Skip to main content

Kōrero: Water resources

Where the snow falls

Image
Where the snow falls

Snow can fall in most of the South Island, but it usually melts quickly. The largest areas of seasonal and permanent snows are in central areas of the South Island, concentrated around the Southern Alps. From 1987 to 2007, the volume of ice in the Southern Alps reduced by almost 11%. With global warming, the size of glaciers and areas of snowfall are likely to shrink further.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Ian Owens and Blair Fitzharris, 'Seasonal snow and water'. In Jon Harding and others, eds, Freshwaters of New Zealand, Wellington: New Zealand Hydrological Society and New Zealand Limnological Society, 2004, p. 5.1

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Mike Scarsbrook rāua ko Charles Pearson, Water resources – Rain, snow and ice, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/map/18168/where-the-snow-falls (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Mike Scarsbrook rāua ko Charles Pearson, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.