On the geology of the New Zealand Alps

The New Zealand Alps form a narrow range of mountains dividing the plains of Canterbury from those of Westland, and attain in Mount Cook an elevation of 12,349 feet. The principal snow fields and glaciers occur in the central portion between the sources of the River Rakaia and those of the Waitaki; but small glaciers are found as far north as the head of the Waimakariri, near the West Coast Road, and as far south as Lake Wakatipu and Milford Sound. The largest glacier is the Tasman. Nearly the whole of the Alps are composed of much disturbed sedimentary rocks, principally sandstones, mud stones, and greywackes. The main anticlinal, or true tectonic axis, runs in a south-westerly direction from Tasman's Bay to Otago, where it curves round to the south-east, and reaches the sea near Dunedin.
Four different rock systems take part in building up these mountains. The first is the MANAPOURI SYSTEM.
The next rock system is of cretaceous, probably upper cretaceous, age, and is known as the WAIPARA SYSTEM.
Two notable differences occur between the mountain regions of New Zealand and Switzerland. The first is that mountains, with sharp serrated summits, which are the exception in Switzerland, are the rule in New Zealand. The second is that waterfalls are rare in New Zealand in comparison with Switzerland, although the mountains of New Zealand are quite as rough and as rugged as the Alps of Europe. The New Zealand Alps are far older than those of Switzerland.