Earthsea Gallery

The Southern Alps are the longest and highest mountain range of New Zealand. They extend 550 km in a north-east to south-west orientation across the greatest length of the South Island, from the Blenheim area in the North to the Hollyford Valley in the south.They include all New Zealand summits of over 3000 metres, all of which are located in the Mt Cook area, with the exception of one, Mt Aspiring. The Southern Alps are a very young range, still actively being uplifted. This, combined with high precipitation on its western side and high erosion rates, results in very dynamic landscapes. High precipitation also causes the range to carry more glaciers at lower altitude than mountains of comparable altitude in other temperate regions of the world. I painted this dramatic scene from a photograph I took while staying in Arthur’s Pass National Park in August 2006. The Tranz Alpine Express, the coast to coast scenic rail link from Christchurch to Greymouth, passes near this mountain before it begins it ascent up to Arthur’s Pass.