New Zealand’s highest peak, standing at 3,724 metres, is Mount Cook, also officially known as Aoraki / Mount Cook.
The mountain is in the Southern Alps on New Zealand’s South Island, within Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park. It has three principal summits: Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the highest point forming the summit commonly called Mount Cook.
The name Aoraki comes from Māori tradition, in which Aoraki is regarded as a revered ancestor. The name Mount Cook was given in honour of Captain James Cook, although Cook himself did not climb or officially name the mountain. New Zealand legally recognised the dual name in 1998 through the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act.
Its elevation was revised to 3,724 metres after surveying in the early 2010s. A major 1991 rock-and-ice avalanche removed material from the summit, followed by erosion. Mount Tasman, another famous peak nearby, is lower and is therefore not New Zealand’s highest mountain.