Cardrona River

Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox river The Cardrona River is in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is one of the first tributaries of the Clutha River / Mata-Au, which it meets only Template:Convert from the latter's origin at the outflow of Lake Wānaka.

The Cardrona flows north for Template:Convert down the steep narrow Cardrona Valley. Its headwaters are near New Zealand's highest main road, the Crown Range route.<ref>

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The river runs past the settlement of Cardona and the Cardrona skifield, then south of Wānaka township.

The original name of the river is the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. It was a traditional Māori route linking Whakatipu Waimāori (Lake Wakatipu) with lakes Wānaka and Hāwea. Ngāi Tahu recorded Ōrau as a kāinga mahinga kai (food-gathering place) where tuna (eels), pora ('Māori turnip') and weka were gathered.<ref>

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In 2017, a toxic cyanobacteria phormidium was found in the river after a period of warm temperatures. The public were warned that people and dogs should avoid contact with the water while the algae was present.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Cardrona River is one of several rivers in the Otago region that are known as vulnerable to outbreaks of cyanobacteria.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

An environmental DNA analysis in 2023 revealed a previously unknown population of galaxid fish are present in the Cardrona River. The species identified is the Clutha flathead galaxid, which is critically threatened and close to extinction.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2024, a group of 50 volunteers removed around Template:Convert of rubbish from a section of the river. Further cleanups were planned for other sections of the river.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>