Douglas Glacier (Westland)

The Douglas Glacier is a glacier in New Zealand's Southern Alps located between Mount Sefton and Mount Brunner.[1] It is named after the explorer Charles Edward Douglas.[2]

Douglas Glacier
Relief map of New Zealand, with a red dot half way down the south island to show the location of Douglas Glacier
Relief map of New Zealand, with a red dot half way down the south island to show the location of Douglas Glacier
Douglas Glacier
Location of Douglas Glacier in New Zealand
Coordinates43.68°S 170.00°E / -43.68; 170.00
Length3.5 km (2.2 mi)
Width500 m (1,600 ft)
StatusRetreating

The glacier sits in a valley and is fed by several streams and frequent avalanches which drop down a cliff face of over 1,000 feet from its névé to the north.[1] The glacier itself was approximately 5 miles long in 1908.[1] The glacier has a relatively high rate of moraine materials, consisting of "friable phyllites and schistose grauwackes".[1]

At the foot of the glacier is a lake that was created by glacier recession.[3] Reports from 1892 and 1934 indicated it had "an anomalously slow lake development".[4] The Douglas River (formerly known as the Twain) begins in the lake at the foot of the glacier.[1]

References

  1. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand. House of Representatives. 1908. pp. 295–.
  2. Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia. D. Bateman. 1987. ISBN 9780908610211.
  3. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Otago Daily Times and Witness Newspapers Company. 1937.
  4. New Zealand Alpine Journal. New Zealand Alpine Club. 1995.


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