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Mount Cook Range
Mount Cook Range
Highest point
Peak	Aoraki / Mount Cook
Elevation	3,724 m (12,218 ft)
Coordinates	43°35′42″S 170°08′31″E / 43.5951°S 170.1419°E / -43.5951; 170.1419
Dimensions
Length	16 km (9.9 mi)
Naming
Etymology	After Kirikirikatata, Aoraki's grandfather according to legend
Native name	Kirikirikatata (Māori)
Geography
Mount Cook RangeLocation in New Zealand
Country	New Zealand
Range coordinates	43°40′S 170°08′E / 43.667°S 170.133°E / -43.667; 170.133
Parent range	Southern Alps

The Mount Cook Range (Māori: Kirikirikatata; officially gazetted as Kirikirikatata / Mount Cook Range) is an offshoot range of the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The range forks from the Southern Alps at the Green Saddle and descends towards Lake Pukaki, encompassing Aoraki / Mount Cook and standing adjacent to the Tasman Glacier.

In 1889, the highest point of the range was 3763m, but this has since been reduced by avalanches and erosion.

Naming

In 2013, the range was officially renamed Kirikirikatata / Mount Cook Range as part of a number of name changes within the Mount Cook region, following a 2012 proposal. According to Māori creation myths, Kirikirikatata was the grandfather of Aoraki, both of whom turned into mountains; Kirikirikatata into the Mount Cook Range, and Aoraki into Mount Cook.

References

1. "Aoraki / Mount Cook, Canterbury – NZ Topo Map". topomap.co.nz. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
2. "Kirikiriatata". Kā Huru Manu. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
3. "The noble mountain Aoraki". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
4. "Mt Cook: A breath of high-country air". Stuff. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
5. Veit, Heinz; Fitzsimons, Sean (Nov 2001). "Geology and Geomorphology of the European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand: A Comparison". Mountain Research and Development. 21 (4): 347.
6. Harper, A. P. (Jan 1893). "Exploration and Character of the Principal New Zealand Glaciers". The Geographical Journal. 1 (1): 38.
7. "Height of NZ's tallest peak Aoraki/Mt Cook slashed by 30m". NZ Herald. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
8. Littlewood, Matthew (2 April 2013). "Dual names accepted in Aoraki-Mt Cook". Stuff. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
9. "Maori names proposed for Mt Cook mountain range". RNZ. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2021.

• Mountain ranges of the Southern Alps
• Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park