The Hokitika River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about 64 kilometers (40Â mi) long, beginning in the Southern Alps, emerging from the narrow Hokitika Gorge after merging with the Whitcombe River, and flowing into the Tasman Sea just south of the town of Hokitika. The river then feeds into the offshore Hokitika Canyon, which merges with the Cook Canyon to form the Cook Channel. The canyons extend to about 650Â km (400Â mi) and are important spawning areas for hoki, hake and orange roughy.
The Hokitika River, and its eastern tributary, the Kokatahi River, have formed the Kowhitirangi-Kokatahi alluvial plain; a fertile and productive land extensively used for dairy farming.