Lake Marian | |
---|---|
Location | Fiordland, South Island |
Coordinates | 44°47′06″S168°04′30″E / 44.785°S 168.075°E |
Primary inflows | Marian Creek |
Primary outflows | Marian Creek |
Basin countries | New Zealand |
Max. length | 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) |
Max. width | 0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi) |
Surface elevation | 695 metres (2,280 ft) |
Lake Marian is an alpine lake at the southern end of the Darran Mountains in the Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is located just above the treeline in a hanging valley leading northwest from the Hollyford Valley near The Divide pass. The valley is sheltered by steep snow-covered peaks of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) on all sides apart from the entrance. [1]
The lake is fed and drained by Marian Creek which in turn feeds into the Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka. Marian Creek's catchment upstream of Lake Marian includes several permanent snowfields in a cirque at the head of the valley northeast of the peak of Mount Crosscut. There the creek drains two smaller alpine lakes, Lake Mariana [2] and Lake Marianette, [3] followed by the 122 metres (400 ft) tall Lyttle Falls, [4] before it reaches Lake Marian.
A 3-hour return tramping track leads to the lake from a car park along the Hollyford Road, only 1 kilometre in from the Milford Road (SH94). [5] The track starts by crossing the Hollyford River on a swing bridge before leading upstream alongside Marian Creek as it cascades over a series of small waterfalls. After this, the track becomes rougher and can be muddy in places, with the climb up to Lake Marian strenuous as it ascends almost 400 metres (1,300 ft) in height. [6]
A good view of Lake Marian as it sits in the hanging valley between the peaks of Mt Christina, Mount Crosscut, and Mt Gunn can also be glimpsed from Key Summit on the opposite side of the Hollyford Valley on a short side track from the Routeburn Track.
Milford Sound is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth Wonder of the World. The fiord is most commonly accessed via road by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called Milford Sound.
Fiordland, is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" derives from an alternate spelling of the Scandinavian word for steep glacial valleys, "fjord". The geographic area of Fiordland is dominated by, and roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest national park.
Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering 12,607 km2 (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wāhipounamu a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 1990. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park, combined with the deep glacier-carved valleys.
Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zealand's most famous tourism destination.
Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site.
Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern shore of Lake Manapouri, close to its outflow into the Waiau River, tourist boat services are based in the town.
The Routeburn Track is a 32 km tramping (hiking) track found in the South Island of New Zealand. The track can be done in either direction, starting on the Queenstown side of the Southern Alps, at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu or on the Te Anau side, at the Divide, several kilometres from the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound.
The Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka is in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for 72 kilometres (45 mi) through Fiordland, its sources being close to the Homer Tunnel and in Gertrude Valley in the southern Darran Mountains.
The Hollyford Track is a tramping track in New Zealand. Located at the northern edge of Fiordland, in the southwestern South Island, it is unusual among Fiordland's major tracks in that it is largely flat and accessible year-round. It follows the Hollyford River which in turn follows the course of the Hollyford Valley.
Mitre Peak is a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand; it is located on the shore of Milford Sound.
Secretary Island is an island in southwestern New Zealand, lying entirely within Fiordland National Park. Roughly triangular in shape, it lies between Doubtful Sound / Patea in the south and Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound in the north, with its west coast facing the Tasman Sea. To the east of the island, Pendulo Reach connects Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound with Doubtful Sound / Patea. Steeply sloped, the entirely bush-clad island rises to a chain of several peaks higher than 1000 metres. The highest of these is the 1,196-metre (3,924 ft) Mount Grono, the highest peak in the main New Zealand chain not located in the North or South Island. The island also contains three lakes. The largest, Secretary Lake, over 600 metres (2,000 ft) long, is located beneath Mount Grono at an altitude of 550 metres (1,800 ft).
Lake Gunn is a lake in the South Island of New Zealand, located at 44°53′S168°05′E.
State Highway 94 is a New Zealand state highway connecting the large Southland town of Gore with one of New Zealand's most popular destinations, Milford Sound. It also passes the significant townships of Lumsden and Te Anau as well going through the Homer Tunnel. The road also goes through Fiordland and crosses the Main Divide of the Southern Alps.
The Bowen River is a river in northern Fiordland, New Zealand. The river originates near Mount Grave and is joined by many small streams on its way south through the valley. After close to 9 kilometres (6 mi), the river plunges from the hanging valley over the 162-metre (531 ft) Lady Bowen Falls and drains into the head of Milford Sound. The falls are named for Diamantina Bowen, wife of George Bowen, the fifth Governor of New Zealand.
The Gulliver River is a river in the Fiordland area of New Zealand. It starts in the Darran Mountains near the Grave-Talbot Pass, and flows north and then west into the Cleddau River, which runs into Milford Sound. The river was named in 1906 by W.G. Grave for Alf Grenfell, who had a nickname of "Gulliver". A track along the Gulliver River from the Cleddau is suitable for day walks in summer and autumn and can be extended on the Grave Talbot Track into the Espereance valley, past the 59 m (194 ft) high De Lambert Falls and over the Grave Talbot Pass.
The Haast-Hollyford road or Haast-Hollyford Highway is a long-standing proposal to link Haast via the Hollyford Valley to Milford Sound and Te Anau in the South Island of New Zealand. Proposals for this road have been mooted since the 1880s.
The Humboldt Mountains or Humboldt Range are one of the many ranges which make up the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in the South Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northwest of Lake Wakatipu in the Otago Region. Parts of the range lie within Fiordland National Park, and they form the southern extremity of Mount Aspiring National Park. The range was named by early explorer James McKerrow, and like many geographic features worldwide, it was named in honour of notable scientist Alexander von Humboldt.
The Darran Mountains are a prominent range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. They contain the park's highest peak, Mount Tūtoko.
Mount Gunn is a 2,044-metre-elevation (6,706-foot) mountain in Southland New Zealand.
Mount Crosscut is a 2,263-metre-elevation (7,425-foot) mountain in Fiordland, New Zealand.