The Humboldt Mountains or Humboldt Range are one of the many ranges which make up the

Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. They lie to the northwest of

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori nam ...

in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

Region. Parts of the range lie within

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...

, and they form the southern extremity of

Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...

.''Reed New Zealand atlas'' (2004) Auckland: Reed Publishing. Map 89. The range was named by early explorer

James McKerrow James McKerrow FRAS (7 July 1834 – 29 June 1919) was an astronomer, Surveyor-General of New Zealand, and Chief Commissioner of Railways in New Zealand. McKerrow was the son of Andrew McKerrow and Margaret (''née'' Steven) his wife, and was b ...

, and like many geographic features worldwide, it was named in honour of notable scientist

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

. The Humboldts run roughly north-south for a distance of some , its eastern and western edges defined by the roughly parallel glaciated valleys of the Hollyford and Dart / Te Awa Whakatipu rivers. They are separated from the Ailsa Range to the south by the smaller valley of the

Caples River The Caples River is a river flowing into the Greenstone River in New Zealand. It flows alongside part of the Caples Track. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand *Greenstone and Caples Tracks The Greenstone and Caples Tracks form a tramping ...

. In the extreme southeast, the range drops straight to the waters of Lake Wakatipu, close to the small settlements of Kinloch and Glenorchy. Numerous small rivers have their sources within the Humboldts, notably the

Routeburn River The Routeburn River, also known as the Route Burn, is a river in New Zealand. It is a short stony river that flows for some 15 kilometres''Reed New Zealand Atlas'', map 89 into the Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu in the South Island. The Routeburn R ...

and the Olivine River. Two major

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

tracks follow valleys within the Humboldt Range, the Caples Track and the

Routeburn Track The Routeburn Track is a world-renowned, 32 km tramping (hiking) track found in the South Island of New Zealand. The track can be done in either direction, starting on the Queenstown side of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, a ...

. Several peaks within the Humboldt Mountains rise to over above sea level, the highest peak being Mount Bonpland, at .

References

{{reflist Mount Aspiring National Park Mountain ranges of Fiordland Mountain ranges of Otago Southern Alps