Aoraki / Mount Cook

Story

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height since 2014 is listed as 3724m, down from 3764m before December 1991, due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits, from South to North the Low Peak (3593m), Middle Peak (3717m) and High Peak. The summits lie slightly south and east of the main divide of the Southern Alps, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the southwest.There was a large rock fall in 1991 that turned the summit into a knife-edge ridge and reduced the height of the mountain by an estimated 10 m or so at that time. A/MC was measured in 2013 to be 3724 m, which is 30 m down from its pre-1991 rock-fall measurement.LocationThe mountain is in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, in the Canterbury region. The park was established in 1953 and along with Westland National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park forms one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The park contains more than 140 peaks standing over 2000m and 72 named glaciers, which cover 40 percent of its 700km2.