Sutton Salt Lake, Otago, New Zealand

[David Lyttle]

Sutton Salt Lake is small lake near the town of Middlemarch which is enclosed in a shallow depression in the underlying schist rock. The lake has no natural outlet so the water evaporates and salts dissolved by weathering of the surrounding rock are deposited in the sediments and margin of the lake. There is an unusual assemblage of plants in these saline soils. The surrounding landscape is studded with rugged schist tors. The vegetation is mainly tussock grassland with a sparse scattering of shrubs.

First set of photos were taken in summer (January)

1. View north up Strath Taieri with eastern side of Rock and Pillar Range on left.

2. View of lake looking east

3. Rock and Pillar Range

4. Schist tors

5. Schist tor with orange lichen

[David Lyttle]

Some plants; 
1-2. Aciphylla aurea is a conspicuous element in the landscape.

3-5. In the moister sites at the base of the tors large tussocks of Chionochloa rigida subsp rigida  flourish. This year they flowered heavily.