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Story: Geomorphology – a history

Past glaciers in Canterbury

Geologist Julius Haast recognised that many of the lakes in Canterbury and Otago had been formed by glaciers, and that glaciers were once more extensive around the Southern Alps. He prepared this map in 1864 showing where glaciers had once been.

Using this item

Canterbury Museum

Reference: CMU89/1

by Johann Franz Julius von Haast

Permission of Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch, New Zealand must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Rebecca Priestley, Geomorphology – a history – The extent of glaciers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/13107/past-glaciers-in-canterbury (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rebecca Priestley, published 1 March 2009.