Otago is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's second largest local government region. Its population was 254,600 in June 2023.
The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for 20 km, with a maximum width of 9 km. It is joined to the mainland at the south-west end by a narrow isthmus about 1.5 km wide.
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city has a rich Māori, Scottish, and Chinese heritage.
Mosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a population of approximately 14,800 as of June 2023. A nickname for Mosgiel is "The pearl of the plain". Its low-lying nature does pose problems, making it prone to flooding after heavy rains. Mosgiel takes its name from Mossgiel Farm, Ayrshire, the farm of the poet Robert Burns, the uncle of the co-founder in 1848 of the Otago settlement, the Reverend Thomas Burns.
The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Dunedin.
The Maniototo Plain, usually simply known as The Maniototo, is an elevated inland region in Otago, New Zealand. The region roughly surrounds the upper reaches of the Taieri River and the Manuherikia River. It is bounded by the Kakanui Range to the north and the Rock and Pillar Range to the southeast. It has a harsh, dry climate, ranging from over 30 °C in mid-summer to -15 °C in mid-winter.
Taieri Mouth is a small fishing village at the mouth of the Taieri River, New Zealand. Taieri Island (Moturata) lies in the ocean several hundred metres off the river's mouth.
The Rock and Pillar Range, is a range of high hills is located in the Maniototo, an area of inland Otago, New Zealand. The range is surrounded on three sides by the Taieri River, which has its source in the Lammerlaw Range. The river flows out across the scroll plain at Paerau, along the north west flanks of the Rock and Pillar Range before almost doubling back on itself at Waipiata and flowing back along the eastern side past Hyde through the Strath-Taieri. The town of Middlemarch lies close to the Taieri River to the east of the range, and Patearoa lies to the northwest.
The Kakanui Range is a range of high hills located inland from Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand. The range forms a boundary between the valley of the Waitaki River to the north and the high plateau known as the Maniototo and the upper watershed of the Taieri River to the southwest.
The lowland longjaw galaxias is a galaxiid of the genus Galaxias, found only in the South Island of New Zealand, in the Kauru River, a tributary of the Kakanui River in north Otago, and in parts of the upper Waitaki catchment. It grows to a length of up to 7 cm.
Eldon's galaxias is an endangered galaxiid fish endemic to New Zealand. One of several fishes in the genus Galaxias found in Central Otago, it has a very small home range and is at risk of being driven to extinction by trout introduced for recreational fishing.
The common river galaxias or Canterbury galaxias is a galaxiid fish of the genus Galaxias, found only in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The Lammermoor Range is a range of rugged hills in Central Otago, in southern New Zealand.
Sutton Salt Lake in Otago, is New Zealand's only inland salt water lake.
Arctesthes siris is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has only been found in a handful of mountainous areas in Central Otago. As at 2019 the larvae of this species has not been described but the larval hosts of this species are low growing plants in the genera Coprosma and Plantago. Adults are day flying and are on the wing from early December until mid April. This species inhabits mountainous wetland areas and snowbanks. It has been observed flying low over its preferred habitat and has been seen together with its sister species A. catapyrrha. A. siris can be distinguished from A. catapyrrha as A. siris has a noticeable concave curve in the proximal line of its forewing.
Notoreas galaxias is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the southern half of the South Island. The species inhabits alpine herbfields and their larvae feed on species in the genera Kelleria and Drapetes. The adults are on the wing February to March.
Deep Stream is a tributary of the Taieri River in Otago, New Zealand. The stream runs generally eastwards for some 70 kilometres from its source on the slopes of Lammerlaw in the Lammerlaw Range, reaching the Taieri River near Hindon in the Taieri Gorge.
Oteake Conservation Park is a protected area in the Waitaki District and Otago Region of New Zealand's South Island. Oteake or place of the ake is named by Kai Tahu iwi for the ake ake, a shrub daisy found throughout the park.
The Horse Range is a range of hills located inland from Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand. The other side of the range is to the north east of the Shag River valley that contains the lower part of The Pigroot. The Horse Range transitions inland to the higher Kakanui Range.
Hunters Hills is a range of mountains in South Canterbury, New Zealand.
