Description: The river catchment, or drainage basin, is all the land from the mountain to to the seashore, drained by a single river and its tributaries. Catchments are separated from each other by watersheds. The characteristics of any river (physical, chemical, biological) are determined by the nature of the catchment and the activities, both human and natural, that take place in it.This polygon layer delineates catchments for rivers and streams along the Southern South Island biogeographic region. Sourced from the Freshwater Ecosystems of New Zealand (FENZ) river catchments which was originally based on the River Environment Classification (REC). Catchment names have been sourced from REC or the LINZ Topo50 map series and represent the river name where the river meets the sea.
Copyright Text: Department of Conservation - Te Papa Atawhai. Based of the River Environment Classification (REC) created by the Ministry for the Environment.