Mount Bonpland is a mountain in

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

, New Zealand.

Description

Mount Bonpland is the highest peak in the Humboldt Mountains which are a subrange of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

on 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 ...

.''Mt Bonpland''
New Zealand Alpine Club, Climbnz.org, Retrieved 9 January 2025. It is located nine kilometres west of the settlement of Glenorchy. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains east into Glacier Burn which is a tributary of the

Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu The Dart River (officially Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu from ) flows through rugged forested country in the southwestern South Island of New Zealand. Partly in Mount Aspiring National Park, it flows south-west and then south for from its head ...

, and west to Caples River, with both rivers emptying shortly thereafter into

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu () is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori l ...

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the summit rises above the lake in six kilometres, and above Bryant Glacier in 0.5 kilometre. The nearest higher peak is

Mount Christina Mount Christina is a mountain in Fiordland, New Zealand. Description Mount Christina is the southernmost peak of the Darran Mountains and is situated in the Southland Region of South Island. It is set within Fiordland National Park which i ...

, 18.5 kilometres to the west. This mountain's toponym was applied by

James McKerrow James McKerrow FRAS (7 July 1834 – 29 June 1919) was an astronomer, Surveyor-General of New Zealand, and Chief Commissioner of Railways in New Zealand. McKerrow was the son of Andrew McKerrow and Margaret (''née'' Steven) his wife, and was ...

to honour

Aimé Bonpland Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (; 22 August 1773 – 11 May 1858) was a French List of explorers, explorer and botany, botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scie ...

(1773–1858), a French explorer and botanist who traveled with

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of the summit was made in 1894 by W.J.P. Hodgkins and E. Bryant.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Mount Bonpland is located in a

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

climate zone. Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountain, where the air is forced upwards by the mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing moisture to drop in the form of rain and snow. This climate supports the Bryant Glacier on the east slope of the peak. The months of December through February offer the most favourable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.''The Best Time to Visit the South Island''
nzpocketguide.com, Retrieved 9 January 2025.

Climbing

Climbing routes: * East Face * East Face Direct * East Face – North Ridge * West Ridge

Gallery

File:Bold Peak and Mount Bonpland.jpg, Bold Peak (left) and the Mount Bonpland complex, from east. File:Mount Bonpland south.jpg, South aspect of Mount Bonpland (left), Bold Peak to right File:Silver Fern Rally 2014 (15188970473).jpg, Mount Bonpland centred, view from plane File:Mount Bonpland east.jpg, Aerial view of Mount Bonpland from east with what remains of Bryant Glacier File:Mount Bonpland east aspect.jpg, East aspect

References

External links