Pisa Range

The massif, which includes the Pisa and Criffel Ranges, is deeply dissected by Luggate Creek to the north and the Roaring Meg to the south, both of which have seen historical alluvial gold mining. Rising over above Lake Dunstan, the Pisa Range is the gateway to the Upper Clutha Valley. From land settlement to goldrushes, from orchards to the rising of Lake Dunstan and now to the coming of the grapes, the area has seen massive change in the past 150 years. The Pisa Range is the highest of the fault-block mountains characteristic of the Central Otago region, and one of the most distinctive land forms and ecological systems in New Zealand. The summit landscape is a broad, gently sloping undulatory dome, in places up to wide, falling steeply to the Clutha Valley floor. The Criffel Range forms part of the greater Pisa Range fault block mountain range that separates the Cardrona Valley from the Upper Clutha Valley. Elevation ranges from approximately at the highest point. The aerial extent of the range is defined by the Clutha River / Lake Dunstan to the north and east, while the Cardrona River and Kawarau River lie on the western and southern boundaries, respectively. There are two primary catchment areas which drain to the north and south. Luggate Creek flows into the Clutha River from the northern end of the range (at Luggate), while the Roaring Meg flows into the Kawarau River at the southern end of the range. Numerous alpine tarns occupy cirque basins, the largest of which is Lake McKay at and elevation. == Geology ==

The Pisa Range forms part of the characteristic basin and range topography throughout Central Otago. The basement rock is formed from the Haast Schist Group, grey quartzofeldspathic metagreywacke interlayered with micaceous meta-argillite and greenschist formed during the Rangitata Orogeny. The warped geometries are antiformal over mountain ranges and synformal under the intervening basins. Associated reverse faulting (the Otago fault system) along the southeastern flanks of many Central Otago mountain ranges (i.e. Taieri Range, Lammermoor Range, Rock and Pillar Range, Rough Ridge, Raggedy Range, Dunstan Mountains, Pisa Range) gives rise to the basin and range topography of parallel ridges and basins. though a more recent interpretation of the surface argues for it to be called the Waipounamu Erosion Surface. This is what gives rise to the broad smooth domal surface at the crest of the Pisa Range. Schist tors or rock pillars, have been left exposed, potentially as remnants of more resistant rock resulting from the Waipounamu Erosion Surface. Though their formation is not well understood, they often occur as large rocky outcrops and are characteristic of the Central Otago landscape. John Turnbull Thomson and Alexander Garvie's naming of the schist tor on Mount Pisa was so-named because of its similarity to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Obelisk or Kopuwai is a nearby similar schist tor on the Old Man Range. Tertiary sediments of the Manuherikia Group and Maori Bottom Formation were deposited by fluvial systems across the erosion surface. Once covering most or all of the Central Otago region, these sediments have been stripped off the rising mountain ranges and are now preserved only in the basins. Many of these sediments contained gold, leading to numerous gold rushes in Central Otago. ==History==

Etymology The Pisa Range, and specifically Mount Pisa, was the name given in 1857 by the Chief Surveyor of the Otago Province, John Turnbull Thomson and his assistant Alexander Garvie. Mount Pisa was so named because of the fancied resemblance of a rock to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. On their sketch chart it was shown as Pesa (itself the name of a river in Tuscany). The Māori name of Mount Pisa is Taraputa, named for Tara Putakitaki, an early Kāti Māmoe chief. The Criffel is a hill of , significantly smaller than its New Zealand eponym, Criffel Peak, at . Māori The first settlers in the region were the Māori as they travelled through Central Otago en route to the West Coast on pounamu expeditions, as well as in search of seasonal food resources. Gold on the Criffel Range was discovered in 1883 by a small group of miners led by Cardrona miner, farmer, and musterer, John Halliday. The Criffel Diggings goldfield was the last to be discovered in the Otago Region, some 25 years after gold was discovered in Gabriel's Gully. At around elevation, the Criffel Diggings are also one of the highest in New Zealand. Mt Pisa Station has a long and continuous history o the Pisa Range, with its original homestead being built in 1865. The farm was subdivided following the First World War as part of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. Today, Pisa Station is a sheep and cattle farm that has been in the same family since 1924. Sheep and cattle grazing continue to constitute the greatest land use of the Pisa Range (aerially), despite continued tenure reviews. == Modern uses ==

Orchards and vineyards Whilst not strictly on the Pisa Range itself, numerous stone fruit orchards and vineyards carpet the terraces at the foot of the range. Some take their name directly from the Pisa Range itself. Most orchards and vineyards occupy the sandy gravels to the east of the Pisa Range, though several vineyards are located to the north near Queensbury and Cardrona. Tourism Numerous trails cross the Pisa Range, many of which are publicly accessible via the Pisa Range Conservation Area. Trails are typically 4-wheel drive only, but offer hiking and mountain biking opportunities linking the Crown Range, Cardrona, Luggate and Cromwell. Waiorau Snow Farm / Southern Hemisphere proving grounds The Waiorau Snow Farm features of trails, a conference centre has accommodation for about 60 people. It is located on the Pisa range close to Cardrona, at an altitude of approx 1,600 m. The area is used for cross country skiing in the winter and during the summer months for altitude training with trails climbing out to 2000m. The proximity of Wānaka (275m) and Queenstown (310m) and the training options around these two towns makes the Snow Farm one of the best locations in the Southern Hemisphere for a live high, train low training regime. The Waiorau Snow Farm borders the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds, a vehicle testing facility. Both venues use the same access road on the western flank of the Pisa Range. == Ecology and climate ==

The Pisa Range has a dry sub-continental climate, somewhat typical of Central Otago. Annual rainfall ranges from at the Cardrona River to at the crest of the Pisa Range. Snow lies above for much of the winter, persisting well into the summer months at high altitude. Many of the vegetation communities on the Pisa Range are botanically significant, including cushionfields on patterned ground, alpine tors, alpine fescue tussocklands, snow banks, herb seepages, native shrublands and forest remnants. which subsequently lead to a tenure review. Those pastoral high-country ranges with more vulnerable ecology, suffering from extensive degradation and with significant ecosystem services were exchanged with more productive, generally lower-elevation lands. As a result, some on the Pisa Range have been relinquished from farm grazing and are now managed by the Department of Conservation as public conservation land and reserves. Completion of further tenure reviews is likely to result in the entire range crest of the two ranges returning to full Crown ownership. The long-term monitoring within the GLORIA network revealed just how slow recovery rates of degraded upland ecosystems on the Pisa Range has been. The crest of the Pisa Range was used for extensive merino sheep summer grazing, in combination with intermittent burning. This continued to 2012 when tenure review brought this detrimental land-use practice to a halt. The average soil organic matter recovery rate in the South Island high-country is estimated to be 35 years, but for heavily degraded areas, such as the Pisa Range, the rate is even slower than that with the recovery rate of cushion plants (and subsequent soil formation) being no more than 5% over a decade. ==In popular culture==

The Pisa Range is a frequent subject in the art of painter Grahame Sydney, who lives near Cambrians. Sydney lived briefly on Mount Pisa Station while he taught at Cromwell District High School in the early 1970s. Of particular significance is his painting of Rozzie at Pisa, which has become a New Zealand standard work, and a series of works including ''Fog at Stan Cotter's''. == References ==