Mount Arowhana lies in the Raukumara Range

Raukumara Range

The Raukumara Range lies north of Gisborne, near East Cape in New Zealand's North Island. It forms part of the North Island's main mountain chain, which runs north-northeast from Wellington to East Cape, and is composed primarily of greywacke, argillites, siltstones and sandstones. The North...

 in the northeast 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...

'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...

. Part of the backbone of the range, which forms part of a line of mountains extending across much of the North Island, 1440 metre (4724 ft) Arowhana is second only to Mount Hikurangi

Mount Hikurangi

There are two mountains and a cone in New Zealand called Mount Hikurangi:*Mount Hikurangi, Gisborne in Gisborne*Mount Hikurangi, Northland in Northland*Mount Hikurangi, a volcanic cone near Hikurangi, in Northland....

 in terms of height within the Raukumara Range.

The mountain is at the centre of a major watershed, with the Mata River

Mata River

The Mata River is a river of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It flows northeast from the slopes of Mount Arowhana in the Raukumara Range to join with the Tapuaeroa River close to the settlement of Ruatoria, in doing so forming the Waiapu River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean...

, Waipaoa River

Waipaoa River

The Waipaoa River is a river of the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukumara Range, flowing south for 80 kilometres to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For about half of this distance its valley is followed by State...

, and a tributary of the Motu River

Motu River

Motu River is a major waterway in the eastern portion of the North Island of New Zealand. It rises on the slopes of Maungahaumi on the southern side of the Raukumara Range south of Opotiki, heads east and cuts its way through the range and empties into the Bay of Plenty to the north.The Māori name...

all having their sources on its slopes.