Deception River

River in New Zealand

42°52′50″S 171°39′27″E / 42.8806°S 171.6574°E / -42.8806; 171.6574 • elevation1,200 m (3,900 ft) MouthŌtira River

• location

Aickens

• coordinates

42°47′21″S 171°36′13″E / 42.7891°S 171.6036°E / -42.7891; 171.6036

• elevation

285 m (935 ft)Length17 km (11 mi)Basin featuresProgressionDeception River → Ōtira River → Taramakau River → Tasman SeaTributaries • leftDorreen Creek, Shaffrey Creek, Gorge Creek, Foggy Creek, Twin Slip Creeks • rightGood Luck Creek, Spray Creek, Midday Creek, Tutu Creek, Twin Slip Creeks

The Deception River is a river in New Zealand. It is a tributary of the West Coast's Ōtira River, flowing generally north for 17 kilometres (11 mi) from its source on the slopes of Mount Franklin. It passes close to Goat Pass, which gives access to the Mingha River. Almost the entire length of the river is within the Arthur's Pass National Park.^[1]

The river was once called "Goat Creek". It was surveyed about 1900 as a possible alternative route for the Midland Line, and the surveyor warned that the water levels could be deceiving. About three months later, a flood from the river into the Otira Valley caused several thousand dollars' worth of damage to the railway, and the river was given its current name.^[2]

The Department of Conservation maintains a tramping track alongside the river, and it is part of the annual Coast to Coast race.^[3] Backcountry huts are available for trampers; one near Goat Pass^[4] and another a little further down the river.^[5]

References

^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. Maps 69, 70. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
^ "Deception River". The New Zealand Railways Magazine. 9 (1). 2 April 1934. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
^ "Arthur's Pass: Mingha - Deception route". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
^ "Goat Pass Hut". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
^ "Upper Deception Hut". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 26 August 2009.

Land Information New Zealand - Search for Place Names

Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand

Mountains

Mount Damfool
Mount Franklin
Mount Murchison
Mount Rolleston

Mountain passes

Arthur's Pass
Harper Pass

Ski fields

Temple Basin

Rivers

Settlements and structures

Events

Coast to Coast

v t e Landforms of Westland District, New Zealand
Alpine passes	Arthur's Pass Browning Pass / Nōti Raureka Copland Pass Haast Pass
Bays	Bruce Bay Jackson Bay
Canyons, gorges and waterfalls	Fantail Falls Gates of Haast Hokitika Gorge Otira Gorge Roaring Billy Falls Thunder Creek Falls
Glaciers	Agassiz Glacier Douglas Glacier Fox Glacier Franz Josef Glacier Garden of Eden Ice Plateau Olivine Ice Plateau Volta Glacier
Headlands	Abut Head Awarua Point Gillespies Point Knights Point
Islands	Open Bay Islands
Lakes and lagoons	Abel Lake Alpine Lake / Ata Puai Lake Ellery Lake Gault Lake Ianthe Lake Kaniere Lake Mahinapua Lake Mapourika Lake Matheson Lake Moeraki Ōkārito Lagoon Lake Paringa Saltwater Lagoon Lake Wahapo
Mountain ranges	Butler Range Southern Alps
Mountains	Mount Adams Aoraki / Mount Cook Mount Aspiring / Tititea Mount Brewster Mount Dampier Mount Graham Mount Haast Mount Hopkins La Perouse Lendenfeld Peak Mount Rolleston Mount Sefton Silberhorn Mount Tasman Mount Vancouver Mount Whitcombe
River flats	Pleasant Flat
Rivers	Adams River Arahura River Arawhata River Balfour River Barlow River Barn River Bettne River Big Wainihinihi River Burke River Butler River Callery River Cascade River Clarke River Clearwater River Cook River / Weheka Copland River Cropp River Deception River Donald River Douglas River Drake River Duncan River Edison River Fork River Fox River Gorge River Gunn River Haast River Hacket River Hall River Hapuka River Harman River Hinatua River Hokitika River Hope River Jackson River Jerry River Kaniere River Karangarua River Kokatahi River Lambert River Landsborough River Lord River Macfarlane River Mahitahi River Jacobs River Manakaiaua River Maori River Martyr River Mikonui River Moeraki River Morse River Mueller River Mungo River Ngatau River North Barlow River Ohinemaka River Ōhinetamatea River Ōkārito River Okuru River Ōmoeroa River Oneone River Otehake River Ōtira River Ōtoko River Paringa River Perth River Poerua River Rolleston River Rotokino River Ruera River Ship Creek Smoothwater River Smyth River Spoon River Stafford River Strauchon River Styx River Taipo River Taramakau River Te Naihi River Te Rahotaiepa River Toaroha River Tōtara River Totarakaitorea River Troyte River Tuke River Turnbull River Waiatoto River Waiho River Waikūkūpa River Waipara River Waita River Waitaha River Waitangitāhuna River Waitangiroto River Wanganui River Whakaikai River Whakapohai River Whataroa River Whitcombe River Wilkinson River Willberg River Williamson River Wills River