page_title: Otago Harbour
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Otago Harbour / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Departing Dunedin for Wellington in an air NZ Boeing 737
context_page_description: Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, 21 km from the harbour mouth. It is home to Dunedin's two port facilities, Port Chalmers and at Dunedin's wharf. The harbour has been of significant economic importance for approximately 700 years, as a sheltered harbor and fishery, then deep water port.
context_section_description: The harbour was formed from the drowned remnants of the giant Dunedin Volcano, centred close to what is now Port Chalmers. The remains of this violent origin can be seen in the basalt of the surrounding hills. The last eruptive phase ended some ten million years ago, leaving the prominent peak of Mount Cargill. The ancient and modern channel runs along the western side of the harbour, the eastern side being shallow, with large sandbanks exposed at low tide. Two islands form a line between Port Chalmers and Portobello half way along the harbour—Goat Island and Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua. The nearby smaller island known as Pudding Island (Titeramoa) lies close to the Peninsula shore and can be reached by foot at low tide. The Water of Leith flows into the harbour at its southern end, which along with numerous streams lower the salinity of the harbour water.
caption: Otago Harbour mouth.
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