Blue Mountains are a range of rugged hills in

West Otago West Otago is the local name given to part of the region of Otago, New Zealand, lying close to the border with Southland. It is administratively connected to South Otago, but is geographically separated from it by a range of hills known as the B ...

, 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 / Kopuwai mountains to join the Clutha about 15 km west of Balclutha. Along its path it pa ...

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, New Zealand, Southland region. It is a forestry town at the foot of the Blue Mountains, New Zealand, Blue Mountains and the Pomahaka Rive ...

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, an early settler in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. The name Blue Mountains was given by gold diggers 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 � ...

in the early 1860s after the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

References

Mountain ranges of Otago {{Otago-geo-stub