Porters Pass (elevation 939 metres) is a

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 ...

in the

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 ...

region of New Zealand's

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 ...

. 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 * Cass, ...

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

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. It is also the third-highest point on the South Island's state highway network, after the

Lindis Pass The Lindis Pass () (elevation 971 m) is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The Lindis Pass lies between the valleys of the Lindis and Ahuriri Rivers. It lies between the towns of Cromwell (78 km, 55 minutes drive) in Centra ...

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 explori ...

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 ...

. 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 the Canterbury Region Mountain passes of the Southern Alps Transport in the Canterbury Region