1.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
2.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
3.
Southern Alps
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The Southern Alps are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealands South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the islands western side. The term Southern Alps generally refers to the range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it. The range includes the South Islands Main Divide, which separates the water catchments of the heavily populated eastern side of the island from those on the west coast. Politically, the Main Divide forms the boundary between the Canterbury and West Coast Regions, the Southern Alps run 500 km north to south. Their tallest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest point in New Zealand at 3,724 metres, the mountains are cut through with glacial valleys and lakes. A chain of lakes are found on the eastern side of the ridge from Lake Coleridge in the north to Lake Wakatipu in Otago in the south. Settlements include Maruia Springs, a spa near Lewis Pass, the town of Arthurs Pass, the Southern Alps were named by Captain Cook on 23 March 1770, who described their prodigious height. They had previously noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, whose description of the South Islands west coast is often translated as a land uplifted high. The climate is cold with snow and ice year-round at the highest points, because of its orientation perpendicular to the prevailing westerly winds, the range creates excellent wave soaring conditions for glider pilots. The town of Omarama, in the lee of the mountains, has gained a reputation for its gliding conditions. The prevailing westerlies also create a pattern known as the Norwest arch, in which moist air is pushed up over the mountains. This weather pattern is visible in summer across Canterbury and North Otago. Over the last 45 million years, the collision has pushed up a 20 km thickness of rocks on the Pacific Plate to form the Alps, although much of this has been eroded away. Uplift has been most rapid during the last 5 million years, despite the substantial uplift, most of the relative motion along the Alpine Fault is transverse, not vertical. However, significant dip-slip occurs on the boundary to the north and east of the North Island, in the Hikurangi Trench. The mountains are rich in flora with about 25% of the plant species being found above the treeline in alpine plant habitats. The cold windswept slopes above the treeline are covered with areas of fellfield, to the east, the Alps descend to the high grasslands of Canterbury and Otago. Plants adapted to the alpine conditions include woody shrubs like Hebe, Dracophyllum, and Coprosma, wildlife of the mountains includes the endemic rock wren and the kea, a large parrot that was once hunted as a pest
4.
Mountain pass
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A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass, the highest vehicle-accessible pass in the world appears to be Mana Pass, located in the Himalayas on the border between India and China. Mountain passes make use of a gap, saddle or col, a topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface, with a saddle point marking the highest point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map, passes are characterized by lines with an hourglass shape. Passes are often found just above the source of a river, a pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or may be a valley many kilometres long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying. Roads have long been built – and more recently railways – through passes, some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only ground in the area. If a national border follows a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on the border, and there may be a control or customs station. For instance Argentina and Chile share the worlds third-longest international border,5,300 kilometres long, the border runs north-south along the Andes mountains, with a total of 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a roadside sign giving the name of the pass. As well as offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide a route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass, passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example is the Brenner pass in the Alps, some mountain passes above the tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, there are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West, the gap is common in the southern Appalachians, notch in parts of New England. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach, while Wales has the similar bwlch, the roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres, on and near the China-India border respectively, appear to be worlds two highest motorable passes. Media related to Mountain passes at Wikimedia Commons
5.
South Island
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The South Island or Te Waipounamu is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, the South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres and has a temperate climate. In the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population, in prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite article. Charcoal drawings can be found on rock shelters in the centre of the South Island. The drawings are estimated to be between 500 and 800 years old, and portray animals, people and fantastic creatures, possibly stylised reptiles, some of the birds pictured are long extinct, including moa and Haasts eagles. They were drawn by early Māori, but by the time Europeans arrived, early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Mamoe in the 16th century, Kāti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāi Tahu who migrated south in the 17th century. While today there is no distinct Kāti Mamoe organisation, many Kāi Tahu have Kāti Mamoe links in their whakapapa and, a notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism, proved disadvantageous when Māori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship. In the early 18th century, Kāi Tahu, a Māori tribe who originated on the east coast of the North Island, There they and Kāti Mamoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley. Ngāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Clarence River to Kāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Kāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula, from there they spread further south and into the West Coast. In 1827-1828 Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Kāi Tahu at Kaikoura, Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi, ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Kāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha, Te Rauparaha returned to his Kapiti Island stronghold. After destroying Te Maiharanuis village they took their captives to Kapiti, John Stewart, though arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, nevertheless escaped conviction. In the summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi pā, Kaiapoi was engaged in a three-month siege by Te Rauparaha, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Kāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe, in 1832-33 Kāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at Lake Grassmere. Kāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped, fighting continued for a year or so, with Kāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made an incursion into Kāi Tahu territory
6.
Arthur's Pass (mountain pass)
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Arthurs Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions,140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a tributary of the Taramakau, in the west, Arthurs Pass lies on the border of the Selwyn and Westland districts. A hamlet of the name is located about 5 km south of the mountain pass. The pass is named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, who led the first party of Europeans across the pass in 1864, in 1863, Dobson went to the mostly unexplored West Coast of the South Island for seven months of survey work. His area of work extended from the Grey River to Abut Head and his brother Edward, meanwhile, was clearing a rough track over Harper Pass. Arthur Dobson returned to Christchurch and reported his findings to the chief curveyor, Cass then commissioned Arthur Dobson in 1864 to find out whether there is a suitable pass from the Waimakariri watershed to the West Coast. George and Arthur Dobson set out in March 1864, later to be joined by their brother Edward at Craigieburn, while George surveyed road lines there, Edward and Arthur proceeded to explore the high country. On the advice of West Coast Māori chief Tarapuhi, they found a pass that steeply descended to what became known as Otira, Arthur prepared a report, which included a sketch of the unnamed pass, and presented it to Cass. Soon after, the discovery of gold triggered the West Coast Gold Rush, the provincial engineer, their father Edward Dobson, was commissioned to examine every possible pass to the West Coast from the watersheds of the Waimakariri, Taramakau and Hurunui Rivers. After finishing his examination, he declared that Arthurs pass was by far the most suitable to get to the gold fields. The provincial government decided that a road was to be built between Christchurch and Hokitika, a distance of 156 miles, and Edward Dobson was put in charge of the project, the road was opened on 20 March 1866. The alpine pass became known as Arthurs Pass, with a nearby village and it is also believed that writer and explorer Samuel Butler had seen the pass several years earlier, but was unable to explore it at that time. The timing was perfect, as the West Coast was soon to be hit by a gold rush, state Highway 73 passes over Arthurs Pass and is the highest of only three roads crossing the Southern Alps, the other crossings being the Haast Pass and the Lewis Pass. However, Porters Pass, on the road, is higher than Arthurs Pass. Previously prone to be blocked by landslides or avalanches, the road on the side of the pass has seen extensive civil engineering work in the late 1990s. Most notably, the impressive Otira Viaduct, near the settlement of Otira, the Midland Line, connecting Christchurch and the West Coast, crosses the Main Divide by means of the Otira Tunnel, between Arthurs Pass township and Otira. When opened in 1923, the tunnel was the longest in the British Empire, the Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names
7.
New Zealand State Highway 6
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State Highway 6 is a major New Zealand state highway. Distances are measured from north to south, the highway is the longest single highway in the country, though it is shorter than the combined totals of the two highways that comprise State Highway 1, SHs 1N and 1S. NZTA classified the highway as a route, except for two sections between Blenheim and Richmond and between Cromwell and Five Rivers where SH6 is classified as a regional strategic route. The highway leaves SH1 at Blenheim, initially heading northeastward across the hills at the base of the Marlborough Sounds. It reaches the sounds briefly at Havelock, then inland up the valley of the Pelorus River. At Pelorus Bridge the highway turns north, then tends southwest as it approaches the coast of Tasman Bay. The highway travels through the city of Nelson and nearby town of Richmond, continuing southwest across the plains of the Wairoa, from these plains, the road ascends rapidly to the 634-metre Hope Saddle. From here, the highway heads generally westward, along the valley of the Buller River, beyond Murchison, this valley narrows to become the scenic Buller Gorge, and the highway twists its way high above the waters of the river. The highway leaves the river as its valley broadens, turning south six kilometres from Westport, from here, the highway keeps close to the Tasman coast from Charleston for over 100 kilometres, turning inland only briefly near Runanga. This 100-kilometre stretch includes two of the larger towns, Greymouth and Hokitika. From Hokitika, the highway away from the coast, though still generally keeps within five kilometres of the sea. The highway continues south past Ross and Harihari, moving through state forests as it crosses several fast-moving rivers, seventy kilometres south of Harihari, the highway skirts Lake Mapourika and reaches the tourist settlement of Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier itself, one of two within easy walking distance of the highway, lies nearby in the Southern Alps, which here come very close to the Tasman coast, the second glacier, Fox Glacier is located some 20 kilometres further south. The highway again briefly touches the coast at Bruce Bay before heading inland past Lake Paringa, the 30 km stretch of highway from here south to Haast is noted for its rugged scenery. From here, the highway turns south, following the Makarora River valley to the northern tip of Lake Wanaka. The highway skirts the eastern coast of the lake before crossing The Neck, the highway continues along the western shore of Hāwea, then south along the Cardrona River to Albert Town, close to the tourist centre of Wanaka. Ten kilometres from Wanaka, the highway is met by SH 8A, SH6 continues south along the western shore of the Lake, paralleling SH8 which lies on the eastern shore. Close to Cromwell, a spur, SH 8B, connects the two highways
8.
Asphalt concrete
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Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, as well as the core of embankment dams. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with asphalt, laid in layers, the process was refined and enhanced by Belgian inventor and U. S. immigrant Edward de Smedt. The abbreviation AC is sometimes used for asphalt concrete but can also denote asphalt content or asphalt cement, mixing is generally performed with the aggregate at about 300 °F for virgin asphalt and 330 °F for polymer modified asphalt, and the asphalt cement at 200 °F. Paving and compaction must be performed while the asphalt is sufficiently hot, in many countries paving is restricted to summer months because in winter the compacted base will cool the asphalt too much before it is able to be packed to the required density. HMAC is the form of asphalt concrete most commonly used on high traffic pavements such as those on major highways, racetracks and it is also used as an environmental liner for landfills, reservoirs, and fish hatchery ponds. Superpave, short for superior performing asphalt pavement, is a pavement system designed to provide longer lasting roadways, key components of the system are careful selection of binders and aggregates, volumetric proportioning of ingredients, and evaluation of the finished product. Warm mix asphalt concrete is produced by adding either zeolites, waxes, asphalt emulsions and this allows significantly lower mixing and laying temperatures and results in lower consumption of fossil fuels, thus releasing less carbon dioxide, aerosols and vapors. The usage of additives in hot mixed asphalt may afford easier compaction. Use of warm mix is rapidly expanding, a survey of US asphalt producers found that nearly 25% of asphalt produced in 2012 was warm mix, a 416% increase since 2009. Cold mix asphalt concrete is produced by emulsifying the asphalt in water with soap prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its emulsified state the asphalt is less viscous and the mixture is easy to work and compact. The emulsion will break after enough water evaporates and the mix will, ideally. Cold mix is used as a patching material and on lesser trafficked service roads. Cut-back asphalt concrete is a form of cold mix asphalt produced by dissolving the binder in kerosene or another lighter fraction of petroleum prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its dissolved state the asphalt is less viscous and the mix is easy to work and compact. After the mix is laid down the lighter fraction evaporates, because of concerns with pollution from the volatile organic compounds in the lighter fraction, cut-back asphalt has been largely replaced by asphalt emulsion. Mastic asphalt concrete or sheet asphalt is produced by heating hard grade blown bitumen in a green cooker until it has become a liquid after which the aggregate mix is then added. Mastic asphalt concrete is laid to a thickness of around 3⁄4–1 3⁄16 inches for footpath and road applications. HMAC layers are used both in reinforcement operations and in the construction of new reinforcements for medium and heavy traffic, in base layers, they tend to exhibit a greater capacity of absorbing tensions and, in general, better fatigue resistance. In addition to the asphalt and aggregate, additives, such as polymers, Asphalt concrete pavements—especially those at airfields—are sometimes called tarmac for historical reasons, although they do not contain tar and are not constructed using the macadam process
9.
West Coast, New Zealand
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The West Coast is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island, one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, at the territorial authority level, the region comprises Buller District, Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika, fiordland is on the west coast, but is in the Southland Region rather than the West Coast Region. Inhabitants of the West Coast are colloquially known as Coasters, the region reaches from Kahurangi Point in the north to Awarua Point in the south, a distance of 600 km. To the west is the Tasman Sea, and to the east are the Southern Alps, much of the land is rugged, with a coastal plain where much of the population resides. The land is very scenic, with wild coastlines, mountains, scenic areas include the Haast Pass, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki and the Heaphy Track. The region has a high rainfall due to the prevailing northwesterly wind pattern and the location of the Southern Alps. The rain shadow effect is responsible for the arid climate of the Canterbury Plains on the other side of the Southern Alps. The regions area is 23,276 km2 and it is divided into the three districts of Buller, Grey and Westland. Industries on the West Coast include mining for coal and alluvial gold, forestry and wood processing, dairy farming has grown strongly - the local dairy co-operatives Westland Milk Products remained independent when most others merged to form Fonterra in 2001. Other industries are the manufacturing and sales of greenstone jewellery, sphagnum moss gathering, the sub-national GDP of the region was estimated at US$779 million in 2003, 1% of national GDP. The region is home to Māori, who valued it for the greenstone found there in abundance, the region was only occasionally visited by Europeans until the discovery of gold near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau. By the end of the year there were an estimated 1800 prospectors, many of them around the Hokitika area, after that time, the population dwindled, but the main towns that still exist had become established. Following greenstone and gold, the valuable mineral was coal. Discovered near the Buller River in the mid-1840s, mining began in earnest during the 1860s, by the 1880s coal had become the region’s main industry, with mines throughout the northern half of the region, especially around Westport. Many of these continued in operation until the mid-20th century, timber has also long been a major industry, although in recent years there has been an uneasy balance between forestry for wood and forestry for conservation. Much of the region is public land administered by the Department of Conservation, ecotourism is now an important industry, and this goes hand in hand with the conservation efforts. The region is populated, especially in the south, with the 2006 census recording 31,326 inhabitants, up from 30,303 in 2001
10.
Otago
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Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres and its population was 219,200 in the June 2016. The name Otago is an old Māori southern dialect word, introduced to the south by Europeans in the 1840s. Otago is also the old name of the European settlement on the Otago Harbour, established by the Weller Brothers in 1831, major centres include Dunedin, Oamaru, Balclutha, Alexandra, and the major tourist centres Queenstown and Wanaka. Kaitangata in South Otago is a prominent source of coal, the Waitaki and Clutha rivers provide much of the countrys hydroelectric power. Some parts of the area covered by Otago Province are now administered by either Canterbury Regional Council or Southland Regional Council. The Central Otago wine region produces award winning wines made from such as the Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot. It has a reputation as New Zealand’s leading Pinot noir region. The Otago Province was the whole of New Zealand from the Waitaki River south, including Stewart Island and it included the territory of the later Southland Province and also the much more extensive lands of the modern Southland Region. Initial settlement was concentrated on the port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, the 1860s saw rapid commercial expansion after Gabriel Read discovered gold at Gabriels Gully near Lawrence, and the Central Otago goldrush ensued. Further gold discoveries at Clyde and on the Arrow River around Arrowtown led to a boom, New Zealands first daily newspaper, the Otago Daily Times, originally edited by Julius Vogel, dates from this period. New Zealands first university, the University of Otago, was founded in 1869 as the university in Dunedin. The Province of Southland separated from Otago Province and set up its own Provincial Council at Invercargill in 1861, after difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in 1870. Its territory is included in the region of the old Otago Province which is named after it and is now the territory of the Southland region. The provincial governments were abolished in 1876 when the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 November 1876, two in Otago were named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce. From this time the national limelight gradually shifted northwards, beginning in the west, the geography of Otago consists of high alpine mountains. The highest peak in Otago is Mount Aspiring / Tititea, which is on the Main Divide, from the high mountains the rivers discharge into large glacial lakes. In this part of Otago glacial activity - both recent and very old - dominates the landscape, with large U shaped valleys and rivers which have high sediment loads, River flows also vary dramatically, with large flood flows occurring after heavy rain
11.
Nothofagus
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Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia. The species are ecological dominants in many forests in these regions. Some species are naturalised in Germany and Great Britain. The genus has a fossil record of leaves, cupules and pollen, with fossils extending into the late Cretaceous and occurring in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica. In the past, they were included in the family Fagaceae, but genetic tests revealed them to be distinct, and they are now included in their own family. The leaves are toothed or entire, evergreen or deciduous, the fruit is a small, flattened or triangular nut, borne in cupules containing one to seven nuts. Nothofagus species are used as food plants by the larvae of moths of the genus Aenetus, including A. eximia. Sexual reproduction has since shown to be possible. This proposed change is not taxonomically essential and has not been accepted outside New Zealand, in South America the northern genus limit can be construed as La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains in the central part of Chile. Every four to six years or so, Nothofagus produces a crop of seeds and is known as the beech mast. In New Zealand, the beech mast causes an increase in the population of introduced mammals such as mice, rats, when the rodent population collapses, the stoats begin to prey on native bird species, many of which are threatened with extinction. This phenomenon is covered in detail in the article on stoats in New Zealand. Beechwood Honeydew is a type of honey made in New Zealand from the secretions of Hemiptera aphids feeding on Nothofagus trees, cyttaria, genus of ascomycete fungi found on or associated with Nothofagus Misodendrum, specialist parasites of Nothofagus
