Lammerlaw Range
| Lammerlaw Range | ||
|---|---|---|
| Highest peak | Lammerlaw Top ( 1211 m ) | |
| location | Otago , New Zealand | |
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| Coordinates | 45 ° 40 ′ S , 169 ° 38 ′ E | |
The Lammerlaw Range and the Lammermoor Range are a contiguous mountain range on the eastern edge of central Otago on the South Island of New Zealand .
The names of the mountain ranges probably come from Scottish and are borrowed from the Lammermuir Hills .
geography
The two mountain ranges lie in the central country of Otago in a north-easterly orientation at right angles to each other and with their large catchment area represent the water dispenser of the Taieri River with part of its tributaries in the upper reaches. The tributaries of the Clutha River are supplied from the western side of the mountain slopes . Both mountain ranges have extensive, gently sloping mountain slopes that culminate in the Lammermoor Range in the 1,016 m high Soutra Hill and in the Lammerlaw Range run to the 1,211 m high Lammerlaw Top .
nature and landscape
The gently sloping hill and mountain landscape is essentially overgrown by tussock , which is currently represented in New Zealand in 16 different forms. Occasional beech forests can still be found. In the more humid regions, the landscape is interspersed with swampy areas.
As early as November 1984, Forest & Bird magazine highlighted the need to protect the natural landscape of the Lammerlaw Range and the Lammermoor Range. Almost twenty years later, on March 28, 2003, the Te Papanui Conservation Park was finally opened, which now also guarantees protection for the more than 500 native species of insects , many of them endemic .
The fascinating landscape impresses with its simplicity and reduced to the essentials. In the combination of the shape of the terrain and the play of colors of sky , sun and earth , many good photographers have already documented the landscape and thus made a contribution to its preservation.
use
Since the two mountain ranges make an important contribution to the water supply of Otago and Dunedin , a dam was built in the Lammermoor Range in the mid-80s to stabilize the water supply of the region over the year with the Loganburn Reservoir Purpose to ensure power generation in the hydroelectric power station near Paerau, downstream on the Taieri River.
environmental issues
Since wind farms are not particularly popular in populated areas, the New Zealand government has paved the way for plans to build wind farms in the remote areas of the Lammerlaw Range and Lammermoore Range to secure energy production.
In 2008 two projects were being planned. The energy supplier Trustpower planned the Mahinerangi wind farm on a 600 m high plateau east of the Te Papanui Conservation Park and the energy producer Meridian Energy planned a huge 92 km² wind farm, the Hayes Windfarm , with 176 wind turbines, each 160 m high, in the northwest Area of the Lammermoor Range. The gigantic projects should each have a volume of $ 1.5 billion and NZ $ 400 million and together with an output of 830 MW should be able to produce energy .
The Mahinerangi wind farm went into operation in February 2011. It took the company Meridian Energy six years to enforce their project with the Hayes wind farm against local residents and environmentalists in court. In February 2012 they got the right to build the farm.
literature
- Brian Patrick, Lammermoore-Lammerlaw, A Tussockland National Reserve in Eastern Otago? , Forest & Bird, Wellington, November 1984.
- New Zealand Encyclopedia, 5th Edition , David Bateman Ltd, Auckland, 2000. ISBN 0-90861-021-1
Individual evidence
- ↑ New tussock conservation park opened today - beehive.govt.nz (Official website of the New Zealand government)
- ^ Rosie Manins, Project Hayes wind farm hearing to resume in January , Otago Daily Times , August 9, 2008 issue
- ↑ Mahinerangi Windfarm up and in action . Channel 39, Dunedin Television , February 21, 2011, accessed January 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Pattrick Smellie : New Meridian CEO cans Otago windfarm as first major act . Scoop Business , January 19, 2012, accessed January 14, 2016 .
Remarks
- ↑ The English Wikipedia has an article on the Lammermuir Hills in Scotland.