1.
Lake Wakatipu
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Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori word Whakatipu wai-māori. With a length of 80 kilometres, it is New Zealands longest lake, the lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level, with a maximum depth of 380 metres. It is at an altitude of 310 metres, towards the end of the Southern Alps. The general topography is a reversed N shape or dog leg, the Dart River flows into the northern end, the lake then runs south for 30 kilometres before turning abruptly to the east. Twenty kilometres further along, it sharply to the south, reaching its southern end 30 kilometres further south. The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the lakes Frankton Arm,8 km east of Queenstown, until about 18,000 years ago the Mataura River drained Lake Wakatipu. The Kingston Flyer follows part of the river bed now blocked by glacial moraine. Queenstown is on the shore of the lake close to eastern end of its middle section. It has a seiche of period 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the level to rise. Lake Wakatipu is renowned for its beauty, being surrounded by mountains. The Remarkables mountain range lies along its southeastern edge and it is a popular venue for adventure tourism, with skifields, paragliding, bungy jumping and tramping tracks within easy reach. A vintage steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw regularly plies its waters, several vineyards are nearby in the Gibbston Valley. The original form and meaning of the name are not known for certain, the name is believed to originate from the Waitaha people, who were later displaced by Kāti Mamoe. Taken literally, Wakatipu would mean growing canoe or possibly growing bay if the original was Whakatipu, the dialect is also known for dropping final vowels, and Wakatipua or Whakatipua have also been recorded historically, as has Wakatapu. A legend says that the bed was formed when a giant ogre. Lake Wakatipu is a habitat for the eel, brown trout, salmon. These and other fish predators such as the pied shag
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.
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
4.
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
5.
Queenstown, New Zealand
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Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealands South Island. It has an population of 14,300, making it the 27th largest urban area in New Zealand. In 2016, Queenstown overtook Oamaru to become the second largest urban area in Otago, the Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 square kilometres not counting its inland lakes. The region has a resident population of 34,700. Its neighbouring towns include Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka, Alexandra, the nearest cities are Dunedin and Invercargill. Queenstown is known for its tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. The area was discovered and first settled by Māori before non-Māori arrived, the first non-Māori to see Lake Wakatipu was European Nathanael Chalmers who was guided by Reko, the chief of the Tuturau, over the Waimea Plains and up the Mataura River in September 1853. Evidence of stake nets, baskets for catching eels, spears and it is likely Ngāi Tahu Māori visited Queenstown en route to collect Pounamu. European explorers William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first non-Maoris to settle the area, many Queenstown streets bear names from the gold mining era and some historic buildings remain. Williams Cottage, the Lake Lodge of Ophir, Queenstown Police Station, the miners and especially the Irish had taken an interest in the ceremony held for a small town called The Cove in Ireland which was renamed to Queenstown in honour of Queen Victoria in 1850. They may have had their own ceremony at the intersection of Rees, by 9 and 10 January 1863 the town was being reported with the name of Queenstown from several reports written by a correspondent in the Otago Witness on Monday the 5th and Tuesday the 6th. It was during the meeting there may have been a reference by a miner of the town being fit for a Queen, the Māori name for Queenstown of Tāhuna means shallow bay. A resort town, Queenstown boasted 220 adventure tourism activities in 2012, skiing and snowboarding, jet boating, whitewater rafting, bungy jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding, tramping, paragliding, sky diving and fly fishing are all popular. Queenstown is a centre for snow sports in New Zealand, with people from all over the country. Cross country skiing is available at the Waiorau Snowfarm, near Cardrona village. The 100-year-old twin screw coal fired steamer TSS Earnslaw traverses Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown lies close to the centre of a small wine producing region, reputed to be the worlds southernmost. The Two Paddocks vineyard is owned by local actor Sam Neill, neighbouring, historic Arrowtown features restaurants and bars. In 2013, examples include Bike Festival, Winter Festival, jane Campions six-part drama mystery Top of the Lake was shot during 2012 for pay TV release in 2013
6.
Skiing
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Skiing is a mode of transport, recreational activity and competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to glide on snow. Many types of skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Skiing has a history of almost five millennia, although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced as early as 600 BC in what is now China. The word ski is one of a handful of words Norway has exported to the international community and it comes from the Old Norse word skíð which means split piece of wood or firewood. Asymmetrical skis were used at least in northern Finland and Sweden until the late 19th century, on one leg the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and on the other a shorter ski for kicking. Early skiers used one long pole or spear, the first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741. Until the mid-19th century skiing was primarily used for transport, and since then has become a recreation, military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century, and ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century. As equipment evolved and ski lifts were developed skiing evolved into two main genres during the late 19th and early 20th century, Alpine and Nordic, also called downhill skiing, alpine skiing typically takes place on a piste at a ski resort. It is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skiers boot, because alpine equipment is somewhat difficult to walk in, ski lifts, including chairlifts, bring skiers up the slope. Backcountry skiing can be accessed by helicopter, snowcat, hiking, facilities at resorts can include night skiing, après-ski, and glade skiing under the supervision of the ski patrol and the ski school. Alpine skiing branched off from the older Nordic skiing around the 1920s, Alpine equipment specialized to where it can only be used with the help of lifts. The Nordic disciplines include cross-country skiing and ski jumping, which share in common the use of binding that attach at the toes of the skiers boots, cross-country skiing may be practiced on groomed trails or in undeveloped backcountry areas. Ski jumping skiing is practiced at certain areas that are deemed for ski jumping only, Telemark skiing is a ski turning technique and FIS-sanctioned discipline. It is named after the Telemark region of Norway, using equipment similar to nordic skiing, the ski bindings having the ski boot attached only at the toe. This allows the skier to raise his/her heel throughout the turn, the following disciplines are sanctioned by the FIS and USSA. Many have their own cups and are in the Winter Olympic Games. Cross-country, The sport encompasses a variety of formats for cross-country skiing races over courses of varying lengths, such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic and free-style events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing. Alpine skiing discliplines include combined, downhill, slalom, giant slalom, Super-G, one run of each even like one run of Super-G and one run of Slalom skiing this is called a Super Combined
7.
Snowmaking
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Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a snow gun, also known as a snow cannon, on ski slopes. Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow and this allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski seasons from late autumn to early spring. Indoor ski slopes often use snowmaking and they can generally do so year-round as they have a climate-controlled environment. The production of snow requires low temperatures, the threshold temperature for snowmaking increases as humidity decreases. Wet bulb temperature is used as a metric since it takes air temperature, snowmaking is a relatively expensive process in its energy use, thereby limiting its use. Art Hunt, Dave Richey, and Wayne Pierce invented the snow cannon in 1950, in 1952, Grossingers Catskill Resort Hotel became the first in the world to use artificial snow. Snowmaking began to be used extensively in the early 1970s, many ski resorts depend heavily upon snowmaking. Snowmaking has achieved greater efficiency with increasing complexity, traditionally, snowmaking quality depended upon the skill of the equipment operator. Computer control supplements that skill with greater precision, such that a snow gun operates only when snowmaking is optimal, all-weather snowmakers have been developed by IDE. The key considerations in production are increasing water and energy efficiency. Snowmaking plants require water pumps and sometimes air compressors when using lances, the energy required to make artificial snow is about 0.6 -0.7 kW h/m³ for lances and 1 -2 kW h/m³ for fan guns. The density of snow is between 400 and 500 kg/m³ and the water consumption for producing snow is roughly equal to that number. Snowmaking begins with a water supply such as a river or reservoir, water is pushed up a pipeline on the mountain using very large electric pumps in a pump house. This water is distributed through a series of valves and pipes to any trails that require snowmaking. Many resorts also add a nucleating agent to ensure that as much water as possible freezes and these products are organic or inorganic materials that facilitate the water molecules to form the proper shape to freeze into ice crystals. The products are non-toxic and biodegradable, the next step in the snowmaking process is to add air using an air plant. This plant is often a building which contains electric or diesel industrial air compressors the size of a van or truck, however, in some instances air compression is provided using diesel-powered, portable trailer-mounted compressors which can be added to the system. Many fan-type snow guns have on-board electric air compressors, which allows for cheaper, a ski area may have the required high-output water pumps, but not an air pump
8.
Mount Hutt
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Mount Hutt rises to the west of the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand, above the braided upper reaches of the Rakaia River, and 80 kilometres west of Christchurch. Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level, the mountain is home to a commercial alpine ski area with the largest skiable area in the South Island, and a vertical height of 683 metres. It caters for a range of skiers, with a magic carpet lift for beginners, good intermediate and advanced runs. The most advanced runs on the mountain are through the formations at the top of the field known as The Towers. Lift facilities include a six seater chair, a quad chair, triple chair. The magic carpet is the worlds first fully enclosed by shipping containers, the snow season is from June to October. Mount Hutt prides itself on and historically being the first ski-field in the Southern Hemisphere to open at the beginning of each season, however, its steep thirteen kilometre access road is prone to closure in poor weather, giving the skifield the nickname Mount Shut. The road was reopened the following day, since there is no accommodation on the mountain, most visitors stay in the nearby town of Methven, a 35-minute drive to the mountain. The larger town of Ashburton is 55 minutes away, the city of Christchurch is one hour 45 minutes drive away. Mt Hutt is managed by NZSki along with Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in Queenstown, Mount Hutt was named by the Canterbury Association surveyor Joseph Thomas for John Hutt, an early member of the Association. During the summer months four species of Alpine grasshoppers can be found within the ski field boundary, media related to Mount Hutt at Wikimedia Commons The Mt Hutt ski area website The nzski. com website 0800Snow Review on Mt Hutt New Zealand Ski website
9.
Snow
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Snowstorms organize and develop by feeding on sources of atmospheric moisture and cold air. Snowflakes nucleate around particles in the atmosphere by attracting supercooled water droplets, snowflakes take on a variety of shapes, basic among these are platelets, needles, columns and rime. As snow accumulates into a snowpack, it may blow into drifts, over time, accumulated snow metamorphoses, by sintering, sublimation and freeze-thaw. Where the climate is cold enough for year-to-year accumulation, a glacier may form, otherwise, snow typically melts seasonally, causing runoff into streams and rivers and recharging groundwater. Major snow-prone areas include the regions, the upper half of the Northern Hemisphere and mountainous regions worldwide with sufficient moisture. In the Southern Hemisphere, snow is confined primarily to mountainous areas, Snow affects ecosystems, as well, by providing an insulating layer during winter under which plants and animals are able to survive the cold. Snow develops in clouds that themselves are part of a weather system. The physics of snow crystal development in clouds results from a set of variables that include moisture content. The resulting shapes of the falling and fallen crystals can be classified into a number of shapes and combinations. Occasionally, some plate-like, dendritic and stellar-shaped snowflakes can form under clear sky with a cold temperature inversion present. Two additional and locally productive sources of snow are lake-effect storms and elevation effects, miid-latitude cyclones are low pressure areas which are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild snow storms to heavy blizzards. During a hemispheres fall, winter, and spring, the atmosphere over continents can be cold enough through the depth of the troposphere to cause snowfall, in the Northern Hemisphere, the northern side of the low pressure area produces the most snow. For the southern mid-latitudes, the side of a cyclone that produces the most snow is the southern side, a cold front, the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, can produce frontal snowsqualls—an intense frontal convective line, when temperature is near freezing at the surface. The strong convection that develops has enough moisture to produce whiteout conditions at places which line passes over as the wind causes intense blowing snow. This type of snowsquall generally lasts less than 30 minutes at any point along its path, in cases where there is a large amount of vertical growth and mixing the squall may develop embedded cumulonimbus clouds resulting in lightning and thunder which is dubbed thundersnow. A warm front can produce snow for a period, as warm, moist air overrides below-freezing air, often, snow transitions to rain in the warm sector behind the front. The same effect occurs over bodies of salt water, when it is termed ocean-effect or bay-effect snow. The effect is enhanced when the air mass is uplifted by the orographic influence of higher elevations on the downwind shores
10.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
