New Zealand Geography
New Zealand (Maori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, near the center of the oceanic hemisphere. It is made up of a large number of islands, around 700, mainly remnants of a larger land mass that is now under the sea. Due to their size, the main islands are the North (or Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South (or Te Waipounamu) islands, separated by the Cook Strait. The third largest is Stewart Island (or Rakiura), located 30 kilometers from the tip of the South Island, across the Strait of Foveaux. The other islands have a considerably smaller area. The three largest islands stretch 1,600 kilometers across latitudes 35° to 47° South. New Zealand is the sixth largest island country in the world, with an area of 268,710 km².
New Zealand's predominantly vast landscape ranges from the fjords of the southwest to the subtropical sandy beaches of Farth North. The South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, while a volcanic plateau covers much of the central North Island. Temperatures are often below 0°C and above 30°C, and conditions range from wet and cold on the West Coast to arid and continental a short distance away, through the mountains, and to a tundra-like climate. in the deep south of Southland.
About two thirds of the surface is useful from an economic point of view; the rest is mountainous. The North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) is the most populous, with 4 million inhabitants, and Auckland is by far the largest metropolitan area in the country by population and urban area. The North Island with its golden beaches, ancient Kauri forests, volcanoes, hot springs, and large cities (including Wellington, the capital), is the more populous of the two. The South Island (Te Waipounamu) is the second most populous, with more than 1.18 million inhabitants, and also the largest in the country. The South Island with its snow-capped mountains, glaciers, lush native forests, fjords, is the larger of the two, and is called "the main land" by its inhabitants. Its most populous city is Christchurch. A small group of islands such as Chatham, Kermadec, Campbell Island, Auckland, Antipodes, The Snares, Solander, and the Bounty Islands are also included within New Zealand's territorial jurisdiction.
The country is located about 2,000 kilometers southeast of the Australian mainland, across the Tasman Sea; the closest country to its main islands is Norfolk Island (Australia), about 750 kilometers to the northwest. Other island groups to the north are New Caledonia, Tonga, and Fiji. It is the southernmost nation in Oceania. New Zealand's relative proximity to North Antarctica has made the South Island an important gateway for scientific expeditions to the continent.
Physical geography
New Zealand has 2 main islands in Oceania located in the South Pacific centered at approximately 41°S 174°E / -41, 174. It has a total area of 268,680 km² (including the Antipodes Islands, Auckland, Bounty Islands, Campbell Islands, Chatham Islands, and the Kermadec Islands) being slightly smaller than Italy or Japan and slightly larger than the United Kingdom.
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline and boasts extensive marine resources. It claims the seventh largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering more than 4 million km², more than 15 times its land area. The country has no land borders.
The South Island is the largest land mass and contains about a quarter of New Zealand's population. The island is divided longitudinally by the Southern Alps, whose summit is Mount Cook or Aoraki with 3,754 m s. no. m. There are 18 peaks that exceed 3000 masl in the South Island. The eastern side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the western coast is famous for its rugged coastlines, very high proportion of native forest, and the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.
The North Island is less mountainous than the South Island, but is marked by volcanism. The highest mountain on the island, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 masl), is an active volcano. Lake Taupo is located near the center of the North Island and is the largest lake in the country by area. The lake is born in a caldera created after the largest eruption in the world in the last 70,000 years (Oruanui Eruption).
Extreme Points
The phrase "From Cape Reinga to The Bluff" is frequently used in New Zealand to refer to the extent of the entire country. Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua It is the northwestern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern tip of the North Island. Bluff is the port of Invercargill, located near the southern tip of the South Island, below the 46th parallel south. However, New Zealand's extreme points are actually on several outer islands.
Points that are further north, south, east, or west than anywhere else in New Zealand are:
- The northernmost point is on Nugent Island, on the Kermadec Islands (Kermadec Islands).29°13′54′′S 177°52′09′′ / -29.231667, -177.869167).
- The southernmost point is on Jacquemart Island, in the Campbell Islands group (52°37′10′S 169°07′33′′E / -52.619444, 169.125833).
- The most eastern point is located in a group of islands within the Chatham Islands called Forty-Fours (43°57′48′S 175°49′53′′ / -43.963306, -175.831410).
- The westernmost point is Corporal Lovitt, on Auckland island (50°47′59′S 165°52′12′′E / -50.799838, 165.870128).
Antipodes
New Zealand is largely antipodal to the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. The northern half of the South Island corresponds to Galicia and northern Portugal. Most of the North Island corresponds to central and southern Spain, from Valladolid (off the southern point of the North Island, Cape Palliser), passing through Madrid and Toledo to Córdoba (directly antipodal to Hamilton), Lorca (off Cape East), Málaga (Cape Colville) and Gibraltar. Parts of the Northland Peninsula oppose Morocco, with Whangārei almost coinciding with Tangier. The Chatham Islands are antipodal in France, just north of the city of Montpellier.
In Europe the term "antipodes" to refer to New Zealand and Australia (and sometimes other parts of the South Pacific), and "Antipodeans" to their inhabitants.
Geology
New Zealand sits on the boundary between two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate. This causes volcanism across all the islands, especially the North Island. The country makes use of its moderate volcanism by producing heat and electricity in numerous hydrothermal plants. New Zealand is capable of providing all the necessary electricity given the amount of water power in the South Island and volcanic power in the North Island. Some volcanic sites are also famous tourist destinations, such as the Rotorua geysers. The two plates also cause regular earthquakes although they are generally not bad.
There are many karstic sedimentary rock formations that attract tourist attention. Among them are Waitomo Caverns and Pancake Rocks. These monuments contain many minerals, thanks to the volcanic stones left by the lava.
New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent about half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the supercontinent Gondwana. Zealandia extends a considerable distance east into the Pacific Ocean and south, heading towards Antarctica. It also extends into Australia in the northwest. This submerged continent is dotted with topographic elevations that sometimes form islands. Some of them, such as the main islands (North and South), Stewart Island, New Caledonia and the Chatham Islands, are populated. Other smaller islands are ecological sanctuaries with carefully controlled access.
The New Zealand land mass has been uplifted due to transpressive tectonics between the Indo-Australian plate and the Pacific plate (these two plates grind each other and one rides on top of the other). This is the cause of the numerous New Zealand earthquakes and volcanoes.
To the east of the North Island, the Pacific plate is forced to pass under the Indo-Australian plate. The North Island of New Zealand exhibits extensive back-arc volcanism as a result of this subduction. There are many large volcanoes with relatively frequent eruptions. There are also several large calderas, the most obvious being the one that forms Lake Taupo. Taupo has a history of incredibly powerful eruptions, with the Oruanui eruption approximately 26,500 years ago, which ejected 1,170 cubic kilometers of material and caused several hundred square kilometers of material to collapse downward to form the lake. The last eruption occurred towards in AD 180 and ejected at least 100 cubic kilometers of material, and has been linked to the red skies seen at that time in Rome and China. The associated geothermal energy from this volcanic area is used in numerous hydrothermal power plants. Some volcanic sites are also famous tourist destinations, such as Rotorua's geysers.
The direction of subduction is reversed across the South Island, with the Indo-Australian plate forced under the Pacific plate. The transition between these two different styles of continental collision occurs across the upper part of the South Island. This zone presents an important uplift and many active faults; big earthquakes are frequent here. The most powerful in recent history, the M8.3 Wairarapa earthquake, occurred in 1855. This earthquake generated more than 6 meters of vertical lift in places and caused a localized tsunami. Fortunately, the number of victims was low due to the sparse population density of the region. In 2013, the area was hit by the 6.5 magnitude Seddon earthquake, but caused little damage and no injuries. The New Zealand capital, Wellington, is located in the center of this region.
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Subduction of the Indo-Australian plate causes rapid uplift in the center of the South Island (about 10 millimeters per year). This uplift forms the Southern Alps. These divide the island, with a narrow wet strip to the west and broad, dry plains to the east. The resulting orographic rainfall enables hydroelectric generation of most of the country's electricity. A significant part of the movement between the two plates is due to the northward lateral slippage of the Indo-Australian plate relative to the Pacific plate. The plate boundary forms the Alpine Fault, nearly 800 kilometers long. This fault has an estimated rupture repetition interval of about 330 years, and it last ruptured in 1717 along 400 kilometers of its length. It passes directly under many settlements on the west coast of the South Island, and shocks from a rupture would likely affect many cities and towns across the country.
Rapid uplift and high erosion rates in the Southern Alps combine to expose high-quality greenschist and amphibolite-type rocks, including the pounamu (jade) gemstone. Geologists visiting the West Coast can easily access the high-quality metamorphic rocks and mylonites associated with the Alpine Fault, and in some places may be astride the fault track of an active plate boundary.
South of New Zealand, the Indo-Australian plate is underpinning the Pacific plate, which is beginning to cause back-arc volcanism. The youngest (geologically speaking) volcanism of the South Island occurred in this region, forming the Solander Islands (<2 million years old). This region is dominated by the rugged and relatively intact Fiordland, a area of flooded valleys sculpted by glaciers with few human settlements.
Mountains, volcanoes and glaciers
The South Island is much more mountainous than the North Island, but it shows less evidence of recent volcanic activity. There are 18 peaks over 3,000 meters in the Southern Alps, stretching for 500 kilometers across the South Island. The nearest mountains that exceed it in elevation are not in Australia, but in New Guinea and the antartida. In addition to towering peaks, the Southern Alps include huge glaciers, such as Franz Josef and Fox. The country's highest mountain is Aoraki / Mount Cook; its height as of 2014 is listed as 3,724 meters (it dropped from 3,764 meters before December 1991, due to a rockfall and subsequent erosion). The second highest peak is Mount Tasman, with a height of 3,497 meters.
The North Island Volcanic Plateau covers much of the central part of the island with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. The three highest volcanoes are Mount Ruapehu (2,797 meters), Mount Taranaki (2,518 meters) and Mount Ngauruhoe (2,287 meters). The main eruptions of Ruapehu have historically occurred with an interval of about 50 years, in 1895, 1945 and 1995-1996. The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera, located near Rotorua, was the largest and deadliest eruption in New Zealand in the last 200 years, killing more than 100 people. Another long mountain range runs through the North Island, from Wellington to East Cape. Ranges include Tararua and Kaimanawa.
The lower slopes of the mountain are covered with native forest. Above, there are shrubs, and below, grasses. Alpine tundra consists of cushion plants and grassy fields; many of these plants have white and yellow flowers.
Caves
New Zealand's cave systems have three main origins, chemical weathering of limestone by water (karst), lava caves and erosion by waves (sea caves). Thus, the distribution of limestone, marble (metamorphosed limestone), and volcanoes defines the location of the caves in inland New Zealand. The main regions of karst topography are the Waitomo District and Takaka Hill., in the Tasman district. Other notable locations include the West Coast (Punakaiki), Hawkes Bay, and Fiordland.
Lava caves (lava tubes) usually form in pāhoehoe lava flows, which are less viscous and typically made of basalt. When an eruption occurs, the outer layer of the lava flow hardens, while the interior remains liquid. The liquid lava comes out to the outside to be isolated by the hardened crust that is above. These caves are found where there are relatively recent basaltic volcanoes in New Zealand, such as the Auckland volcanic field, especially at Rangitoto, Mount Eden, and Matukutururu.
The distribution of sea caves is more sporadic, and their location and orientation are controlled by the weakness of the underlying rock. As cave systems take many thousands of years to develop, they can now be cut off from the water that formed them, either by a change in sea level or by groundwater flow. If as a cave grows it becomes breaks through to the surface elsewhere, becomes a natural arch, like those near Karamea (Oparara Arches).
Bodies of water
The proportion of New Zealand's land area (excluding estuaries) covered by rivers, lakes and ponds, according to New Zealand Land Cover Database figures, is (357526 + 81936) / (26821559 - 92499-26033 - 19216) = 1.6%. If the open waters of the estuary, mangroves and saline herbaceous vegetation are included, the figure is 2.2%.
The mountainous areas of the North Island are bisected by numerous rivers, many of which are fast-flowing and unnavigable. The east of the South Island is marked by broad, braided rivers such as the Wairau, Waimakariri and Rangitātā; formed by glaciers, they fan out on the gravel plains. The Waikato, which flows through the North Island, is New Zealand's longest river, with a length of 425 kilometres. New Zealand's rivers feature hundreds of waterfalls; the most visited set of waterfalls is the Huka Falls, which drains Lake Taupo.
Lake Taupo, located near the center of the North Island, is the largest lake by surface area in the country. It is located in a caldera created by the Oruanui eruption, the largest in the world in the last 70,000 years. There are 3,820 lakes with a surface area greater than one hectare. Many lakes have been used as reservoirs for hydroelectric projects.
Coast
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,191 km² of tidal flats in New Zealand, making it the 29th largest country in tidal flat area.
Climate
The climate in New Zealand is basically cool temperate to warm temperate. average temperatures are between 8°C in the South Island and 16°C in the North Island. January and February are the warmest months while July is the coldest. New Zealand does not have a wide range of temperatures although the weather can change suddenly. Subtropical conditions are observed in Northland (the northern tip of the North Island).
Most areas of the country have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall with most of the rainfall along the west coast of the South Island and least on the east coast of the South Island, basically in the Canterbury Plains. Christchurch is the driest city, receiving about 640mm of rain per year, while Auckland is the wettest, with almost double.
The UV index in New Zealand can be very high in some places and extreme in the hottest times of the year in the north of the North Island. This is partly due to the relatively low air pollution in the country, compared to many other countries.
There are three main factors that influence New Zealand's climate:
- Its latitudeinal location where the west winds prevail.
- Its oceanic atmosphere.
- The mountains, especially the South Alps.
Human Geography
Political Geography
New Zealand has no land borders. However, the Ross Dependency, its claim to Antarctica, theoretically borders the Australian Antarctic Territory to the west and unclaimed territory to the east. Most other countries do not recognize territorial claims in Antarctica.
New Zealand consists of 16 regions, 7 in the South Island and 9 in the North Island. New Zealand also has a number of outlying islands that are not included in the regional boundaries. The Chatham Islands are not a region, although their council operates as a region under the Resource Management Act. The Kermadec Islands and the Sub-Antarctic Islands are inhabited by only a small number of members of the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
They are geographically linked and regional boundaries are largely based on river basins Among the regions, eleven are administered by regional authorities (top level of local administration), while five are unitary authorities combining the functions of the regional authorities and those of the territorial authorities (second level). Regional authorities are primarily responsible for environmental resource management, land use planning, regional transportation, and biosecurity and pest management. Territorial authorities administer local roads and reserves, waste management, building permits, land use and subdivision aspects of resource management, and other local matters.
The Chatham Islands is not a region, although its council functions as such under the Resources Management Act. There are a number of outlying islands that are not included in the regional boundaries. The Kermadecs and Subantarctic Islands are only inhabited by a small number of Department of Conservation officials.
Population Geography
The South Island contains just under a quarter of the population. More than three-quarters of the New Zealand population lives in the North Island, and one-third of the total population lives in the Auckland region. Auckland is also the fastest growing region, accounting for 51% of total population growth. New Zealand (in the two decades to 2016). Most indigenous Māori live on the North Island (87%), although just under a quarter (24%) live in Auckland. New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 84.1% of the population living in an urban area. About 65.4% of the population lives in the top 20 urban areas (with a population of 30,000 or more) and 44.2% live in the four largest cities: Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton. New Zealand's population density, at about 18 people per square kilometer, is one of the lowest in the world.
The people of New Zealand have been defined by their immigrant background, by the ongoing process of adapting to a new land, by change from those who came before. This process has resulted in a distinct distribution of culture throughout New Zealand. In this case, language and religion are used as markers for the much richer concept of culture. Unfortunately, these parameters exclude the political divide between rural and urban areas and also the full effects of the Christchurch earthquakes on New Zealand's cultural distribution.
Land use
Natural resources include: coal, gold, hydropower, iron, lithographic stone, natural gas, sand, and timber.
Land use:
- arable land: 5,54%
- permanent crops: 6.92 per cent
- others: 87.54% (2005)
Irrigated land: 2,850 km² (2003)
Natural threats
Floods are the most common natural hazard. New Zealand is swept by weather systems that bring heavy rainfall; settlements are usually close to high mountain areas, where rainfall is much higher than in the lowlands due to the orographic effect. Mountain streams that feed major rivers grow rapidly and often overflow their banks, covering farms with water and silt. Close monitoring, weather forecasting, check dams, dams, and reforestation programs in mountainous areas have improved the worst effects.
New Zealand experiences about 14,000 earthquakes a year, some of them greater than magnitude 7 (M7). Since 2010, there have been several large (M7, M6.3, M6.4, M6.2) and shallow (all <7 km) earthquakes immediately below Christchurch, causing 185 deaths, widespread destruction of buildings, and significant liquefaction. These earthquakes are releasing distributed stresses in the Pacific plate from the ongoing collision with the Indo-Australian plate to the west and north of the city. Volcanic activity is most prevalent on the central volcanic plateau of the North Island. The tsunamis that affect New Zealand are associated with the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Droughts are not regular, occurring mainly in Otago and the Canterbury Plains, and less frequently in much of the North Island between January and April. Bushfires were rare in New Zealand before the arrival of humans. In some areas there are summer fire bans.
Environment and ecology
In addition to deforestation and soil erosion, New Zealand has a serious problem with invasive species. There are an estimated 2,000 species of non-native vascular plants introduced by humans in New Zealand, including ferns, grasses, angiosperms, trees and weeds, and vines. The most damaging invasive mammals include rats, stoats, and Australian possums, of which there are an estimated 30-35 million in the country. A plan called Predator Free 2050 aims to wipe out invasive mammals in New Zealand. The goals are to rid an area of 1 million predators hectares and eradicate them from all the islands that are nature reserves.
New Zealand Protected Areas
In New Zealand there are 5,756 protected areas that occupy 88,464 km², 32.81% of the country's land area, and 1,249,447 km² of marine surface, 30.42% of the marine area belonging to the country, 4,106. 954 km². Of the total number of protected areas, 15 are national parks, 44 are marine reserves, 58 are nature reserves, 74 are natural refuges, 54 are conservation areas, 12 are nature sanctuaries, 2 are Te Urewera (a heavily forested area, populated scattered across hill country in northern New Zealand), 6 are natural areas, 100 are scientific reserves, 14 are sanctuary areas, 1,699 are scenic reserves, 113 are ecological areas, 3 are conservation areas, 2,623 are protected areas. sustainable according to the concept of stewardship, 857 are private areas with a conservation agreement (conservation agreement), 1 is a marine protected area (Sugar Loaf Islands), 17 are government reserves, 12 are natural management areas, 20 are protected areas. protected benthic, 5 are special purpose reserves, 17 are restricted marine areas (Seamount closures) and 1 is a special protection area (Breaksea Island). Of these, 3 are World Heritage Sites and 6 are Ramsar sites.
National Parks
- Abel Tasman National Park
- Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
- Egmont National Park
- Fiordland National Park
- Kahurangi National Park
- National Park of Lakes Nelson
- Monte Aspiring National Park
- Paparoa National Park
- Arthur Pass National Park
- Rakiura National Park
- Te Urewera National Park
- Tongariro National Park
- Westland National Park
- Whanganui National Park
- The fifteenth would be an extension of Fiordland Park
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