400px|thumb|Kaikōura Ranges
The Kaikōura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains located in the Canterbury Region in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand. The two ranges are visible from a great distance, including from the southern coast of the North Island.
Geography
Both Kaikōura ranges are around long, running south-west to north-east, and can be seen as the northernmost extension of the Southern Alps in the South Island. Named the Looker-on mountains by Captain James Cook, they take their current name from the town of Kaikōura at the southern extreme of the more eastern range, the Seaward Kaikōuras. This range rises straight from (and dominates) the coast to the north of the town, running from Mount Tinline to southwest of Ward, and reaches its highest point with the Mount Manakau.
The long straight river valley of the Waiau Toa / Clarence River separate the Seaward Kaikōuras from the longer and loftier Inland Kaikōuras. This latter range runs from Turk Head to Blue Mountain, and contains the highest peak in the ranges–and highest mountain for hundreds of kilometres–the Tapuae-o-Uenuku, whose Māori name translates as the poetic "Footprint of the rainbow." Beyond the Inland Kaikōuras is the valley of the Awatere River, which runs parallel to that of the Waiau Toa / Clarence. The climate is characterised by a dry cold winter. Because the Kaikōura Ranges block cold Antarctic weather fronts from the south, snow can fall at any time, even in mid-summer.
Geology
The Kaikōura Ranges straddle the boundary between the Pacific and Australian plates and were uplifted by tectonic activity along the Marlborough Fault System. Although fundamentally composed of the same Torlesse rocks, they are made up of alternating sandstone and sandstone/mudstone sequences; the latter are more prone to erosion, and so the mountains vary in height and appearance, with knob and swale (peak and trough) topography. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.
Kaikōura Ranges had a population of 1,899 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 210 people (12.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 354 people (22.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 990 males and 909 females in 726 dwellings. 1.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 46.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 312 people (16.4%) aged under 15 years, 258 (13.6%) aged 15 to 29, 954 (50.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 375 (19.7%) aged 65 or older.
Flora
These mountains are characterised by tussock land, fellfields, and large areas of open scree, while lowland forests have largely been cleared. The Spencer range to the south meanwhile has a more intact beech forest covering.
Fauna
The ranges contain the Kowhai Valley and Shearwater Stream Important Bird Area, some 15 km (9.3 mi) inland from the coastal town of Kaikōura.