Huka Falls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Huka Falls

Huka Falls.
Location Taupo, New Zealand
Coordinates 38°38′58″S 176°05′23″E / 38.649497°S 176.089683°E / -38.649497; 176.089683
Type Cascade
Watercourse Waikato River and Lake Taupo
Average
flow rate		 200 m³/s (200,000 litres every second)

The Huka Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains Lake Taupo in New Zealand.

A few hundred metres upstream from the Huka Falls, the Waikato River narrows from approximately 100 metres across into a narrow canyon only 15 metres across. The canyon is carved into lake floor sediments laid down before Taupo's Oruanui eruption 26,500 years ago.[1]

The volume of water flowing through often approaches 220,000 litres per second. The flowrate is regulated by Mighty River Power through the Taupo Control Gates as part of their hydro system planning, with Waikato Regional Council dictating flows during periods of downstream flooding in the Waikato River catchment. Flowrates through Taupo Control Gates can be sourced through the Mighty River Power website

At the top of the falls is a set of small waterfalls dropping over about 8 metres. The most impressive, final stage of the falls (pictured here) is an 11 metre drop. The drop is technically six metres (cliff beneath the water) but the water flow raises the level to 11m.

The falls are a popular tourist attraction, being close to Taupo and readily accessible from State Highway One, although there are much higher waterfalls to be seen in the country. Hukafalls Jet takes tourists within a few meters of the base of the falls in their jetboats.

The falls featured in a national scandal in February 1989 when the body of cricket umpire Peter Plumley-Walker was found downsteam, with wrists and ankles bound. The resulting investigation exposed the Auckland bondage scene. Dominatrix Renee Chignall was acquitted of his murder after three trials.[2]

  • The narrow canyon, with the tourist bridge visible at the top left.

  • Looking upstream against the fast and powerful current of Huka Falls

  • Jetboat near the base of Huka Falls

  • The Huka falls and the observation point

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mike Rosenberg; Geoff Kilgour (6–9 December 2004). "Field Trip 1: Taupo Volcano" (PDF). Field Trip Guides. Taupo: Geological Society of New Zealand. p. 5. ISBN 0-908678-99-1. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  2. ↑ "Dominatrix tells of 'bad feelings'". Herald on Sunday. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2011. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.