Swampy Summit is a prominent hill to the north of

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 ...

, New Zealand. It reaches a height of . The hill's eastern slopes forms the western side of Leith Valley, the other side of which consists of the flank of Mount Cargill. The

Leith Saddle 350px, Leith Saddle near Dunedin, New Zealand Leith Saddle is a saddle between the sources of the Water of Leith and the Waitati River, approximately halfway between Dunedin's northern suburb of Pine Hill and the outlying settlement of Waitati. Th ...

is 2500 metres to the east of Swampy Summit's peak. Both the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...

and the

Waitati River The Waitati River is a river in New Zealand, flowing into the Pacific Ocean at Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin. The Dunedin Northern Motorway follows the valley of the Waitati between the Leith Saddle and Waitati. See also *List of rivers of New ...

(which forms the valley on the north side of the Leith Saddle) have their sources on Swampy Summit's eastern flank. As the name suggests, a regionally significant of wetland lies to the southeast, close to the peak of Swampy Summit. The wetland is largely composed of peat bog which formed in a hollow near the summit, over which

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

has grown.Automobile Association New Zealand. (1987) ''AA Guide to Walkways: South Island, New Zealand.'' Willoughby, NSW: Weldon Publishing. pp. 205–209. Beyond the wetland lies a subordinate peak, Swampy Spur. To the west of Swampy Summit, the land falls away to form the valley of Whare Creek (McKenzie's Creek), a tributary of the

Silver Stream The Silver Stream (sometimes written Silverstream) is a small river flowing close to the town of Mosgiel in Otago, New Zealand. The Silver Stream, known in Māori as Whakaehu,Place names'' on Kāti Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki website, viewed 2 ...

.Hamel, A. (2007) ''Dunedin tracks and trails.'' Dunedin: Silver Peaks Press. pp. 5.08-5.09. A ridge connects the hill with another prominent peak, Flagstaff, which lies five kilometres to the south. The slopes of Swampy Summit are the site of several walking and mountain biking tracks, one of which — the Swampy Ridge Track — ascends to the hill's peak.Swampy Ridge Track
, ''Walking Access: Ara Hīkoi Aotearoa''. Retrieved 3 July 2018. The first track on Swampy Summit was formed in the 1840s by early settler Johnny Jones to ease his travels between his farm near

Waikouaiti Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River. Today, Waikouaiti is a retail trade and servicing centre for the surrounding district ...

and the new settlement of Dunedin. A private access road also climbs to the summit, built during the 1960s when a telecommunications equipment was placed on and close to the summit.

References

Geography of Dunedin Wetlands of Otago Hills of Otago {{Otago-geo-stub