Southern Alps

Southern Alps, mountain range, on South Island, New Zealand, paralleling the west coast. It rises to 12,349 ft (3,764 m) at Mt. Aorangi (Mt. Cook), New Zealand's highest peak. Extensively glaciated, the snowcapped range has many deep gorges; Tasman and Franz Josef glaciers are there.

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Southern Alps

Mountain range, South Island, New Zealand. It extends almost the entire length of the island, and it is the highest range in Australasia. It has elevations from 3,000 ft (900 m) to over 10,000 ft (3,050 m), culminating in Mount Cook at 12,316 ft (3,754 m) high. Glaciers descend from the permanently snow-clad top of the range. The range divides the island climatically: the forested western slopes and narrow coastal plain are much wetter than the eastern slopes and wide Canterbury Plains. Much of the southwest area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.

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Southern Alps 

a mountain range in New Zealand that stretches from southwest to northeast for almost the entire length of the South Island. The Southern Alps have elevations of 2,000–3,000 m, with a maximum of 3,764 m at Mount Cook. They are composed primarily of schists; intrusions of granites and peridotites are also found. Alpine-type landforms predominate. Glaciers, covering a total area of 1,000 sq km, and perennial snow are encountered; the principal glaciers are the Tasman, Franz Josef, and Fox. The windward western slopes have broadleaved and coniferous evergreen forests, and the leeward eastern slopes have drought-resistant shrubs and grasses. A railroad and highway that connect the western and eastern coasts of the South Island run through Arthur’s Pass.