The Garden of Eden Ice Plateau is a ice feature in the Te Tai Poutini / West Coast region of the Te Waipounamu / South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
It has a latitude of -43.32452 and a longitude of 170.682225 and it’s status is: Official Assigned.
Originally named by A P Thomson in 1934 to provide the basis of names for the Adams Range district being biblical or classical in nature.
Name resubmitted by R W Willett, Director of the New Zealand Geological Survey in March 1962, to assist in the compilation of a catalogue of New Zealand glaciers. J.D. Pascoe proposed the name but initially the NZGB did not accept it and recommended that Pascoe find another name which had reference to classical mythology rather than a biblical name.
Pascoe disputed this by saying that the name ‘Garden of Eden’ was well established in the limited literature about the area and was commonly used by climbing parties who had visited the area after 1934.
The Board approved the name in 1962 based on its common use.
It’s geographical description is noted as: An ice plateau in Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana extending approximately from the saddle between Baker Peak and Mount Tyndall west to Devils Backbone. Feature shown on: NZMS260 I35 Edition 1 1993 Limited Revision 1996; NZTopo50-BW17 121005.
Also referenced here on a trip across the Garden of Eden and Allah Ice Plateaus in 2014 and also deep dive article into their glacial formation.