From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Otira
Otira
Coordinates: 42°49′52″S 171°33′39″E / 42.8311°S 171.5608°E / -42.8311; 171.5608
Country	New Zealand
Region	West Coast
District	Westland District
Population (2006)
- Total	87

Otira is a small township seven kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the western approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps. The population of Otira and its surrounds was 87 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 30 from 2001.^[1].

It was originally a stop on the Cobb and Co stagecoach from Canterbury to the West Coast. The railway line was then built from Greymouth to Otira, with the pass navigated by coach, until the railway tunnel opened in 1923. The township is principally old Railways housing, much of which was constructed in Hamilton and shipped south to be reassembled on site.

Otira railway station

Close to the town are two major feats of civil engineering: the Otira Tunnel, and the Otira Viaduct.

Otira Viaduct

Above the town is the Otira Viaduct. Completed in 1999, it spans a 440-metre stretch of unstable land, replacing a narrow, winding, dangerous road that was prone to avalanches, slips and closures. The viaduct can be fairly called an example of engineering genius, owing to the challenging combination of a highly unstable foundation, flash flooding, steep slope, erosive factors, and lack of any stable site to base construction work. The fact that the viaduct was completed for 45 million New Zealand dollars in less than two years of work is nothing short of incredible.

Otira Viaduct

References

• Otira History
• Otira Today
• Stories from Otira
• Photo of rail signals at Otira c1926

Coordinates: 42°49′52″S 171°33′39″E / 42.8311°S 171.5608°E / -42.8311; 171.5608

From Wikispecies

Taxonavigation

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Classis: Arachnida
Ordo: Araneae
Subordo: Opisthothelae
Infraordo: Araneomorphae
Taxon: Neocribellatae
Series: Entelegynae
Superfamilia: Amaurobioidea
Familia: Amaurobiidae
Genus: Otira

Name

Otira Forster & Wilton, 1973

References

• Forster, R.R.; Wilton, C.L. 1973: The spiders of New Zealand. Part IV. Agelenidae, Stiphidiidae, Amphinectidae, Amaurobiidae, Neolanidae, Ctenidae, Psechridae. Otago Museum bulletin, (4)