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29-460: The Tapuae-o-Uenuku / Hector Mountains are a mountain range in the New Zealand region of Otago , near the resort town of Queenstown and just south of the more famous Remarkables . For most of its length, the mountains run adjacent to the southern reaches of Lake Wakatipu , before extending approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) further south, past the glacial moraine at Kingston on

58-485: A popular lookout point. The Māori name, Tapuae-o-Uenuku (also recorded as Tāpuae O'Uenuku ) references Uenuku , an atua (the god of rainbows) and prominent ancestor for Ngāi Tahu. The range shares this name with Tapuae-o-Uenuku , the highest peak of the Kaikōura Ranges in the upper South Island, although it is unclear whether the two share a common etymology. In the 19th century, Pākehā explorers named

87-560: A ski field at Coronet Peak in the 1950s due to its more reliable snow. The Hector Mountains continue to be a waypoint for travellers passing through the region to this day. Unlike earlier travellers however, the main route past the range – State Highway 6 – now passes the western flank of the mountains. Known colloquially as the Devil's staircase, the route was built during the Great Depression and opened during 1936, and remains

116-554: A tributary of the Mataura River , causing it to carve a new course north to the Kawarau River . More recently, the western reaches of the mountains have been altered as a result of glaciation during the last glacial maximum , at which point the valley of present-day Lake Wakatipu was occupied by a large glacier. Although a separate ice tongue from this glacier extended eastward from Queenstown towards nearby Arrowtown ,

145-686: Is a nationally vulnerable species of skink native to New Zealand . It is named in honour of the location of its habitat, the Nevis valley . As of 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Nevis skink as Nationally Vulnerable under the New Zealand Threat Classification System . The Nevis skink can be mistaken for the more common northern grass skink (Oligosoma polychroma), though tends to have

174-538: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to

203-865: The Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to

232-551: The Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As

261-804: The Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and

290-590: The Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars . Jupiter's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including the Boösaule , Dorian, Hi'iaka and Euboea Montes . Nevis skink The Nevis skink ( Oligosoma toka )

319-522: The Upland moa ) and other extinct species of birds has been found, however the extent to which the area was inhabited by such species is still unknown. A variety of introduced species of mammal can also be found in the Hector Mountains, with detrimental affects on the traditional ecosystem including on the extent and variety of vegetation. In particular, low numbers of Chamois are found across

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348-514: The South Island, through to the present day Ngāi Tahu who arrived in the area as late as the 18th century. For all Māori who travelled through the Nevis, the range held importance as a mahinga kai (food gathering site), for its population of weka and various forms of edible vegetation. The food sources available on the mountains were able to sustain Māori on their way through the region, simplifying

377-627: The air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion

406-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,

435-412: The eastern foothills used as a nohoanga , or a seasonal occupation site used when Māori were passing through the area. This usage dates back to the 14th century to Waitaha habitation of the island, with evidence of "moa-hunter" huts near Schoolhouse creek in the eastern reaches of the Hector Mountains. Knowledge of the ara tawhito and use of the area for habitation continued through various iwi to inhabit

464-528: The journey through. The foothills of the Hector Mountains were also significant to early Pākehā . The range was largely affected by the Otago gold rush of the 1860s, which saw miners flock to the Nevis in search of gold and a small town established in the foothills of the range. Sluicing sites are found along the eastern end of the range, many of which had the inadvertent impact of destroying archaeological evidence of earlier habitation. Some seventy years later,

493-495: The majority of native animal life on the range. The mountains are a breeding site for the Southern black-backed gull , while birds of prey such as the kāhu and kārearea (the latter of which gives its name to Te Karearea Peak) are frequently seen. Kea and weka were historically common in the mountains, however their range has since been reduced due to predation by introduced pests . Evidence of habitation by Moa (most likely

522-410: The mountains, representing a greater than expected ratio of species to families found in the region. This includes a wide range of plants native to New Zealand, such as Celmisia , Hebes , and Tussocks – although there is disagreement as to whether the range of Hebe present are self-sustaining or sporadically introduced to exposed areas. Plant species are generally sparser in the more alpine portions of

551-544: The primary terminus of this glacier went as far south as Kingston, with the glacier's moraine forming the southern lake shore. This glacier eroded the western face of the Hector Mountains to a lesser extent than the Remarkables to the north, however the mountains still result in a sharp drop to the Lake below in places as a result – most famously along the route of State Highway 6 . Following the glacier's retreat, this moraine

580-604: The range the Hector Mountains in honour of James Hector , a New Zealand naturalist and scientist at the time. In 2013, the range was given an official dual name, Tapuae-o-Uenuku / Hector Mountains, following a joint process between Ngāi Tahu and the Central Otago District Council , which also resulted in the naming of three previously-unnamed features of the range. Range (geographic) Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within

609-411: The range, as well as larger numbers of hares . The Hector Mountains have a long history of human use, and had a significant role in the early Māori settlement of the region. The adjacent Nevis valley was part of an ara tawhito (traditional travel route) which connected Murihiku (modern-day Southland ) with Central Otago and other regions further north. The placement of the range along this route saw

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638-424: The range, with the higher northern portions of the range home to extensive fellfield ecosystems instead. These regions are still home to some plants, including the tikumu, however this is not to the same extent as lower reaches. While a number of species of lizard endemic to New Zealand are either confirmed or believed to live on the Hector Mountains – including the Nevis , Cryptic , and McCann's skinks – birds

667-627: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include

696-497: The region. Many of the peaks in the range remain unnamed, a group which – until 2013 – included its highest point. Following a joint process between Ngāi Tahu and the Central Otago District Council , four new names were added to the region in 2013, including the adoption of the range's current dual name. This included the name of Mount Tūwhakarōria for the highest point of the range, as well as Te Karearea Peak for another prominent point as seen from Cromwell and Lake Te Kōhua for

725-531: The same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or

754-656: The small lake between the two. As with the majority of mountain ranges in the South Island , the Hector Mountains are the largely the result of tectonic uplift . The majority of this uplift occurred during the Pliocene as a result of activity along the Nevis-Cardrona fault, which extends through the adjacent Nevis valley north to Cardrona . This uplift cut the Nevis River off from its original outflow as

783-406: The southern end of the lake. On their eastern side, the mountains mark the edge of the Nevis valley , a largely tussocked area which saw significant activity during the Otago gold rush of the 1860s. Historically, the mountains were an important mahinga kai (food gathering-place) for Ngāi Tahu and other local Māori iwi , who used the area to hunt for weka and gather tikumu while visiting

812-547: The southern reaches of the range were used by the New Zealand Alpine Club as an early site for skiing in the region. Following the discovery that the range allowed for skiing at a relatively low altitude, a hut was built and the area turned into a rudimentary ski field. Although a tow was eventually installed, the area did not develop further due to the Southland Ski Club relocating to establish

841-456: Was the original outflow of Lake Wakatipu until an alluvial fan from Lorn Peak in the Hector Mountains blocked this exit, again rerouting the water flow to the Kawerau system. Owing to its relatively untouched environment and prominence in the local landscape, the Hector Mountains have a high conservation value. A study during the 1990s found over 500 species of vascular plant growing across

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