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Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier
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Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe is a 13-kilometre-long (8.1 mi)
temperate maritime glacier located in
Westland Tai Poutini
National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It was named
in 1872 after a visit by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir
William Fox. Following the passage of the Ngai Tahu Claims
Settlement Act 1998, the name of the glacier was officially altered
to Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe.
The outflow of the glacier forms the Fox River. During the last ice
age, its ice reached beyond the present coastline, and the glacier
left behind many moraines during its retreat.
Lake Matheson formed
as a kettle lake within one of these. Like nearby
Franz Josef
Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the
world, with its terminal face an easy walk from Fox Glacier village / Weheka. |
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It is
a major tourist attraction and about 1000 people daily visit it
during high tourist season. Though people are told not to, some go
beyond the barriers and climb without guides onto the glacier, whose
rapid advance creates dangers of sudden ice and rockfalls.
Getting
There
This tourist attraction
is well serviced by public transport including taxis, buses and
shuttle.
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