New Zealand

I

Introduction

New Zealand (in Maori, Aotearoa, “Land of the Long White Cloud”), independent island country in the South Pacific Ocean, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, situated about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) south-east of Australia. It comprises two large islands—the North and South islands—separated by the narrow Cook Strait and numerous smaller islands, including Stewart Island to the south of the South Island. The area of New Zealand is 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi). Overseas territories governed by New Zealand are the Ross Dependency, in Antarctica, and Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean, to the north of Samoa. The Cook Islands and Niue, also in the Pacific, are self-governing territories in free association with New Zealand. The capital of the country is Wellington, the largest city Auckland; both are located on the North Island.

II

Land and Resources

New Zealand’s landscape is significantly defined by the fault lines that traverse the country, dividing it into blocks. The movement of these faulted blocks created (some 26 million years ago) the mountains that dominate the South Island, and is the cause of the continuing volcanism that characterizes the central North Island. Both main islands are roughly bisected by highlands: by the Southern Alps on the South Island and by lower ranges on the North. Almost three quarters of the South Island is mountainous, and about one fifth of the North Island; two thirds of New Zealand lies between about 200 and 1,070 m (650 and 3,500 ft) above sea level and there are more than 220 named peaks exceeding 2,286 m (7,500 ft). Mount Cook (Maori, Aoraki, “cloud piercer”), in the central Southern Alps, is New Zealand’s highest mountain (3,754 m/12,316 ft).

A

Rivers and Lakes

New Zealand is a country of many rivers, most of which originate in the highlands. They are generally short, swift, and difficult to navigate. Only on the South Island have extensive alluvial plains developed—the Canterbury Plains lying to east of the Southern Alps. Waterfalls are common. The Sutherland Falls, plunging 580 m (1,904 ft) from a hanging valley near Milford Sound, on the South Island, is the world’s fifth-highest waterfall. New Zealand’s lakes are mainly found in old volcanic craters in the central North Island—like Lake Taupo (606 sq km/234 sq mi), New Zealand’s largest lake—or in the glaciated valleys associated with the Southern Alps. New Zealand’s coast is 15,134 km (9,404 mi) long, including bays, fiords, gulfs, and sounds. The North Island’s coastline is particularly irregular, notably in the Northland, with its narrow and indented peninsula. The South Island has few natural inlets except in the south-west and north-east, which are both heavily indented with fiords and sounds.

B

The North Island

The North Island, covering almost 115,777 sq km (44,689 sq mi), has greater economic potential than the South and is home to the majority of New Zealand’s population. In the centre of the island is a volcanic plateau, rising sharply from the southern shores of Lake Taupo. It is an area of active volcanism, and the focus of frequent earth tremors and small quakes. There are three active volcanoes in the plateau area—Mount Ruapehu (2,797 m/9,176 ft), the island’s highest point; Mount Ngauruhoe; and Mount Tongariro—as well as geysers, boiling mud pools, and hot springs (Tongariro National Park). East and south of the plateau, mountain ranges run from the East Cape to the Cook Strait; the eastern slopes give way to coastal lowlands; the western slopes to rolling country used for dairy farming and sheep-farming. West of the volcanic plateau, fairly mountainous country gives way to fertile farmland in the Taranaki area. Mount Taranaki (English, Egmont) is a solitary extinct volcano near the western extremity of the island (see Egmont National Park). The Waikato River (435 km/270 mi long), New Zealand’s longest river, flows north out of Lake Taupo and empties into the Tasman Sea in the west. It passes through one of the most economically important regions of the country, focused round the city of Auckland. Activities include forestry, dairy farming, mixed farming, and fruit farming. Auckland itself bestrides a narrow isthmus, in places no more than 10 km (6 mi) wide. To the north of the city, Northland becomes gradually subtropical in nature, with long sandy beaches along the west coast and mangrove swamps along the east.