22-399: NZAC may refer to: New Zealand Alpine Club New Zealand Arthropod Collection New Zealand Association of Counsellors Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title NZAC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
44-545: A mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island , reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern Alps" generally refers to the entire range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it. The range includes the South Island's Main Divide , which separates the water catchments of the more heavily populated eastern side of
66-584: A spa near Lewis Pass , the town of Arthur's Pass , and Mount Cook Village . Major crossings of the Southern Alps in the New Zealand road network include Lewis Pass ( SH 7 ), Arthur's Pass ( SH 73 ), Haast Pass ( SH 6 ), and the road to Milford Sound ( SH 94 ). New Zealand has a humid maritime, temperate climate with the Southern Alps lying perpendicular to the prevailing westerly flow of air. Annual precipitation varies greatly across
88-473: Is frequently visible in summer across Canterbury and North Otago . The 'Nor'wester' is a foehn wind similar to the Chinook of Canada, where mountain ranges in the path of prevailing moisture laden winds force air upwards, thus cooling the air and condensing the moisture to rain, producing hot dry winds in the descending air lee of the mountains. The Southern Alps lie along a geological plate boundary , part of
110-626: The Pacific Ring of Fire , with the Pacific Plate to the southeast pushing westward and colliding with the northward-moving Indo-Australian Plate to the northwest. 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, and
132-891: The Southern Alps which run the length of the South Island, but also include other ranges such as the Kaikōuras , Arrowsmiths and the North Island volcanoes Mount Taranaki and Mounts Ruapehu , Ngauruhoe and Tongariro . Rock climbing attracts many participants in New Zealand and the varied topography and rock types provide opportunities for rock climbing within some cities such as Auckland , Christchurch and Dunedin , and within an hours drive of most cities in New Zealand. Ice climbing , bouldering, sport climbing and trad climbing are all well established. Southern Alps The Southern Alps ( Māori : Kā Tiritiri o te Moana ; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana ) are
154-418: The great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) , the South Island kākā (Nestor meridionalis meridionalis) , and the orange-fronted kākāriki (Cyanoramphus malherbi) . The kea can be found in the forested foothills as well as higher, colder elevations. It is the world's only alpine parrot , and was once hunted as a pest. The mountains are inaccessible and retain their natural vegetation. A large proportion of
176-563: The Alpine Fault to dip-slip motion at these subduction zones to the north creates the Marlborough Fault System , which has resulted in significant uplift in the region. In 2017 a large international team of scientists reported they had discovered beneath Whataroa , a small township on the Alpine Fault, "extreme" hydrothermal activity which "could be commercially very significant". The mountains are rich in flora with about 25% of
198-727: The South Island's west coast is often translated as "a land uplifted high". Following the passage of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 , the official name of the range was updated to Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana . The Southern Alps run approximately 500 km northeast to southwest. Its tallest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook , the highest point in New Zealand at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). The Southern Alps include sixteen other points that exceed 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in height (see NZ mountains by height ). The mountain ranges are bisected by glacial valleys, many of which are infilled with glacial lakes on
220-489: The annual New Zealand Alpine Journal . NZAC owns 17 lodges and huts that are available for use by club members and other climbers. Most sections provide instruction courses for beginning climbers and the club also provides instruction for intermediate and advanced skills. NZAC sponsors the annual national bouldering series held during the summer at four locations, as well as other local and national competitive climbing events. The visibility of mountaineering in New Zealand
242-468: The conifer snow totara (Podocarpus nivalis) and Carex sedge grasses. 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 survive the alpine conditions. The beech forests of the lower elevations are important habitat for several birds, such as
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#1732887502964264-573: 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 slopes above the treeline are covered with areas of fellfield . To the east, the Alps descend to the Canterbury-Otago tussock grasslands . Plants adapted to the alpine conditions include woody shrubs like Hebe , Dracophyllum , and Coprosma ,
286-551: The eastern side including Lake Coleridge in the north and Lake Wakatipu in Otago in the south. According to an inventory conducted in the late 1970s, the Southern Alps contained over 3,000 glaciers larger than one hectare, the longest of which – the Tasman Glacier – is 23.5 kilometres (14.6 mi) in length which has retreated from a recent maximum of 29 kilometres (18 mi) in the 1960s. Settlements include Maruia Springs,
308-402: The inaugural vice-presidents. Arthur Paul Harper , Leonard Harper's son, was the inaugural secretary and treasurer. The club actively promotes climbing in New Zealand and overseas. It publishes guidebooks to New Zealand mountains and to selected rock climbing areas, and also makes this information accessible online. It publishes a quarterly magazine The Climber (which is also online), and
330-432: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NZAC&oldid=1124524074 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages New Zealand Alpine Club The New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC), is a national climbing organisation in New Zealand. It
352-785: The island from those on the west coast. Politically, the Main Divide forms the boundary between the Marlborough , Canterbury and Otago regions to the southeast and the Tasman and West Coast regions to the northwest. 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 previously been noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, whose description of
374-610: The mountains continue to be raised today by tectonic pressure, causing earthquakes on the Alpine Fault and other nearby faults. Despite the substantial uplift, most of the relative motion along the Alpine Fault is transverse , not vertical . However, significant dip-slip occurs on the plate boundary to the north and east of the North Island, in the Hikurangi Trough and Kermadec Trench . The transfer of motion from strike-slip on
396-478: 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 an international reputation for its gliding conditions. The prevailing westerlies also create a weather pattern known as the Nor'west arch , in which moist air is pushed up over the mountains, forming an arch of cloud in an otherwise blue sky. This weather pattern
418-531: The range, from 3,000 millimetres (120 in) at the West Coast , 15,000 millimetres (590 in) close to the Main Divide, to 1,000 millimetres (39 in) 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of the Main Divide. This high precipitation aids the growth of glaciers above the snow line . Large glaciers and snowfields can be found west of or on the Main Divide, with smaller glaciers farther east (See Glaciers of New Zealand ). Because of its orientation perpendicular to
440-631: Was boosted by the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay . Hillary is amongst the best known and most revered New Zealanders and was a life member of the NZAC. Other NZAC members have completed first ascents in many mountain areas, including in the Himalayas, Antarctica and the Andes. New Zealand is a very mountainous country, and mountaineering has long been popular in New Zealand. The mountaineering opportunities focus particularly on
462-587: Was founded 1891 and is one of the oldest alpine clubs in the world. NZAC was one of many founding members of International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA), and still an active member. As of 2021, NZAC has over 4,000 members who are spread across twelve main sections, eleven in New Zealand and one in Australia , plus members in other countries. It runs a national office based in Christchurch . The NZAC
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#1732887502964484-437: Was founded on 28 July 1891 at Warner's Commercial Hotel in Christchurch , New Zealand. Leonard Harper (Christchurch) was voted as the inaugural chairman in absentia. Harper had left for England on 25 July, and while away, it was discovered that he had embezzled money; hence he did not return. Frederick Hutton (Christchurch), Edward Sealy ( Timaru ), Malcolm Ross ( Dunedin ), and John Holland Baker ( Wellington ) were
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