Arthur's Pass  Panorama,

Press here for the Giant Panorama.

Waimakariri River Valley

This is a composite picture taken from the Bealey Spur around midday, looking North.
It is 230 degrees wide.

The mountains to the west are the Southern Alps.
The Alps separate Westland from Canterbury.
They are a major obstacle to east / west traffic in the South Island of New Zealand.
The alps cause rain to fall in the west and this eastern side is drier.
The alps are geologically young mountains, pushed up along the alpine fault.
The fault runs north / south on the far side of the left hand peaks.

We are looking across the Waimakariri River valley, which runs from left to right (west to east).
The river reflecting the sun to the north is the Bealey River.
The highway bridge over the Waimakariri River is in the middle.
The railway bridge is to the east and so road and railway run on opposite sides of the river.
The railway rejoins the road by a bridge a short distance up the Bealey River,
then both curve to the left to reach the village of Arthur's Pass.

Arthur's Pass and the Otira Tunnel

Maori had used Arthur's pass to collect greenstone (New Zealand jade) from western river beds.
Arthur Dobson was the first European to find this route through the Southern Alps in 1864.

The Otira gorge, leading down from Arthur's Pass into Westland, is steep.
Otira gorge has many rock slips from the mountainous walls.
When Arthur first explored it, he had to leave his horse at the top and lower his dog on a rope.
The Otira railway tunnel passes under this problem zone and is the longest in New Zealand (8.6 km).
Highway 73 was a dangerous zig-zag down the scree, but is now  upgraded by a bridge running along the valley rather than across it.

Further down the gorge, the highway is being clipped onto the side of the mountain, by drilling supporting struts into the rock face.

There are popular ski fields in this area.
Fine wool is grown on the sheep station to the east of this panorama.
Most of the scene is National Park.

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New Zealand Images for more Schering Calendar pictures.

Mountains

Next, on the South Island Tour: Blackball