period of 150 years. Ecologists recognize that swamps provide ecological services including flood control, fish production, water purification, carbon storage, and wildlife habitats. In many parts of the world authorities protect swamps. In parts of Europe and North America, swamp restoration projects are becoming widespread. The United States government began enforcing stricter laws and management programs in

99-553: A descendant of Haunui-a-paparangi. Haupipi-a-Nanaia or Hau, travelled down the west coast in pursuit of his wife Wairaka, who had eloped. When Hau reached what is now known as the Manawatū River, he is said to have stopped and clutched his chest, horrified at the prospect of crossing so mighty an expanse of water. Therefore the river's name comes from the Māori words manawa (heart) and tū (stand still). In this context, when said together,

132-535: A mountain range. The river has formed a "water gap" across the mountains because it is older than the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges . Most rivers arise from an already-existing range of mountains or hills, but beginning about 3 million years ago the central North Island mountain ranges began to uplift across the Manawatū's current course. Because it drained a large catchment, the river had sufficient flow to keep pace with and erode

165-408: A variety of sources including precipitation, groundwater, tides and/or freshwater flooding. These hydrologic pathways all contribute to how energy and nutrients flow in and out of the ecosystem. As water flows through the swamp, nutrients, sediment and pollutants are naturally filtered out. Chemicals like phosphorus and nitrogen that end up in waterways get absorbed and used by the aquatic plants within

198-401: A very low property value compared to fields, prairies , or woodlands . They have a reputation for being unproductive land that cannot easily be utilized for human activities, other than hunting , trapping , or fishing. Farmers, for example, typically drained swamps next to their fields so as to gain more land usable for planting crops, both historically, and to a lesser extent, presently. On

231-615: Is a large swamp in the western Siberia area of the Russian Federation . This is one of the largest swamps in the world, covering an area larger than Switzerland . The Atchafalaya Swamp at the lower end of the Mississippi River is the largest swamp in the United States . It is an important example of the southern cypress swamp but it has been greatly altered by logging, drainage, and levee construction. Other famous swamps in

264-697: Is a major river of the lower North Island of New Zealand. The river flows from the Ruahine Ranges , through both the Manawatū Gorge and the city of Palmerston North , and across the Manawatū Plains to the Tasman Sea at Foxton . The river, along with the more northern Whanganui River , gives its name to the Manawatū-Whanganui region. The name of the river was given by the tohunga Haupipi-a-Nanaia,

297-605: Is mud and silty sand. In its meandering and frequent shifting of course it has created oxbow lakes , lagoons , and swamps . Sediment deposited along its course has created levees, higher than the surrounding plain; when the river is in flood it overflows these and creates wetlands. The Manawatū reaches the Tasman Sea at Foxton Beach , on the west coast of the North Island, creating the Manawatu Estuary . Major tributaries of

330-520: Is reduced and the river cuts down into the terrace, forming a gorge. This cycle has created four distinct terraces between the Manawatū Gorge and Palmerston North. The Manawatū Plain was seabed 5 to 6 million years ago, and as it was raised above water by the action of the Australian and Pacific Plates it buckled, forming five long and low ridges (or anticlines ) parallel to the mountains, which impede

363-519: The Manawatū Gorge , between the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges . Beyond the gorge it joins with the Pohangina River at Ashhurst and turns south-west, flowing through the city of Palmerston North . At this stage the river is still flowing swiftly and carrying gravel from the mountains. After Opiki , it slows and has a lower gradient, meandering over the Manawatu Plains ; its bed at this point

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396-991: The Ministry for the Environment ranked 76 New Zealand sites for water clarity and E. coli levels. Using those measures, they found only four other New Zealand rivers rate worse than the Manawatū (the Waitara , Whanganui , Waipā and Rangitīkei ). Swamp Swamps and marshes are specific types of wetlands that form along waterbodies containing rich, hydric soils. Marshes are wetlands, continually or frequently flooded by nearby running bodies of water, that are dominated by emergent soft-stem vegetation and herbaceous plants. Swamps are wetlands consisting of saturated soils or standing water and are dominated by water-tolerant woody vegetation such as shrubs, bushes, and trees. Swamps are characterized by their saturated soils and slow-moving waters. The water that accumulates in swamps comes from

429-533: The 1970s in efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems. Often the simplest steps to restoring swamps involve plugging drainage ditches and removing levees . Conservationists work to preserve swamps such as those in northwest Indiana in the United States Midwest that were preserved as part of the Indiana Dunes . Swamps can be found on all continents except Antarctica . The largest swamp in

462-772: The Manawatū River. In 2009, the Cawthron Institute found that the river had the highest gross primary production (GPP) compared to 300 rivers and streams in the Western world. High GPP rates are an indication of poor ecological health and can lead to various environmental issues . In 2011, the Horizons Regional Council laid blame with the Palmerston North City Council for "considerable" and "sustained" breaches of one of its discharge consents, and some degree of non-compliance with two others. A report by

495-675: The Tokomaru River, which covered 22000 acres; and Taonui Swamp on the north side of the river. The main vegetation in the swamps was harakeke and raupō : harakeke in the drier parts, raupō in the wetter. The Manawatū river mouth and estuary was listed under the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Importance in 2005. The Manawatū River flooded in February 2004, displacing over 3000 people (primarily from Marton and Feilding ) and damaging over 1000 Manawatū farms. The cost of

528-685: The United States are the forested portions of the Everglades , Okefenokee Swamp , Barley Barber Swamp , Great Cypress Swamp and the Great Dismal Swamp . The Okefenokee is located in extreme southeastern Georgia and extends slightly into northeastern Florida . The Great Cypress Swamp is mostly in Delaware , but extends into Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula . Point Lookout State Park on

561-542: The basis for the economy which drives the city of Palmerston North and the towns of Foxton , Feilding , and Bulls , all of which rely on the agricultural dollar to an extent. As floodplains , the land is not always entirely dry. Although the area receives slightly below the national average rainfall, floods can occur, as happened around the township of Tangimoana in early 2004. 40°23′S 175°25′E  /  40.38°S 175.41°E  / -40.38; 175.41 Manawat%C5%AB River The Manawatū River

594-589: The coasts of East Sumatra, Kalimantan (Central, East, South and West Kalimantan provinces), West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Peninsular Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Southeast Thailand, and the Philippines (Riley et al. ,1996). Indonesia has the largest area of tropical peatland. Of the total 440,000 km (170,000 sq mi) tropical peat swamp, about 210,000 km (81,000 sq mi) are located in Indonesia (Page, 2001; Wahyunto, 2006). The Vasyugan Swamp

627-466: The flood in terms of insurance payouts was NZ$ 122 million. Further damage was prevented by the opening of the Moutoa floodgates , which intercept the river between Foxton and Shannon . In 2018 a case study on water quality in the Manawatū-Whanganui region was jointly commissioned by Horizons Regional Council and the Ministry for the Environment , the study was conducted by Land Water People (LWP) and

660-446: The flow of the Manawatū, Rangitikei , and Oroua Rivers, forcing them to flow southwest rather than directly into the Tasman Sea. At the time of human arrival, the Manawatū Plains were covered with forest. Towards the foothills and the Manawatū Gorge grew black beech , turning into tawa forest at lower altitudes. Along the plains and terraces the forest was mixed podocarp and tōtara , changing to mixed tawa, tītoki , and māhoe in

693-688: The interpretation is ‘heart standing still’ to represent how Hau felt when he first saw the river. However cross he did, and a few kilometres south of Paekākāriki, Hau overtook the fugitives and changed Wairaka into a rock. The Manawatū River has its headwaters northwest of Norsewood in the Tararua District , on the eastern slopes of the Ruahine Range on the North Island of New Zealand. It flows initially eastward before turning south-west near Ormondville , flowing 40 kilometres (25 mi) before turning north-west near Woodville . At this point it enters

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726-408: The mouth of the Manawatū Gorge . It covers an area of around 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi). In the south, around Lake Horowhenua , the plains were once an extensive wetland, which has been largely drained and turned into profitable dairy farming land. There are conservation moves in progress to restore some of these wetlands to their former state. Further north, the plains provide

759-487: The other hand, swamps can (and do) play a beneficial ecological role in the overall functions of the natural environment and provide a variety of resources that many species depend on. Swamps and other wetlands have shown to be a natural form of flood management and defense against flooding. In such circumstances where flooding does occur, swamps absorb and use the excess water within the wetland, preventing it from traveling and flooding surrounding areas. Dense vegetation within

792-655: The results were reviewed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and StatsNZ . Results showed that water quality for sediment and E. coli had improved over the previous seven to ten years in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. The report found strong statistical evidence of a connection between regional scale water quality improvements and local scale interventions. In 2006 Fonterra were criticised for an application to discharge 8,500 cubic metres (300,000 cu ft) of wastewater into

825-439: The rising mountains, eventually forming the Manawatū Gorge; other rivers were unable to and were diverted into the Manawatū instead. After exiting the Manawatū Gorge, the river carries rock and sediment down from the mountains. During glacial times, with the prevalence of ice, snow, and bare mountains, this erosion increases and forms a stony elevated terrace. During an interglacial, while the mountains are forested, gravel outwash

858-536: The river include the Makakahi , Mangahao , Pohangina and Oroua Rivers . The Manawatū's total length is 180 kilometres (110 mi), making it only the 12th-longest in the country, but at 102 cubic metres per second (3,600 cu ft/s) it is one of New Zealand's greatest rivers in terms of flow, and second only to the Waikato River among North Island rivers. The river is crossed by 18 road bridges (not including

891-468: The sand dunes. Across the flood plain of the Manawatū and on the low-lying land bordering the river, the predominant vegetation was semi-swamp forest, mostly kahikatea and pukatea . Three major swamps bordered the Manawatū: Moutoa Swamp north of the river, towards the mouth, known as the "Great Swamp" in the 19th century; Makerua Swamp further inland, to the south of the Manawatū and north of

924-526: The southern tip of Maryland contains many swamps and marshes. The Great Dismal Swamp lies in extreme southeastern Virginia and extreme northeastern North Carolina . Both are National Wildlife Refuges . Another swamp area, Reelfoot Lake of extreme western Tennessee and Kentucky , was created by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes . Caddo Lake , the Great Dismal and Reelfoot are swamps centered at large lakes. Swamps are often associated with bayous in

957-618: The swamp also provides soil stability to the land, holding soils and sediment in place whilst preventing erosion and land loss. Swamps are an abundant and valuable source of fresh water and oxygen for all life, and they are often breeding grounds for a wide variety of species. Floodplain swamps are an important resource in the production and distribution of fish. Two thirds of global fish and shellfish are commercially harvested and dependent on wetlands. Historically, humans have been known to drain and/or fill swamps and other wetlands in order to create more space for human development and to reduce

990-447: The swamp, purifying the water. Any remaining or excess chemicals present will accumulate at the bottom of the swamp, being removed from the water and buried within the sediment. The biogeochemical environment of a swamp is dependent on its hydrology, affecting the levels and availability of resources like oxygen, nutrients, water pH and toxicity, which will influence the whole ecosystem. Swamps and other wetlands have traditionally held

1023-525: The threat of diseases borne by swamp insects. Wetlands are removed and replaced with land that is then used for things like agriculture, real estate, and recreational uses. Many swamps have also undergone intensive logging and farming, requiring the construction of drainage ditches and canals. These ditches and canals contributed to drainage and, along the coast, allowed salt water to intrude, converting swamps to marsh or even to open water. Large areas of swamp were therefore lost or degraded. Louisiana provides

Manawatū Plains - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-481: The under-construction Parahaki Island Bridge), 3 rail bridges and He Ara Kotahi walk/cycleway. The lowest and longest, Whirokino Trestle and Manawatū River Bridge, carry SH1 1.1 km (0.68 mi) over the Moutoa Floodway and 180 m (590 ft) over the river. It replaced the 1938 and 1942 bridges in February 2020, at a cost of $ 70m. The Manawatū is unique among New Zealand rivers in that it crosses

1089-888: The world is the Amazon River floodplain, which is particularly significant for its large number of fish and tree species. The Sudd and the Okavango Delta are Africa's best known marshland areas. The Bangweulu Floodplains make up Africa's largest swamp. The Mesopotamian Marshes is a large swamp and river system in southern Iraq , traditionally inhabited in part by the Marsh Arabs . In Asia, tropical peat swamps are located in mainland East Asia and Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, peatlands are mainly found in low altitude coastal and sub-coastal areas and extend inland for distance more than 100 km (62 mi) along river valleys and across watersheds. They are mostly to be found on

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