The Old Man Range, also called Kopuwai, is a mountain range in

Central Otago Central Otago is an area located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River ...

, in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It lies to the west of the valley of the

Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the ...

, close to the town of

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

and the artificial Lake Roxburgh. The range stretches north-south for a distance of some . Part of the range forms the border between the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

and

Southland Region Southland () is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast ...

s. The range's Māori name, ''Kopuwai'', means "Water Swallower", and was the name of a mythical giant who lived in the area.Kopuwai Conservation Area
''

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori language, Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand ...

''. Retrieved 20 July 2023. The range rises to a narrow ridge at a height of just over . The highest points are the Obelisk (also known as The Old Man, and from which the range gets its name) at (), and Hyde Rock (). The eastern flanks of the range are steep, falling away to the Clutha Valley. In contrast, the western flanks fall gently to a high plateau before rising to a lower ridge known as the Old Woman Range. The plateau which has areas of both bare rock and marsh, is the source of numerous creeks, most of them part of the catchment of the young Waikaia and Earnscleugh Rivers. The geology of the range is dominated by the

schists Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a ...

of the Caples and Torlesse Terranes. The rock is a source of gold,MacKenzie, D. J., Craw, D., Barth, N., and Stephens, S. (2015)
Links between orogenic and placer gold on the Old Man Range, Central Otago, New Zealand
" ''New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics,'' 58 (3). and the area was worked during the

Otago gold rush The Otago gold rush (often called the Central Otago gold rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area � ...

of the 1860s. Several remnants of the mining era can still be seen in the range. Much of the range is conservation land controlled by the

(DOC), and divided between the Kopuwai and Bain Block Conservation Areas. Two more, much smaller, ranges of this name exist in New Zealand — a low range of hills in inland Canterbury, between Lakes Pukaki and Alexandrina, and a higher hill range in the Tasman District, close to

Farewell Spit Farewell Spit () is a narrow sand spit at the northern end of the Golden Bay, in the South Island of New Zealand. The spit includes around of stable land and another of mobile sand spit running eastwards from Cape Farewell, the northern-mos ...

References

External links

NZ Topo Map
of the Old Man Range area Mountain ranges of Otago Mountain ranges of the Southland Region {{SouthlandNZ-geo-stub