The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel

Coromandel Range

right|thumb|250px|A true-colour image showing Auckland city , the Hauraki Gulf and the Coromandel Peninsula . The scene was acquired by NASA's Terra satellite, on October 23, 2002.The Coromandel Range is a ridge of rugged hills running the length of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of...

 and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula lies in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Waikato Region and Thames-Coromandel District and extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west...

 in 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...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River

Ohinemuri River

The Ohinemuri River is located in the north of New Zealand's North Island.The river source is north-east of the town of Waihi, close to the shore of the Bay of Plenty, but flows west rather than into the bay. It runs through the steep-sided Karangahake Gorge, forming a break between the Coromandel...

. State Highway 2

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 passes through this gorge between the towns of Paeroa

Paeroa

Paeroa is a small town in New Zealand, in the northern Waikato region of the Thames Valley. Located at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, 20 kilometres from the coast at the Firth of Thames...

, Waikino

Waikino

Waikino is a small town situated in the North Island of New Zealand nestled in the Southern end of a gorge alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel Peninsula with its vast tracts of lush...

 and Waihi

Waihi

Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. It had a population of 4,503 at the 2006 census....

. This road is the main link between the Waikato

Waikato

The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...

 region and the Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

.

The East Coast Main Trunk Railway used to run through the gorge until it was bypassed by the Kaimai Deviation. Part of the line, including a 1000-metre tunnel, is now a walkway, and together with the natural sights of the gorge, makes it into a well-visited local tourist attraction. The railhead at the Waikino end of the Gorge still exists, preserved as part of the Goldfields Railway

Goldfields Railway

The Goldfields Railway is a heritage railway that operates between Waihi and Waikino in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It operates over a section of track that was part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until the Kaimai Tunnel deviation made it redundant in 1978...

 to Waihi.

Mining

The area has a strong connection to mining, and even in the 2010s, sees a number of companies prospecting and mining the area, though with much less visible and invasive methods than were used historically. The Talisman, Crown and Woodstock stamping battery remains at the lower end of the gorge are some of the most significant reminders of the time (mining at the batteries occurred roughly from the 1880s to 1950s). The batteries used to crush the ore from the extensive tunnels mined through the steep local mountainsides, with a substantial minority of the tunnels being accessible to tourists from a range of walking paths that wind through the area.

External links

• Information on the history of Gold mining in the gorge