Story: Geology – overview

Mt Cook and Mt Tasman from the sea

Mt Cook and Mt Tasman from the sea

This view from the sea of the highest part of the Southern Alps, including Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, was painted by John Gully.

Of this painting, geologist Julius Haast wrote in New Zealand scenery (1887): ‘The high peaks of the Southern Alps, as seen from the sea, form one of the sublimest views in New Zealand … It is to be observed that the low wooded hills in the foreground consist entirely of morainic accumulations, formed during the great glacier age of New Zealand, when gigantic ice streams extended some miles into the sea.’

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0010-06
Chromolithograph by John Gully

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story
How to cite this page:

Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, 'Geology – overview - Quaternary mountains and glaciers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/8385/mt-cook-and-mt-tasman-from-the-sea (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, published 12 Jun 2006