Mt. Cook, New Zealand

Credit: Credit: NASA/Landsat/USGS, Posted on: Monday, 30 June 2003, 06:00 CDT Download full size image

The Seven Summits are the highest peaks on each of the Earth’s seven continents. However, there is some debate about whether to only count Australia, Australia and New Zealand, or all of Oceania (which adds the Pacific Islands and the Indonesian archipelago). Thus, there are disagreements about exactly which peaks are the Seven Summits. Mountaineering purists disparge Australia’s Mt. Kosciuszko as it is an unchallenging day hike to its peak. Some recognize the tallest peak in New Zealand —- Mt. Cook —- as one of the Seven Summits. With its peak at an altitude of 3,754 meters (12,316 feet), it is nearly 70 percent taller than Kozzy, and its permanently snow-capped peak and glaciers provide a challenging ascent more akin to the taller of the Seven Summits.

The mountain is part of the Southern Alps along the western coast of New Zealand’s South Island, and is located within the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.

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