Archive - South Island of New Zealand

April 03, 2016

Nz5

Each Sunday we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD was originally published October 24, 2001.

Provided by: Dorothy Hall, NASA/GSFC
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster

The above image of the South Island of New Zealand was taken on June 5, 2001, from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard the Terra satellite. In early June, it's late winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Southern Alps are almost entirely snow covered. Mount Cook (about 12,300 feet), the highest point on New Zealand, is located between the two elongated glacial lakes at the bottom left, along the spine of the Southern Alps. The larger lake is Lake Pukaki and the smaller lake to the northeast is Lake Tekapo. Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, is just above the spur-like peninsula, Banks Peninsula, at the upper right. The Rakaia River can be seen below the spur.

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