Murchison Glacier, Glacier in Canterbury Region, New Zealand

Murchison Glacier is an 18-kilometre glacier in Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand. It starts at the Tasman Saddle (2,435 m) and flows mostly southwest between the Malte Brun Range and the Liebig Range, ending at about 1,110 m. Its meltwater feeds the Murchison River, which runs under the larger Tasman Glacier to the south.

Julius von Haast named the glacier in 1861 after the geologist Roderick Murchison, a founder of the Royal Geographical Society. The glacier begins on the 7 km arc of peaks between Mount Abel (2,688 m) and Mount Mannering (2,669 m), and both it and the Tasman Glacier rise partly at the 2,435 m Tasman Saddle.

The glacier's name honours Roderick Murchison, a founder of the Royal Geographical Society; Julius von Haast named it in 1861. The Murchison River carries its meltwater beneath the larger Tasman Glacier to the south, so the water reappears far from the ice that released it.

The glacier is not reached by road or marked track; access is by ski plane or helicopter from Mount Cook Village, or on foot from the Tasman Saddle at 2,435 m. The Murchison River carries its meltwater beneath the Tasman Glacier to the south. The glacier ends in a small, constantly changing proglacial lake.

The meltwater from this glacier flows beneath the larger Tasman Glacier, creating an unusual subglacial river system hidden under the ice. This hidden waterway is part of a complex network that most visitors never observe.