Blue Mountains are a range of rugged hills in

West Otago West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, in southern New Zealand. They form a barrier between the valleys of the Clutha and

Pomahaka River The Pomahaka River is in South Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is a tributary of the Clutha River, flowing south for from the Old Man Range of mountains to join the Clutha about 15 km west of Balclutha. Along its path it passes the Blue ...

s. They lie between the towns of

Tapanui Tapanui is a small town in West Otago in New Zealand's South Island, close to the boundary with Southland region. It is a forestry town at the foot of the Blue Mountains and the Pomahaka River. Popular pastimes include deer stalking and trout ...

and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and rise to 1019 metres (3280 ft). The Blue Mountains are home to one of the largest herds of wild fallow deer in the south island of New Zealand, hunting is permitted on Department of Conservation administered land. The early name for the range was Te Papanui, which was later corrupted to Tapanui. Early surveyors named it Mount Valpy after

William Henry Valpy William Henry Valpy (2 January 1793 – 25 September 1852) was a noted early settler of Dunedin, New Zealand. He is sometimes referred to locally as "The father of Saint Clair", as he was the first settler in the area now occupied by the suburb ...

, an early settler in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. The name Blue Mountains was given by gold diggers during the Otago Gold Rush in the early 1860s after the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

References

Mountain ranges of Otago {{Otago-geo-stub