Te Wahipounamu

Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationSouth Island, New Zealand
CriteriaNatural: vii, viii, ix, x
Reference551
Inscription1990 (14th Session)
Area2,600,000 ha
Coordinates45°02′10″S 167°19′12″E / 45.03611°S 167.32000°E / -45.03611; 167.32000

Te Wāhipounamu (Māori for "the place of greenstone") is a World Heritage Site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering 26,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi), the site incorporates four national parks:

It is thought to contain some of the best modern representations of the original flora and fauna of Gondwana, one of the reasons for its listing as a World Heritage site.[1]

  1. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.