located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity mueller glacier
___MASK87___ is the capital city and second most populous urban area ___MASK18___ New Zealand , with residents . It is at the south - western tip ___MASK18___ the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range . ___MASK87___ is the major population centre ___MASK18___ the southern North Island and is the administrative centre ___MASK18___ the ___MASK87___ Region , which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa . As the nation ' s capital city , the New Zealand Government and Parliament , Supreme Court and most ___MASK18___ the civil service are based in the city . ___MASK57___ ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o ___MASK57___ "), officially the Kingdom ___MASK18___ ___MASK57___ , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands ___MASK18___ which 36 are inhabited . The total surface area is about scattered over ___MASK18___ the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population ___MASK18___ 103 , 000 people ___MASK18___ whom 70 % reside on the main island ___MASK18___ Tongatapu . The Mueller Glacier is a 13 - kilometre ( 8 . 1 mi ) long glacier flowing through Aoraki / Mount Cook ___MASK5___ in the South Island ___MASK18___ New Zealand . It lies to the south ___MASK18___ Aoraki / Mount Cook , high in the Southern Alps , and flows north . Its meltwaters eventually join the Tasman River . The glacier was named after German - Australian botanist and explorer Baron von Mueller . Based on dating ___MASK18___ a yellow - green lichen ___MASK18___ the Rhizocarpon subgenus , Mueller Glacier is considered to have had a Little Ice Age maximum mass between 1725 and 1730 . Climate is the statistics ___MASK18___ weather , usually over a 30 - year interval . It is measured by assessing the patterns ___MASK18___ variation in temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure , wind , precipitation , atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods ___MASK18___ time . Climate differs from weather , in that weather only describes the short - term conditions ___MASK18___ these variables in a given region . Twizel is the largest town in the Mackenzie ___MASK40___ , in the ___MASK88___ of New Zealand ' s South Island . The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme . Twizel has a resident population of during the summer , holidaymakers nearly triple the town ' s population . ___MASK22___ ((), officially the Republic ___MASK18___ ___MASK22___ , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast ___MASK18___ New Zealand ' s North Island . Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west , New Caledonia to the southwest , New Zealand ' s Kermadec Islands to the southeast , Tonga to the east , the Samoas and France ' s Wallis and Futuna to the northeast , and ___MASK43___ to the north . In geography , temperate or tepid latitudes ___MASK18___ Earth lie between the tropics and the polar regions . The temperatures in these regions are generally relatively moderate , rather than extremely hot or cold , and the changes between summer and winter are also usually moderate . The Tasman Sea ( Mori : " Te Tai - o - Rehua ") is a marginal sea ___MASK18___ the South Pacific Ocean , situated between Australia and New Zealand . It measures about across and about from north to south . The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman , who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania . The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part ___MASK18___ his first voyage ___MASK18___ exploration . Ablation is removal ___MASK18___ material from the surface ___MASK18___ an object by vaporization , chipping , or other erosive processes . Examples ___MASK18___ ablative materials are described below , and include spacecraft material for ascent and atmospheric reentry , ice and snow in glaciology , biological tissues in medicine and passive fire protection materials . ___MASK20___ is an island nation in the southwestern ___MASK27___ . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that ___MASK18___ the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . ___MASK20___ is situated some east ___MASK18___ Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly south ___MASK18___ the Pacific island areas ___MASK18___ New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because ___MASK18___ its remoteness , it was one ___MASK18___ the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period ___MASK18___ isolation , ___MASK20___ developed a distinct biodiversity ___MASK18___ animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift ___MASK18___ land and volcanic eruptions . ___MASK20___ ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . The ___MASK84___ Island or Te Ika - a - Mui (" Mori ") is one ___MASK18___ the two main islands ___MASK18___ New Zealand , separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait . The island ' s area is , making it the world ' s 14th - largest island . It has a population ___MASK18___ Sea ice arises as seawater freezes . Because ice is less dense than water , it floats on the ocean ' s surface ( as does fresh water ice , which has an even lower density ). Sea ice covers about 7 % ___MASK18___ the Earth  s surface and about 12 % ___MASK18___ the world  s oceans . Much ___MASK18___ the world ' s sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth ' s polar regions : the Arctic ice pack ___MASK18___ the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic ice pack ___MASK18___ the Southern Ocean . Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent , a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology , including the ocean ' s ecosystems . Due to the action ___MASK18___ winds , currents and temperature fluctuations , sea ice is very dynamic , leading to a wide variety ___MASK18___ ice types and features . Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs , which are chunks ___MASK18___ ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean . Depending on location , sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs . The ___MASK27___ is the largest ___MASK18___ the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east . Aoraki / Mount Cook ___MASK5___ is in the South Island ___MASK18___ New Zealand , near the town ___MASK18___ Twizel . Aoraki / Mount Cook , New Zealand ' s highest mountain , and Aoraki / Mount Cook Village lie within the park . The area was gazetted as a national park in October 1953 and consists ___MASK18___ reserves that were established as early as 1887 to protect the area ' s significant vegetation and landscape . A crevasse is a deep crack , or fracture , found in an ice sheet or glacier , as opposed to a crevice that forms in ___MASK24___ . Crevasses form as a result ___MASK18___ the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi - rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates ___MASK18___ movement . The resulting intensity ___MASK18___ the shear stress causes a breakage along the faces . A serac ( originally from Swiss French " sérac ") is a block or column ___MASK18___ glacial ice , often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier . Commonly house - sized or larger , they are dangerous to mountaineers since they may topple with little warning . Even when stabilized by persistent cold weather , they can be an impediment to glacier travel . Rats are various medium - sized , long - tailed rodents ___MASK18___ the superfamily Muroidea . " True rats " are members ___MASK18___ the genus " Rattus ", the most important ___MASK18___ which to humans are the black rat , " Rattus rattus ", and the brown rat , " Rattus norvegicus ". Many members ___MASK18___ other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats , and share many characteristics with true rats . New ___MASK92___ is a special collectivity ___MASK18___ France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean , east ___MASK18___ Australia and east ___MASK18___ Metropolitan France . The archipelago , part ___MASK18___ the Melanesia subregion , includes the main island ___MASK18___ Grande Terre , the Loyalty Islands , the Chesterfield Islands , the Belep archipelago , the Isle ___MASK18___ Pines , and a few remote islets . The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea . Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" (" the pebble "). The Tasman ___MASK70___ is an ___MASK62___ braided river flowing through Canterbury , in ___MASK20___ ' s South Island . The ___MASK39___ Island or Te Waipounamu (" Mori ") is the larger ___MASK18___ the two major islands ___MASK18___ New Zealand , the other being the smaller but more populous North Island . It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait , to the west by the Tasman Sea , and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean . The ___MASK39___ Island covers and is influenced by a temperate climate . Snow pertains to frozen crystalline water throughout its life cycle , starting when it precipitates from clouds and accumulates on surfaces , then metamorphoses in place , and ultimately melts , slides or sublimates away . Snowstorms organize and develop by feeding on sources ___MASK18___ atmospheric moisture and cold air . Snowflakes nucleate around particles in the atmosphere by attracting supercooled water droplets , which freeze in hexagonal - shaped crystals . Snowflakes take on a variety ___MASK18___ shapes , basic among these are platelets , needles , columns and rime . As snow accumulates into a snowpack , it may blow into drifts . Over time , accumulated snow metamorphoses , by sintering , sublimation and freeze - thaw . Where the climate is cold enough for year - to - year accumulation , a glacier may form . Otherwise , snow typically melts , seasonally , and causes runoff into streams and rivers and recharging groundwater . Cook Strait lies between the ___MASK84___ and South Islands ___MASK18___ New Zealand . It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast , and runs next to the capital city , Wellington . It is wide at its narrowest point , and is considered one ___MASK18___ the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world . A braided ___MASK70___ ( or braided channel ) is one ___MASK18___ a number ___MASK18___ channel types and has a channel that consists ___MASK18___ a network ___MASK18___ small channels separated by small and often temporary islands called braid bars or , in British usage , " aits " or " eyots ". Braided streams occur in rivers with high slope and / or large sediment load . Braided channels are also typical ___MASK18___ environments that dramatically decrease channel depth , and consequently channel velocity , such as ___MASK70___ deltas , alluvial fans and peneplains . Water is a transparent and nearly colorless chemical substance that is the main constituent ___MASK18___ Earth ' s streams , ___MASK98___ , and oceans , and the fluids ___MASK18___ most living organisms . Its chemical formula is HO , meaning that its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms , that are connected by covalent bonds . Water strictly refers to the liquid state ___MASK18___ that substance , that prevails at standard ambient temperature and pressure ; but it often refers also to its solid state ( ice ) or its gaseous state ( steam or water vapor ). It also occurs in nature as snow , glaciers , ice packs and icebergs , clouds , fog , dew , aquifers , and atmospheric humidity . ___MASK37___ is a city in the ___MASK84___ Island ___MASK18___ New Zealand . It is the most populous urban area in the country . ___MASK37___ has a population ___MASK18___ , which constitutes percent ___MASK18___ New Zealand ' s population . It is part ___MASK18___ the wider ___MASK37___ Region  the area governed by the ___MASK37___ Council  which also includes outlying rural areas and the islands ___MASK18___ the Hauraki Gulf , resulting in a total population ___MASK18___ . ___MASK37___ also has the largest Polynesian population ___MASK18___ any city in the world . The Mori language name for ___MASK37___ is or , meaning " Tmaki with a hundred lovers ", in reference to the desirability ___MASK18___ its fertile land at the hub ___MASK18___ waterways in all directions . It has also been called karana , the Mori enunciation ___MASK18___ " ___MASK37___ ". The Southern Alps ( Mori : K Tiritiri o te Moana ) are a ___MASK95___ range extending along much ___MASK18___ the length ___MASK18___ New Zealand ' s South Island , reaching its greatest elevations near the island ' s western side . The term " Southern Alps " generally refers to the entire range , although separate names are given to many ___MASK18___ the smaller ranges that form part ___MASK18___ it . Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest ___MASK95___ in ___MASK20___ . Its height since 2014 is listed as , down from before December 1991 , due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion . It lies in the Southern Alps , the ___MASK95___ range which runs the length ___MASK18___ the South Island . A popular tourist destination , it is also a favourite challenge for ___MASK95___ climbers . Aoraki / Mount Cook consists ___MASK18___ three summits , from South to North the Low Peak , Middle Peak and High Peak . The summits lie slightly south and east ___MASK18___ the main divide ___MASK18___ the Southern Alps , with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the southwest . ___MASK85___ , officially the Commonwealth ___MASK18___ ___MASK85___ , is a country comprising the mainland ___MASK18___ the Australian continent , the island ___MASK18___ Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total area . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . ___MASK85___ ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . Ice is water frozen into a solid state . Depending on the presence ___MASK18___ impurities such as particles ___MASK18___ soil or bubbles ___MASK18___ air , it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque bluish - white color . A glacier ( or ) is a persistent body ___MASK18___ dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation ___MASK18___ snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface ___MASK18___ bodies ___MASK18___ water . Tectonic uplift is the portion ___MASK18___ the total geologic uplift ___MASK18___ the mean Earth surface that is not attributable to an isostatic response to unloading . While isostatic response is important , an increase in the mean elevation ___MASK18___ a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes ___MASK18___ crustal thickening ( such as mountain building events ), changes in the density distribution ___MASK18___ the crust and underlying mantle , and flexural support due to the bending ___MASK18___ rigid lithosphere . A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation ___MASK18___ unconsolidated glacial debris ( soil and rock ) that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth ( i . e . a past glacial maximum ), through geomorphological processes . Moraines are formed from debris previously carried along by a glacier and normally consist ___MASK18___ somewhat rounded particles ranging in size from large boulders to minute glacial flour . Lateral moraines are formed at the side ___MASK18___ the ice flow and terminal moraines at the foot , marking the maximum advance ___MASK18___ the glacier . Other types ___MASK18___ moraine include ground moraines , till - covered areas with irregular topography , and medial moraines which are formed where two glaciers meet . Melting , or fusion , is a physical process that results in the phase transition ___MASK18___ a substance from a solid to a liquid . This occurs when the internal energy ___MASK18___ the solid increases , typically by the application ___MASK18___ heat or pressure , which increases the substance ' s temperature to the melting point . At the melting point , the ordering ___MASK18___ ions or molecules in the solid breaks down to a less ordered state , and the solid melts to become a liquid .