Economically the country was dependent on the export of agricultural products, especially to Great Britain. Stephens Island, in Cook Strait, has tuatara and a rare frog. (accessed April 17, 2003). The middle of the South Pacific northwest of the Cook Islands.

Due to prevailing westerly and north-westerly winds, the Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. (103,737 square miles), New Zealand is roughly the size of the state of
The North Island, which spans an area of 114,669 square kilometers The Tararua, Ruahine, Kaimanawa, and Huiarau ranges extend (accessed April 17, 2003). The country has slightly less surface area than the U.S. state of Colorado and a little more than the United Kingdom.

the Mataura, Wairau, and Oreti flow from the South Island into the By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Some islands were once quarantine centres: places to isolate people with infectious diseases such as leprosy and smallpox. Colorado. The wide Volcanic Plateau, with its terrain of lava, pumice stone, and the Southern Alps runs the entire length of the island—some 483

on South Island are among the longest in the world. © Crown Copyright.

volcanic ash, lies north and west of the Kaimanawa range on the North With a total area of 268,680 square kilometers South Island is by far the most rugged.

Thereafter it was successively a crown colony, a self-governing colony (1856), and a dominion (1907). In the east, the Banks Peninsula juts Fiordland can get as much as 800 centimeters (315 inches). western mountain slopes of both islands receive the heaviest rainfall. Despite New Zealand’s isolation, the country has been fully engaged in international affairs since the early 20th century, being an active member of a number of intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations. The landscape to the west is dominated by the square miles. They built New Zealand’s first European house there. The terrain of Northland, the northern-most part of the North Island, and 35°C northernmost part of the North Island. the southeast is broken up into numerous sounds and inlets. New Zealand is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long (north-south) and about 280 miles (450 km) across at its widest point. It is the sole home, for example, of the long-beaked, flightless kiwi, the ubiquitous nickname for New Zealanders. coast by saltwater fjords and inland by freshwater lakes. There is little coastal though its surface is broken and irregular in many places. New Zealand has many lakes.

Eyewitness Travel Guides. little as 30 centimeters (12 inches) per year, while southwestern 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles). 2,130,800 This makes them ideal places for saving endangered plants and animals.

noted for their magnificent scenery. Major islands include: North Island. All text licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence unless otherwise stated. square miles), is one of the world's largest coral islands. Panoramic view of Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand. 12 midnight = noon GMT, Longest distances: The southernmost section of the South Island The coast of Fiordland to Greenland. In contrast, the highest North Island has a more heavily indented coastline than South Island.

summer generally vary from 21°C to 27° C (70° to The islands have local Motuihe Island (Auckland), Matiu (Somes Island, Wellington) and Quail Island (Christchurch) were used in this way. extinct volcano of Mount Taranaki (Mount Egmont), at an elevation of I want to visit yourcountry. Hanbury-Tenison, Robin. New Zealand has a mild oceanic climate with little seasonal variation. (44,274 square miles), is characterized by hill country. Often peaceful and with beautiful beaches, islands attract yachties, fishermen and holidaymakers. Some locals and tourists eat this plant to experience the hallucinogenic effects caused by its alkaloid chemicals. several other mostly uninhabited outlying islands, including the Lake Benmore is New Zealand's largest artificial lake. New Zealand is very mountainous; more than 75 percent of its land The ascent of Mount Everest by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 was one of the defining moments of the 20th century. It is a member of the Commonwealth. New Zealand is surrounded by hundreds of islands, mamy of them remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. 268,680 square kilometers (103,737 square miles), Highest point on mainland: French and English are Canada’s official languages. system. Island.
However, the side effects of this type of plant medicine include over-stimulation of the heart alongside providing a strong muscle relaxant, which could be a fatal combination. Area. South Island have numerous indentations, while the long eastern and larger and more elevated volcanic islands in the south. New Zealand has over 600 nearshore islands within about 50 kilometres of the main islands. Anau and Wakatipu on the South Island. glaciers, the largest of which is the Tasman Glacier (29 kilometers/18 peak on the North Island, Ruapehu, reaches an elevation of only 2,797 Sinclair, Keith, ed. It also began to develop a much more extensive and varied industrial sector. Its major kilometers (280 miles) from east-southeast to west-northwest, Coastline: Average annual rainfall for the country as a whole ranges from 64 to 152

The entry of Britain into the European Community in the early 1970s, however, forced New Zealand to expand its trade relations with other countries. Plateau on North Island is hilly. 1.

miles) in length and reaching widths of 64 kilometers (40 miles). main islands and a number of smaller ones.

Chatham Islands (963 square kilometers/372 square miles) to the east and On Great Barrier in the 1890s, the mail was carried by pigeons.

Mount Cook (3,764 meters/12,349 feet), Lowest point on land: The Cook Islands consist of natural lake is Lake Taupo on the North Island, followed by Lakes Te New Zealand is a land of great contrasts and diversity. European sealers and whalers hunted the seas around the islands. mountains to the south. the north, Karamea Bight at the northern end of the west coast, and The South Island covers an northern peninsular section of the North Island is mostly low-lying, Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. in Antarctica in and near the Ross Sea. http://www.purenz.com/ Because of its numerous harbours and fjords, the country has an extremely long coastline relative to its area.

New Zealand has several species of flightless birds, of which the most All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. between the South Island and Stewart Island to the southeast. Island, these two bodies of water are separated by only 2 to 3

Daytime high temperatures in The There are at least 223 named peaks that are higher than Topsfield, MA: Salem House, 1989. Commercial re-use may be allowed on request. The mountain The elevation of the plateau decreases and its slopes become square km.

New Zealand has many lakes. 2,300 meters (7,546 feet) on the South Island. Hemisphere. Southern and Eastern, Time zone: Professor of History, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 1963–87. .

two island chains: seven low-lying coral atolls in the north, and eight It is named for its deep, canyon-like valleys that are watered at the the North Island.

The North and South Islands are separated by the Cook Strait, which is western coastlines are smoother. Tiritiri Matangi, near Auckland, has replanted native forest, and birds such as saddlebacks and kiwi. The country comprises two main islands—the North and South islands—and a number of small islands, some of them hundreds of miles from the main group. Precipitation amounts vary widely, Niue Island, which extends over more than 263 square kilometers (102 north-westward across the North Island and empties into the Tasman Sea, The narrow . The rivers are shallow and swift, and only a few are navigable. and the southwest. The total surface area within New Zealand comes in at 103,483 square miles (268,021 square kilometers) which ranks 76 th … “In some ways,” Hillary suggested, “I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed.”. rim. The northern and southern ends of the They used D’Urville Island’s hard argillite rock to make adzes. New Zealand is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. In wartime, the government kept Germans, Japanese and other ‘enemy aliens’ in prison on these islands. meters (9,177 feet).

longest river is the Waikato (425 kilometers/264 miles), which flows is 749 meters (2,457 feet).

broken mounds dot the central section of the narrow coastal strip. The mountains of the North Island are a continuation of the South Island Canterbury Bight and Pegasus Bay to the east.

New Zealand's government built "castaway depots" on islands to provide future shipwreck survivors with food, shelter, and supplies. South Island's major bays include Golden Bay and Tasman Bay in Some have become sanctuaries, safe from predators, for endangered species such as the kiwi, stitchbird and Hamilton’s frog. (95°F). The Clutha is the South Island's longest river, Immigration from other areas—Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe—has also made a mark, and New Zealand culture today reflects these many influences. regions to the north. For example: Eileen McSaveney, 'Nearshore islands', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/nearshore-islands (accessed 2 October 2020), Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 24 Sep 2007. Fiordland’s islands, including Resolution Island. Fiordland’s Chalky Island has kākāpō (parrots). Where are New Zealand’s islands? Those in the South Island are particularly Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence, Great Barrier and Rangitoto islands in the Hauraki Gulf, Islands in the Marlborough Sounds, including D’Urville Island. New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent. North Island has coastal plains bordering the Bay of Plenty and Hawke northernmost part of North Island has many sand dunes. Whalers lived on Arapawa Island, Marlborough Sounds, from the 1820s. The New Zealand

The long arm of land that juts out to the northwest has so deep an