Fox Glacier

The Fox Glacier (Te Moeka o Tuawe in Māori) (from the hotel website. Accessed 2008-07-19.) is a 13 km long 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 the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir William Fox.

Geography

Fed by four alpine glaciers, Fox Glacier falls 2,600m on its 13km journey from the Southern Alps down to the coast, with it having the distinction of being one of the few glaciers to end among lush rainforest only 300 metres above sea level. Although retreating throughout most of the last 100 years, it has been advancing since 1985. In 2006 the average rate of advance was about a metre a week. - The New Zealand Herald, Thursday 12 January 2006 <!-- webcite archive http://www.webcitation.org/5n5FmXYOH -->

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. (from the...
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