Lewis Pass is the northernmost of the three main

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

es through the Southern Alps in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. With an elevation of 907 metres, it is slightly lower than Arthur's Pass and higher than Haast Pass. The pass is the saddle between the valleys of the Maruia River to the northwest in the West Coast Region and the Lewis River to the southeast in north

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. The small spa of Maruia Springs is close to the saddle, on the West Coast side. Lewis Pass is named after Henry Lewis who, together with Christopher Maling, was the first European to discover the pass, in April 1860 while working as a surveyor of the Nelson Provincial Survey Department. Before this time the pass was used by the

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

Māori of Canterbury to transport pounamu (greenstone) from the west coast. State Highway 7 traverses the pass. The road officially opened on Saturday 30 October 1937. It had a regular bus route over it until Intercity's service was replaced by a seasonal shuttle. The highway passes through extensive unmodified native

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forest. The area around the pass is protected as a national reserve, the Lewis Pass National Scenic Reserve, which was gazetted in 1981. There are a number of tramping routes in the Lewis Pass area, including the St James Walkway. The short Alpine Nature Walk loop walk around an alpine wetland and tarn is accessed from a carpark near the saddle.

Gallery

Climate

References

{{Hurunui District Mountain passes of New Zealand Landforms of the Canterbury Region Buller District Transport in the Canterbury Region Mountain passes of the Southern Alps