Meanings
- geographya river-mouth lagoon, chiefly in New Zealand, formed at the interface between a braided river and a mixed sand and gravel beach deposited and extended by longshore drift.
Hapua take the form of generally coast-parallel bodies of predominantly fresh water impounded by a long, narrow spit formed of coarse sediments by longshore drift offsetting at a river mouth.
2000 April, R. M. Kirk, G. A. Lauder, “Two types of coastal lagoon, South Island, New Zealand” (chapter 3), in Significant coastal lagoon systems in the South Island, New Zealand: Coastal processes and lagoon mouth closure (Science for Conservation; 146), Department of Conservation, →ISBN, archived from the original on 24 May 2024, 'River-mouth lagoons—hapua (section 3.1), page 111 more example
Given the spectrum of hapua that exist in Canterbury more studies are needed on the effects of river flow changes on the hapua represented in Table CS5.1. The next section examines the scientific basis for determining and managing the impacts of development on hapua environments within the current New Zealand resource and environmental management framework.
2009, Allan Williams, Anton Micallef, Beach Management: Principles and Practice, Earthscan, →ISBN, page 282
Origin
- Māorihāpua“be hollow, depressed like a valley, be hollowed out, scooped out”
- Englishhapua
Borrowed from Māori hāpua (“be hollow, depressed like a valley, be hollowed out, scooped out”).
More words from Māori
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hapua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hapua
“hapua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hapua. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hapua,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hapua.
Source: hapua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.