Southern Alps
Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana | |
---|---|
South Island, New Zealand | |
Range coordinates | 43°30′S 170°30′E / 43.500°S 170.500°E |
The Southern Alps (Māori: Kā Tiritiri o te Moana; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana)[1] are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern Alps" generally refers to the entire range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it.
The range includes the South Island's Main Divide, which separates the
Names
The Māori name of the range is Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, meaning "the Mirage of the Ocean".[1]
The English explorer James Cook bestowed the name Southern Alps on 23 March 1770, admiring their "prodigious height".[3] They had previously been noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, whose description of the South Island's west coast is often translated as "a land uplifted high".[4]
Following the passage of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, the official name of the range was updated to Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana.[5]
Geography
The Southern Alps run approximately 500 km[6] northeast to southwest. Its tallest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest point in New Zealand at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). The Southern Alps include sixteen other points that exceed 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in height (see NZ mountains by height). The mountain ranges are bisected by glacial valleys, many of which are infilled with glacial lakes on the eastern side including Lake Coleridge in the north and Lake Wakatipu in Otago in the south. According to an inventory conducted in the late 1970s, the Southern Alps contained over 3,000 glaciers larger than one hectare,[7] the longest of which – the Tasman Glacier – is 23.5 kilometres (14.6 mi) in length which has retreated from a recent maximum of 29 kilometres (18 mi) in the 1960s.[8][9]
Settlements include Maruia Springs, a spa near Lewis Pass, the town of Arthur's Pass, and Mount Cook Village.
Major crossings of the Southern Alps in the New Zealand road network include Lewis Pass (SH 7), Arthur's Pass (SH 73), Haast Pass (SH 6), and the road to Milford Sound (SH 94).
Climate
New Zealand has a humid maritime, temperate climate with the Southern Alps lying perpendicular to the prevailing westerly flow of air. Annual precipitation varies greatly across the range, from 3,000 millimetres (120 in) at the
Because of its orientation perpendicular to the prevailing westerly winds, the range creates excellent wave soaring conditions for
Geology
The Southern Alps lie along a geological
In 2017 a large international team of scientists reported they had discovered beneath Whataroa, a small township on the Alpine Fault, "extreme" hydrothermal activity which "could be commercially very significant".[13][14]
Flora
The mountains are rich in flora with about 25% of the country's plant species being found above the treeline in
Fauna
Wildlife of the mountains includes the endemic
Threats and preservation
The mountains are inaccessible and retain their natural vegetation. A large proportion of the range is well protected as part of various national parks, notably the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park, and Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park or protected areas such as Lake Sumner Forest Park. Indigenous plant life is affected by introduced animals such as red deer (Cervus elaphus), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), and Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) all of which have at times been targeted for culling, while the birds and reptiles are vulnerable to introduced predators.
Panoramic view
References
- ^ a b "Place name detail: Southern Alps". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ Beck, Alan Copland (2009) [1966]. "Topography". In McLintock, A.H. (ed.). Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
- ISBN 0-589-00933-8. p. 384.
- Heinemann, Page 629.
- ^ "Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "1. – Mountains – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand". www.teara.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015.
- ^ Chinn TJ (2001). "Distribution of the glacial water resources of New Zealand" (PDF). Journal of Hydrology. 40 (2). New Zealand: 139–187. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2008.
- ^ Lambert M, ed. (1989). Air New Zealand Almanack. Wellington: New Zealand Press Association. p. 165.
- ^ Charlie Mitchell (15 February 2017). "When the world's glaciers shrunk, New Zealand's grew bigger". Stuff. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Willsman AP; Chinn TJ; Hendrikx J; Lorrey A (2010). New Zealand Glacier Monitoring: End of Summer Snowline Survey 2010 (PDF) (Report). New Zealand: NIWA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-143-02088-2.
- ^ Campbell & Hutching 2007, pp. 204–205.
- S2CID 205256017. Retrieved 6 February 2021.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ Elder, Vaughan (18 May 2017). "Geothermal discovery on West Coast". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
'Nobody on our team, or any of the scientists who reviewed our plans, predicted that it would be so hot down there. This geothermal activity may sound alarming but it is a wonderful scientific finding that could be commercially very significant for New Zealand.'
- ^ "South Island montane grasslands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.