The Southern Alps (Māori: Kā Tiritiri o te Moana; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations … See more

The Southern Alps lie along a geological plate boundary, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, with the Pacific Plate to the southeast pushing westward and colliding with the northward … See more

Wildlife of the mountains includes the endemic rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris). There are also a number of endemic insects adapted to these high altitudes, like flies, moths, beetles, bees, and the mountain stone wētā, which can freeze solid over winter to … See more

• "The Exploration of the Southern Alps (from 1940 book)". NZETC. See more

The Māori name of the range is Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, meaning "the Mirage of the Ocean".
The English explorer James Cook bestowed the name Southern Alps on 23 March 1770, admiring their "prodigious height". They had … See more

The mountains are rich in flora with about 25% of the country's plant species being found above the treeline in alpine plant habitats and grassland with mountain beech forest at lower elevations (of the eastern side but not in Westland). The cold windswept … See more

The mountains are inaccessible and retain their natural vegetation. A large proportion of the range is well protected by national parks—notably the See more