Mount Cook National Park

Mount Cook National Park

Lake Pukaki reflecting Mount Tasman and Mount Cook (right), New Zealand

(credit: Robin Smith—Photographic Library of Australia)

Park, west-central South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1953, it has an area of 273 sq mi (707 sq km) and shares a western boundary with Westland National Park. It extends along the crest of the Southern Alps. There are some 27 peaks higher than 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in the park, including Mount Cook (Aoraki, Aorangi) at 12,316 ft (3,754 m), the highest point in New Zealand. More than one-third of the park is covered by permanent snow and glacial ice. It is part of the Te Wahipounamu (South West New Zealand) area, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.