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Tasman Glacier
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The Tasman, our longest and
largest glacier, falls 2,250 metres over a distance of 29 kilometres to form
one of the longest ski runs in the world. It is up to 600 metres thick in
some parts and its terminal, within 20 minutes easy walk from the road, is a
fascinating place. |
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In 1955, confident in his
ski/wheel undercarriage design, Sir Harry Wigley landed an Auster aircraft
on the Tasman Glacier to lay the groundwork for one of New Zealand's most
thrilling attractions - ski-plane flight seeing. Over 40,000 visitors per
year are now flown onto New Zealand's glaciers to take photographs or ski. |
The Southern Alps
With 22 peaks over 3,000 metres and more than 140 over 2,000 metres, the
Southern Alps are comparable to the European Alps. Their main stone,
greywacke, was laid down in an ocean trough 250 to 300 million years ago.
About two million years ago the Alpine Fault began uplifting, a process that
continues today but at about the same rate as erosion.
The Alps dominate the South Island's weather patterns. The prevailing
westerly wind drops over five metres of precipitation in the Alps, then
transforms into the dry Nor-wester and leaves a mere 500 mm on the Mackenzie
basin. |
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