The Karamea River is a river of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is located in the Tasman and West Coast Regions of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. The river rises within Kahurangi National Park

Kahurangi National Park

Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers 4,520 km². It is the second largest of New Zealand's fourteen national parks...

 in the Matiri Range of the Southern Alps

Southern Alps

The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...

. The river rises to the east of Mount Allen

Mount Allen

Mount Allen is a mountain in the Canadian Rockies, located on the Continental Divide, which forms the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta in this region. Named for Samuel Evans Stokes Allen. It is located in the Sundance Range.-See also:...

, meandering west briefly before turning north. After some 25 kilometres it again turns west, to enter a series of small lakes where its waters are joined by those of the Roaring Lion River

Roaring Lion River

The Roaring Lion River is a river of the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows southeast from its source in the Tasman Mountains to the east of Mount Domett, gradually turning southwest before reaching the Karamea River 25 kilometres east of Karamea. The river's entire length is...

.

From here the river continues west through steep-sided valleys before leaving the national park and reaching its floodplain 10 kilometres from the coast of the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

. The river passes the small settlements of Umere and Arapito

Arapito

Arapito is a town in the Karamea area of New Zealand. Arapito is a farming community on the south side of the Karamea River, and upriver from the main Karamea township....

 before reaching the sea at the township of Karamea

Karamea

Karamea is a town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.It is the northernmost settlement of any real size on the West Coast, and is located 96 kilometres north-east by road from Westport. There is no other connecting road to the town - the road north ends at the Kohaihai River some...

.