The Spenser Mountains is a topographic
landform in the northern
South Island of
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 ...
. Located at the southern end of the
Nelson Lakes National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was formed after the passing of the National Parks Act in 1952. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park c ...
and north of the
Lewis Pass
Lewis Pass (el. 907 m.) is a mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand.
The northernmost of the three main passes across the Southern Alps, it is higher than the Haast Pass, and slightly lower than Arthur's Pass. State Highway 7 trave ...
they form a natural
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
between the
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
and
Tasman regions. Several peaks are named after characters in
Edmund Spenser’s allegorical poem,
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
. Many of the early explorers were evidently literate men. For example, Frederick Weld (a surveyor) named
Lake Tennyson;
William Travers (a solicitor) named the Spensers and Faerie Queene;
Julius Haast
Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.
Early life
Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...
named Mt Una.
Within the range prominent peaks include
Mount Una and
Mount Humboldt. The Spenser Mountains are the northern limit of the
glaciers within the
Southern Alps
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 ...
.
Much of the forest cover is beech/
podocarp
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...
with understory of a variety of ferns and shrubs;
crown fern (''Lomaria discolor'') is one of the dominant understory ferns.
[C. Michael Hogan. 2009]
See also
*
Rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps.
The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...
References
*
Thomas Adolphus Bowden and
James Hector
Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...
. 1869. ''Manual of New Zealand geography''
* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Notes
Mountain ranges of Canterbury, New Zealand
Mountain ranges of the Tasman District
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