Mid Canterbury

The area is mainly agricultural, extending as it does across the Canterbury Plains, rising in the west to the high country.

Beyond this the land rises sharply to the main divide and peaks of the Southern Alps.

Several prominent peaks lie in Mid Canterbury, most notably the country's 23rd-highest mountain, the 3,019 metres (9,905 ft) Mount Dixon.

Mid Canterbury has an area of some 6,500 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi) and a population of about 37,500, of whom a little over half live in the town of Ashburton.

Smaller towns include Methven, Rakaia, Mt Somers, Mayfield and Hinds.

An aerial view across Mid Canterbury, with Ashburton in the foreground, the Canterbury Plains centre, and the Southern Alps in the background.