page_title: Waiapu Valley
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Waiapu Valley / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Hikurangi, East Coast, New Zealand, 14th. Dec. 2010
context_page_description: Waiapu Valley, also known as the Waiapu catchment, Waiapu River valley or simply Waiapu, is a valley in the north of the Gisborne Region on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the catchment area for the Waiapu River and its tributaries, and covers 1,734 square kilometres. The Raukumara Range forms the western side of the valley, with Mount Hikurangi in the central west. The towns of Ruatoria and Tikitiki are in the north-east of the valley.
  The vast majority of the catchment area lies within the Waiapu and Matakaoa wards of the Gisborne District Council, with the southernmost area in the Waikohu and Uawa wards. Some of the most Western points fall within the Coast Ward of the Opotiki District Council in the Bay of Plenty Region.
  The area is of immense cultural, spiritual, economic, and traditional significance to the local iwi, Ngāti Porou, and in 2002 approximately 90% of its 2,000 inhabitants were Māori.
context_section_description: Waiapu Valley is sparsely inhabited, with a population density in 2002 of approximately 1.15/km² (3.0/sq mi) — less than 8% of the national average at the time (approximately 14.71/km² or 38.09/sq mi). The population of the valley is centred in Ruatoria, though the area contains a large number of small settlements. In the 2006 census, Ruatoria had a population of 756 — down 9.7% since 2001, and 94.8% of its population were Māori, with 46% of the population able to speak te reo Māori. The second largest town, Tikitiki, is the easternmost point on the New Zealand state highway network.
  The western border of the valley is the Raukumara Range, and has a relief ranging from 500 to 1,500 m (1,600 to 4,900 ft). Moving east, the middle and lower parts of the valley are hilly, with a relief of 100–500 m (330–1,640 ft), and the eastern side is made of lower sets of terraces and floodplains just above sea level.
  There are many large mountains in the Raukumara Range on the west of the valley, the most prominent of which is Mount Hikurangi, on a spur of the Raukumura Range inland from Ruatoria. At 1,752 m (5,748 ft) above sea level, it is the highest non-volcanic peak in the North Island. Other summits in the area include Whanokao (1,428 m or 4,685 ft), Aorangi (1,272 m or 4,173 ft), Wharekia (1,106 m or 3,629 ft) and Taitai (678 m or 2,224 ft). Together, these mountains provide what Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand calls an "awe-inspiring vista".
  The valley receives a high level of rainfall — from 1,600 mm (63 in) per year at the coast, to more than 4,000 mm (160 in) per year in the Raukumura Range. This water drains into a large number of streams and rivers, which flow to Waiapu River, the main stem in the north-east of the valley. The Waiapu River flows north-east from the joining of the Mata River and the Tapuaeroa River near Ruatoria, and reaches the Pacific Ocean near Rangitukia. Other tributaries in the valley include the Mangaoporo, Poroporo, Wairoa, Maraehara rivers, and the Paoaruku stream. A tributary of the Mata River, the Waitahaia River, is renowned for its brown trout — a European species of fish introduced into New Zealand for fishing in the late 1860s.
caption: Mount Hikurangi
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