Porters Pass is a mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 in the Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

 region of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

.

It is near Lake Lyndon

Lake Lyndon

Lake Lyndon is a small lake in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is near Porters Pass, and State Highway 73 from Springfield and Cass skirts the lake's northeastern shore...

 and is located within Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park. State Highway 73

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 travels through the pass on its route from Springfield

Springfield, New Zealand

Springfield is a small town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, in the South Island, of New Zealand. In 2001 it had a population of 219. At the foot of the Southern Alps, west of Christchurch, it is the most westerly town of the central Canterbury Plains...

 to Cass

Cass, New Zealand

Cass is a locality in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island.It is named for Thomas Cass, an important pioneer surveyor in the area. State Highway 73 passes near the town, and the Midland Line between Christchurch and the West Coast was opened to the town in...

, and it is the last mountain pass on the route eastwards from Westland

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 to Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

. Although Arthur's Pass is better known, Porters Pass is actually a few metres higher, and it affords views of the Canterbury Plains

Canterbury Plains

The Canterbury Plains are an area in New Zealand centred to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury Region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki...

.

The pass was named in 1858 by the Porter brothers who were farming nearby.

External links

• Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park page at the Department of Conservation