View Across a Mountain Tarn at Mackinnon Pass, New Zealand
December 22, 2014
Photographer: Simon Williams; Simon's Web site
Summary Author: Simon Williams
During a hike along the Milford Track in Fiordland National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand, I came across this tarn (foreground) at Mackinnon Pass. Tarns typically form when rock at the head of a valley is gouged out by a glacier, forming a cirque. Once the glacier begins to melt, the cirque fills with meltwater or rain water. Mount Balloon (6,060 ft or 1,847 m) is at right. Fresh snow coats the highlands on this mid-spring day. Photo taken on November 18, 2014.