The Great Moss Swamp (also known as the Loganburn Reservoir) is located in Otago,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It lies in the

Maniototo 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 t ...

, close to the former gold mining route of the

Old Dunstan Road Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

, 85 kilometres to the northwest 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 ...

city centre. It is classified as a regionally significant wetland. The swamp lies on the upper surface of the

Rock and Pillar Range The Rock and Pillar Range of high hills is located in the Maniototo, an area of inland Otago, New Zealand. They are surrounded by the Taieri River, which has its source in the range, flowing out across the scroll plain at Paerau, before almost d ...

(the Rock and Pillars are a horst range, and thus have a very flat top). Originally an actual swamp, a dam to store water for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

and

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is 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 sources combined an ...

has turned the 'swamp' into a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. The swamp is drained by the Logan Burn, which feeds into the

Taieri River 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 sou ...

at Paerau. There are still significant areas of swampy wetland at the southwestern end of the lake. The Loganburn Reservoir was finished in 1983, holding about 85 million cu m of water. In 2014 the dam was raised by 80 cm, through the addition of an 80 cm-high spillway, and increasing the height of the coping wall along the top of the dam. This increased the storage by some 11.5 million cu m. The dam is located on the southern end of the

, about 12 km south of Paerau, providing irrigation for 60 farmers and 9,300ha, and power generation when water is released for irrigation.

References

Wetlands of Otago Lakes of Otago Reservoirs in New Zealand {{Otago-geo-stub