Editing Otago (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Autumn in Otago, New Zealand.jpg|thumb|Autumn 2004 in Otago]]
[[File:Beaumont, New Zealand aerial photo 2006.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of [[Beaumont, New Zealand|Beaumont]] area in Otago, looking southwest. [[State Highway 8 (New Zealand)|State Highway 8]] runs from left to right across the photo (only visible in the right half), and crosses the [[Clutha River]] just below centre.]]
[[File:Mount Aspiring, Otago, New Zealand, 22 July 2005.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Aspiring / Tititea]] is New Zealand's highest mountain outside the [[Aoraki / Mount Cook]] region.]]
Beginning in the west, the geography of Otago consists of high alpine mountains. The highest peak in Otago (and highest outside the [[Aoraki / Mount Cook]] area) is [[Mount Aspiring / Tititea]],<ref name="landscape">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=McKinnon |first1=Malcolm |title=Otago region – Geology and landscape |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/otago-region/page-2 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=16 April 2020 |language=en-NZ |date=1 May 2015 |archive-date=15 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515075139/https://teara.govt.nz/en/otago-region/page-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> which is on the [[Main Divide]]. From the high mountains the rivers discharge into large glacial lakes. In this part of Otago [[glacial]] activity – both recent and very old – dominates the landscape, with large [[U-shaped valley]]s and rivers which have high sediment loads. River flows also vary dramatically, with large flood flows occurring after heavy rain. Lakes [[Lake Wakatipu|Wakatipu]], [[Lake Wānaka|Wānaka]], and [[Lake Hāwea|Hāwea]] form the sources of the [[Clutha River / Mata-Au]], the largest river (by discharge) in New Zealand. The Clutha flows generally to the southeast through Otago and discharges near [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]]. The river has been used for [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power]] generation, with large dams at [[Clyde, New Zealand|Clyde]] and [[Roxburgh, New Zealand|Roxburgh]]. The traditional northern boundary of the region, the [[Waitaki River]], is also heavily utilised for hydroelectricity, though the region's current official boundaries put much of that river's catchment in [[Canterbury Region|Canterbury]].

[[File:Kawarau Gorge and Roaring Meg.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kawarau Gorge]], where [[Roaring Meg hydro scheme|Roaring Meg]] joins the [[Kawarau River]], in central Otago]]
The country's fourth-longest river, the [[Taieri River|Taieri]], also has both its source and outflow in Otago, rising from rough hill country and following a broad horseshoe-shaped path, north, then east, and finally southeast, before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Along its course it forms two notable geographic features – the broad high valley of the [[Strath-Taieri]] in its upper reaches, and the fertile [[Taieri Plains]] as it approaches the ocean.

Travelling east from the mountains, the [[Central Otago]] drylands predominate. These are [[Canterbury–Otago tussock grasslands]] dominated by the block mountains, upthrust [[schist]] mountains. In contrast to Canterbury, where the Northwest winds blow across the plains without interruption, in Otago the block mountains impede and dilute the effects of the [[Nor'west arch|Nor'wester]].

The main Central Otago centres, such as [[Alexandra, New Zealand|Alexandra]] and [[Cromwell, New Zealand|Cromwell]], are found in the intermontane basins between the block mountains. The schist bedrock influence extends to the eastern part of Otago, where remnant volcanics mark its edge. The remains of the most spectacular of these are the Miocene volcanics centred on [[Otago Harbour]]. Elsewhere, basalt outcrops can be found along the coast and at other sites.

Comparatively similar terrain exists in the high plateau land of the [[Maniototo Plain]], which lies to the east of Central Otago, close to the upper reaches of the Taieri River. This area is sparsely populated, but of historical note for its importance during the [[Otago gold rush]] of the 1860s. The townships of [[Ranfurly, New Zealand|Ranfurly]] and [[Naseby, New Zealand|Naseby]] also lie in this area.

In the southeastern corner of Otago lies [[The Catlins]],<ref name="landscape"/> an area of rough hill country which geologically forms part of the Murihiku [[terrane]], an accretion which extends inland through the [[Hokonui Hills]] in the [[Southland, New Zealand|Southland]] region. This itself forms part of a larger system known as the Southland [[Syncline]], which links to similar formations in [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] (offset by the [[Alpine Fault]]) and even in [[New Caledonia]], {{cvt|3500|km|mi}} away.<ref name="Heads1989">Heads, Michael (1989). [https://books.google.com/books?id=mypPBKZTdKEC&pg=PA572 Integrating earth and life sciences in New Zealand natural history: the parallel arcs model], ''New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 16, pp. 549–585.</ref>

The Catlins ranges are [[strike ridge]]s composed of [[Triassic]] and [[Jurassic]] [[sandstone]]s, [[mudstone]]s and other related sedimentary rocks, often with a high incidence of [[feldspar]]. Fossils of the late and middle Triassic [[New Zealand geologic time scale|Warepan and Kaihikuan]] stages are found in the area.