Cromwell Gorge
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Cromwell Gorge
The Cromwell Gorge is a deep gorge on the Clutha River in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It stretches for 20 km south of the town of Cromwell towards Alexandra. It is one of three substantial river gorges in Central Otago, the others being the Kawarau Gorge to the west of Cromwell, and the Roxburgh Gorge downstream from Alexandra. Long associated with the production of stone fruit, the gorge — and also part of Cromwell — was substantially drowned in the 1990s by the creation of Lake Dunstan behind the hydroelectric Clyde Dam. The Otago Central Railway which used to run to Cromwell was stopped at Clyde and State Highway 8 was re-routed above the new lake. The Dunstan Trail, a major new cycle route, was opened on the river's right bank in 2021. See also *Kawarau Gorge The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are link ...
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Cromwell Gorge
The Cromwell Gorge is a deep gorge on the Clutha River in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It stretches for 20 km south of the town of Cromwell towards Alexandra. It is one of three substantial river gorges in Central Otago, the others being the Kawarau Gorge to the west of Cromwell, and the Roxburgh Gorge downstream from Alexandra. Long associated with the production of stone fruit, the gorge — and also part of Cromwell — was substantially drowned in the 1990s by the creation of Lake Dunstan behind the hydroelectric Clyde Dam. The Otago Central Railway which used to run to Cromwell was stopped at Clyde and State Highway 8 was re-routed above the new lake. The Dunstan Trail, a major new cycle route, was opened on the river's right bank in 2021. See also *Kawarau Gorge The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are link ...
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Stone Fruit
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') inside. These fruits usually develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries (polypyrenous drupes are exceptions). The definitive characteristic of a drupe is that the hard, lignified stone is derived from the ovary wall of the flower. In an aggregate fruit, which is composed of small, individual drupes (such as a raspberry), each individual is termed a drupelet, and may together form an aggregate fruit. Such fruits are often termed ''berries'', although botanists use a different definition of ''berry''. Other fleshy fruits may have a stony enclosure that comes from the seed coat surrounding the seed, but such fruits are not drupes. Flowering plants that produce drupes include coffee, jujube, mango, olive, ...
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New Zealand State Highway 8
State Highway 8 is one of New Zealand's eight New Zealand state highway network, national highways. It forms an anticlockwise loop through the southern scenic regions of the Mackenzie Basin and Central Otago, starting and terminating in junctions with State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1. Distances are measured from north to south. For most of its length SH8 is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses directly off the road, both in rural and urban areas. Route Main route The highway leaves SH1 at Washdyke, an industrial suburb of Timaru, travelling initially northwest through Pleasant Point, New Zealand, Pleasant Point then continuing to the town of Fairlie, New Zealand, Fairlie. From here the route tends westward and rapidly increases in altitude, passing the southern end of the two great Mackenzie Basin lakes of Lake Tekapo, Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, Pukaki. From Pukaki the highway turns southwest across the upper reaches o ...
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Clyde, New Zealand
Clyde, formerly Dunstan, is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand with a population of in It is located on the Clutha River, between Cromwell and Alexandra. Clyde grew up around the former settlement of Dunstan during the Central Otago goldrush of the 1860s. The town could once claim to be the most populous in New Zealand during the height of gold fever. The town's post office (and thus the town) was officially renamed from Dunstan to Clyde on 22 May 1865, after Lord Clyde. More recently the town has been known for the Clyde Dam, a giant hydroelectric dam at the north end of the town, behind which lies Lake Dunstan. The Clutha River is the swiftest river (per volume) in the southern hemisphere. The river then runs to the Roxburgh Dam before finally meeting the sea at Balclutha. The town is a popular holiday spot. It lies at the western end of the Otago Central Rail Trail. The Otago Central Branch Railway originally terminated at Cromwell, but this section of the rai ...
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Otago Central Railway
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Construction Construction of the OCR began in 1877 and the 27-km section to Hindon was opened in 1889. The line was completed to Middlemarch two years later. The 26 km section of line from Middlemarch to Hyde then opened in 1894. This was followed by the 16 km section from Hyde to Kokonga which opened in 1897. The section to Ranfurly opened in December 1898. The Ranfurly to Wedderburn section opened in 1900 followed by the Wedderburn to Ida Valley section which opened in 1901. The line was opened to Omakau in 1904. Omakau-Chatto Creek opened in July 1906 followed by the line reaching Alexandra in December 1906. The line was opened to Clyde in April 1907. There then followed a delay until the section through the Cromwell Gorge was resumed in 1914. The line re ...
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Clyde Dam
The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's third-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy. History There was considerable controversy when the dam was planned because it would flood many houses and orchards upstream at Cromwell, as well as the scenic Cromwell Gorge, which was a highlight of the then young but growing New Zealand tourism industry. Construction also required replacement of a stretch of highway and the closure of the Otago Central Railway beyond Clyde, though materials for the dam would provide significant traffic for the rest of the line which was experiencing a drop in freight tonnage. To mitigate these problems, the Kirk Labour government decided a low dam should be built at Clyde. This decision was overturned by the following National government, who preferred a high dam. There was also debate about whether the dam was needed. National's support for a controversial aluminium smelter ...
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Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewable energy, renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of Low-carbon power, low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants.
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Lake Dunstan
Lake Dunstan is a man-made lake and reservoir in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake was formed on the Clutha River as a result of the construction of the Clyde Dam, filling in four controlled stages beginning in April 1992 and completed the next year. Parts of the town of Cromwell were relocated to a new area above the new lake. Between the town of Cromwell and the Clyde Dam the lake passes through what is called the Cromwell Gorge. Lake Dunstan provides irrigation for nearby stone fruit orchards and vineyards, and is a major recreational asset, with facilities for boating, waterskiing, fishing, parapenting, and rowing. The dam and lake became well known in New Zealand due to media coverage of the geological problems during its construction. While the dam was being built at least one landslide occurred at Cairnmuir, a series of bluffs overlooking the gorge where the dam was built. All parties involved denied responsibility for not finding the problem. Because of the e ...
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Roxburgh Dam
The Roxburgh Dam is the earliest of the large hydroelectricity, hydroelectric projects in the lower half of the South Island of New Zealand. It lies across the Clutha River, Clutha River / Mata-Au, some from Dunedin, some to the north of the town of Roxburgh, New Zealand, Roxburgh. The settlement of Lake Roxburgh Village is close to the western edge of the dam. History Development In 1944 the State Hydro Department estimated that even with the power stations currently under construction they would only be able to meet projected South Island load up until 1950 or 1951 and that a new large power station was required. Detailed investigations by the Public Works Department identified two alternatives, Black Jack's Point on the Waitaki River (where eventually Benmore Power Station would be built) and Roxburgh Gorge on the Clutha River. A power station at Roxburgh had the advantage of being less remote, requiring less geological investigation, half the materials for the same power ...
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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 Pacific Ocean, south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of , discharging a mean flow of . The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor. Geography The ultimate source of the river is at the head of the Makarora River, close to the saddle of the Haast Pass, which flows into the northern end of Lake Wānaka. The southern end of the lake drains into the nascent Clutha close to Albert Town, where it is met by its first main tributary, the Hāwea River, the outflow of Lake Wānaka ...
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Kawarau Gorge
The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are linked by through the gorge. The gorge begins some 30 kilometres from Queenstown, close to the wine-growing community of Gibbston and the large rock outcrop known as the Nevis Bluff. It continues for some 25 kilometres before the river emerges into the upper valley of the Clutha River close to the settlement of Ripponvale. The Kawarau gorge's first historical significance was as a travel route to the South Island's West Coast. A natural bridge, "Whatatorere", where the river narrows to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), was important first to early Māori and then to goldminers as the only place the Clutha and Kawarau rivers could be crossed without boats. Māori were heading for the Cardrona Valley to reach Wānaka, and on to the Haast Pass to seek pounamu. In the 1860s, the gorge was the site of much activity during the Ot ...
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Central Otago
Central Otago is 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 and tributaries. The wide flat plateau of the Maniototo which lies between the upper reaches of the Taieri River and the Clutha's northern tributary the Manuherikia River, Manuherikia is also part of Central Otago. Characterised by cold winters and hot, dry summers, the area is only lightly populated. First significant European occupation came with the discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, New Zealand, Lawrence in 1861, which led to the Central Otago goldrush. Other towns and villages include Alexandra, New Zealand, Alexandra, Bannockburn, New Zealand, Bannockburn, Clyde, New Zealand, Clyde, Cromwell, New Zealand, Cromwell, Millers Flat, New Zealand, Millers Flat, Naseby, New Zealand, Naseby, Omakau, Ranfurly, New Zealand, Ranfurly, Rox ...
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