Editing Southern Alps (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Mountains in New Zealand.jpg|thumb|left|upright|View of the western Southern Alps from [[State Highway 6 (New Zealand)|State Highway 6]] near [[Hari Hari]], [[Westland District|Westland]]]]
The Southern Alps run approximately 500&nbsp;km<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/mountains/page-1|title=1. – Mountains – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu|last=Taonga|website=www.teara.govt.nz|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506065311/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/mountains/page-1|archive-date=6 May 2015}}</ref> northeast to southwest. Its tallest peak is [[Aoraki / Mount Cook]], the highest point in New Zealand at {{convert|3724|m|ft}}. The Southern Alps include sixteen other points that exceed {{convert|3000|m|ft|}} in height (see [[List of mountains of New Zealand by height|NZ mountains by height]]). The mountain ranges are bisected by glacial valleys, many of which are infilled with glacial lakes on 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 [[glacier]]s larger than one hectare,<ref name="Chinn">{{cite journal |author=Chinn TJ |year=2001 |url=http://www.hydrologynz.org.nz/downloads/20071015-094857-JoHNZ_2001_v40_2_Chinn.pdf |title=Distribution of the glacial water resources of New Zealand |journal=Journal of Hydrology |location=New Zealand |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=139–187 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016102753/http://www.hydrologynz.org.nz/downloads/20071015-094857-JoHNZ_2001_v40_2_Chinn.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2008  }}</ref> the longest of which – the [[Tasman Glacier]] – is {{convert|23.5|km|mi}} in length which has retreated from a recent maximum of {{convert|29|km|mi}} in the 1960s.<ref name="glaciers">{{cite book |editor=Lambert M |year=1989 |title=Air New Zealand Almanack |location=Wellington |publisher=New Zealand Press Association |page=165}}</ref><ref name="Glacier2017">{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/89403443/when-the-worlds-glaciers-shrunk-new-zealands-grew-bigger|title=When the world's glaciers shrunk, New Zealand's grew bigger|work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]|author=Charlie Mitchell|date=15 February 2017|access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>

Settlements include Maruia Springs, 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]] ({{NZSH|7}}), [[Arthur's Pass (mountain pass)|Arthur's Pass]] ({{NZSH|73}}), [[Haast Pass]] ({{NZSH|6}}), and the road to [[Milford Sound (village)|Milford Sound]] ({{NZSH|94}}).

===Climate===
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 the range, from {{convert|3000|mm}} at the [[West Coast, New Zealand|West Coast]], {{convert|15000|mm}} close to the Main Divide, to {{convert|1000|mm}} {{convert|30|km}} east of the Main Divide.<ref>{{cite report |publisher=NIWA |author1=Willsman AP |author2=Chinn TJ |author3=Hendrikx J |author4=Lorrey A |year=2010 |url=https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/import/attachments/NIWA-New-Zealand-Glacier-Monitoring-End-of-Summer-Snowline-Survey-2010.pdf |title=New Zealand Glacier Monitoring: End of Summer Snowline Survey 2010 |location=New Zealand |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029065258/https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/import/attachments/NIWA-New-Zealand-Glacier-Monitoring-End-of-Summer-Snowline-Survey-2010.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2017  }}</ref> This high precipitation aids the growth of [[glacier]]s 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 the prevailing westerly winds, the range creates excellent wave soaring conditions for [[Glider aircraft|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 is frequently visible in summer across [[Canterbury Region|Canterbury]] and [[North Otago]]. The 'Nor'wester' is a [[foehn wind]] similar to the [[Chinook wind|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.