thumb|Aoraki / Mount Cook, as seen from Hooker Valley The South Island is much more mountainous than the North, but shows fewer manifestations of recent volcanic activity. There are 18 peaks of more than in the Southern Alps, which stretch for down the South Island. The closest mountains surpassing it in elevation are found not in Australia, but in New Guinea and Antarctica. As well as the towering peaks, the Southern Alps include huge glaciers such as Franz Josef and Fox. The country's highest mountain is Aoraki / Mount Cook; its height since 2014 is listed as (down from before December 1991, due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion). The second highest peak is Mount Tasman, with a height of . The North Island Volcanic Plateau covers much of central North Island with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. The three highest volcanoes are Mount Ruapehu (), Mount Taranaki () and Mount Ngauruhoe (). Ruapehu's major eruptions have historically been about 50 years apart, in 1895, 1945 and 1995–1996. The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera, located near Rotorua, was New Zealand's largest and deadliest eruption in the last 200 years, killing over 100 people. Another long chain of mountains runs through the North Island, from Wellington to East Cape. The ranges include Tararua and Kaimanawa.
thumb|Aoraki / Mount Cook as seen from Hooker Valley The South Island is much more mountainous than the North but shows fewer manifestations of recent volcanic activity There are 18 peaks of more than in the Southern Alps which stretch for down the South Island The closest mountains surpassing it in elevation are found not in Australia but in New Guinea and Antarctica As well as the towering peaks the Southern Alps include huge glaciers such as Franz Josef and Fox The country's highest mountain is Aoraki / Mount Cook; its height since 2014 is listed as (down from before December 1991 due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion) The second highest peak is Mount Tasman with a height of  The North Island Volcanic Plateau covers much of central North Island with volcanoes lava plateaus and crater lakes The three highest volcanoes are Mount Ruapehu () Mount Taranaki () and Mount Ngauruhoe () Ruapehu's major eruptions have historically been about 50 years apart in 1895 1945 and 1995–1996 The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera located near Rotorua was New Zealand's largest and deadliest eruption in the last 200 years killing over 100 people Another long chain of mountains runs through the North Island from Wellington to East Cape The ranges include Tararua and Kaimanawa