Te Wahipounamu stretches 280 miles along the western coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. The elevation of this land area ranges from sea level to 12,349 feet at Aoraki/Mt. Cook. In some places it extends inland as far as 56 miles. Within Te Wahipounamu there is a multitude of natural features including snow-capped peaks, sapphire lakes, waterfalls, fjords, and valleys. It is also home to hundreds of the world's most active glaciers, but the main two are Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. It is the largest and least modified area of New Zealand's natural ecosystem. And as such, the flora and fauna of the area is the world's best modern representation of the ancient biota of Gondwanaland.