Photos
  •  Cities
•  Mountains
•  Coastline
•  Volcanic
•  Flora
•  Fauna
•  Lakes
•  Rivers
•  Rural
•  Sport
•  Kiwiana
•  Maori
•  License*


 Comments

Virtual New Zealand Photo Library
License our images for commercial use. Learn more.

 

New Zealand Mountains

Photo Albums
Mt Cook National Park photos
Fiordland National Park photos
Lindis Pass photos
Arthurs Pass photos
Westland photos
Te Mata Peak photos
Rimutaka Range photos
Tararua Range photos
Mt Taranaki photos
Mt Ngaurahoe photos
Mt Ruapehu photos
More New Zealand Mountain photos
       

Information
Most people's image of New Zealand is a country filled with snow capped mountains. Not all of New Zealand is like that of course, but a whopping seventy five percent is either mountains or hills.

Situated on two techtonic plates, the Australian Indian plate and the Pacific Plate, New Zealand is a land lifted high. In the North Island one plate is slipping under the other. This has created one major mountain range that stretches from the East Cape and extends south to Wellington. This process also causes the intense volcanic activity that New Zealand is famous for. In the South Island the process is different as the two plates are smashing into each other, (the same process that created the Himilaya's). This has given New Zealand its most spectacular natural feature, the Southern Alps. These mountains are an impressive 650-kilometre's long on an island that is 840 km/522 mi. They rise abruptly along the west coast and only reach the east coast in Kaikoura.

The highest peak in this Southern Alps and Australasia for that matter is is Mt Cook, which measures 3,684 meters (12,283 feet). Sir Edmund Hillary gained his mountaineering experience on Mt Cook, before becoming the first man to climb the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest. New Zealand also contains some deeply indented fiords along the south west coastline, and give the country some of its most spectacular scenery.

The North Island's highest peak is Mt Ruapehu which is 2,797 metres or 9,175 feet high. This mountain is a volcano, and had some eruptions back in 1995 and 1996. Mt Ruapehu is also the location for the best skiing in the North Island. Most of New Zealand's ski fields are located in the South Island however.

New Zealand has 24 peaks above 3000 metres. They are as follows:

  1. Aoraki/Mount Cook - 3,755 m (12,319 ft)
  2. Mount Tasman - 3498 m (11,476 ft)
  3. Mount Dampier - 3440 m (11,286 ft)
  4. Mount Vancouver - 3309 m
  5. Mount Silberhorn - 3279 m (10,758 ft)
  6. Mount Malte-Brun - 3198 m
  7. Mount Hicks - 3194 m (10,502 ft)
  8. Mount Lendenfeld - 3194 m (10,502 ft)
  9. Mount Graham
  10. Mount Torres - 3163 m (10,377 ft)
  11. Mount Sefton - 3157 m (10,358 ft)
  12. Mount Teichelmann - 3160 m (10,367 ft)
  13. Mount Haast - 3138 m (10,295 ft)
  14. Mount Elie de Beaumont - 3109 m (10,200 ft)
  15. La Perouse - 3079 m (10,102 ft)
  16. Douglas Peak - 3077 m
  17. Mount Haidinger - 3066 m (10, 059 ft)
  18. Mount Magellan
  19. Mount Malaspina
  20. The Minarets - 3065 m (10,056 ft)
  21. Mount Aspiring/Tititea - 3,033 m (9,951 ft) [2]
  22. Mount Hamilton - 3022 m (9915 ft)
  23. Mount Dixon
  24. Glacier Peak - 3007 m (9865 ft)

Feel free to leave a comment below if you:

  • have a related question,
  • want to report a mistake,
  • want to give feedback on this page.


This web site, logo, name, content, photos, and design are protected by international copyright law.
Original versions of our photos can be purchased & web versions can be shared subject to conditions.