摘要：Many physical similarities exist between the European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand. This may be the reason why European settlers (re)named Ka Tiritiri o te Moana—the Maori name for the long stretch of alpine country that crosses Te Wahi Pounamu or the South Island from southwest to northeast— the Southern Alps. But both major mountain ranges have very different landscape histories and cultural heritages: a centuries-old history at the heart of the densely populated European Continent and a rich adaptation of Polynesian and European cultures on an island (fairly) recently settled and sparsely populated. This paper compares 5 representative landscape types in New Zealand and Switzerland from a geographer's viewpoint, briefly discussing physical and cultural similarities and differences. The area selected for presentation in each case covers a square of approximately 100 km 2 .
