ABSTRACT
The Southern Alps mountain range is New Zealand's largest, spanning 25,450 square miles across nearly the entire South Island. The term Southern Alps came from the British ship captain James Cook when he sailed by in 1770 and noted the "prodigious height" of the mountains and named them after Europe's Alps. This section is farther away from the typical weather patterns of the western Pacific Ocean and is drier, receiving between 20 and 60 inches of rain per year, and landforms here are notably worn and rounded. The animals that live in the Southern Alps are indigenous, except for those brought in or that are able to fly here from other locations. Since the mid-twentieth century, the Maori population has increased, and these indigenous people have reclaimed much of their territorial lands, including sections of the Southern Alps. New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research have monitored Southern Alps glaciers since the 1970s.
