Porters Pass (elevation 939 metres) is a mountain pass in the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

region of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

. It is near Lake Lyndon and is located within Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park. State Highway 73 travels through the pass on its route from Springfield to

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

, and it is the last mountain pass on the route eastwards from Westland to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. It is also the third-highest point on the South Island's state highway network, after the Lindis Pass and the Milford Road (though it is just one metre lower). Although

Arthur's Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explorin ...

is better known, Porters Pass is a few metres higher, and it affords views of the

Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in ...

. The Porter brothers, who were farming nearby, named the pass in 1858.

References

External links

Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park page
at the Department of Conservation {{Selwyn District, New Zealand Landforms of Canterbury, New Zealand Mountain passes of the Southern Alps Transport in Canterbury, New Zealand