Hikurangi Trough

The Hikurangi Trench lies in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of New Zealand. It lies between the southern end of Cook Strait and the Chatham Rise.

An extension of the deeper Kermadec Trench, The Hikurangi Trench remains deep even relatively close to the coast, with depths of 3000 metres as close as 80 kilometres from shore.

At the southern end of the trench, off the coast of Marlborough, New Zealand, the seabed rises sharply, and due to the prevailing winds and tides in this area, many deep water species are found close to the shore. This food source attracts the whales for which the town of Kaikoura is famous.