Spenser Mountains

The Spenser Mountains is a topographic landform in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern end of the Nelson Lakes National Park and north of the Lewis Pass they form a natural border between the Canterbury and Tasman regions. Several peaks are named after characters in Edmund Spenser’s allegorical poem, The Faerie Queene. Many of the early explorers were evidently literate men. For example, Frederick Weld (a surveyor) named Lake Tennyson; William Travers (a solicitor) named the Spensers and Faerie Queene; Julius Haast named Mt Una.

Key Information

Spenser Mountains
Alpine tarn on the Lewis Pass in front of the Spenser Mountains
Highest point
Peak	Mount Una
Elevation	2,300 m (7,500 ft)
Coordinates	42°15′S 172°30′E / 42.250°S 172.500°E / -42.250; 172.500
Geography
Spenser Mountains
Country	New Zealand
Region	Tasman
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Within the range prominent peaks include Mount Una and Mount Humboldt.^[1] The Spenser Mountains are the northern limit of the glaciers within the Southern Alps.^[2]

Much of the forest cover is beech/podocarp with understory of a variety of ferns and shrubs; crown fern (Lomaria discolor) is one of the dominant understory ferns.^[3]

1. ^ Thomas Adolphus Bowden and James Hector. 1869
2. ^ Chinn, Trevor J.H., (1988), [1], in Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world, U.S. Geological Survey professional paper; 1386, ISBN 0-607-71457-3.
3. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009

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