North Island

North Island
Māori: Te Ika-a-Māui

Geography
North Island (New Zealand)
Location	New Zealand
Coordinates	38°24′S 175°43′E / 38.4°S 175.717°E / -38.4; 175.717
Area	113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi) (14th)
Highest point	Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft))
Country
New Zealand
Largest city	Auckland (pop. 1,313,200)
Demographics
Population	3,250,700 (as of June 2008 estimate)
Density	28.6 /km2 (74 /sq mi)

The North Island (Māori: Te Ika-a-Māui) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi) in area,^[1] making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,250,700 (June 2008 estimate).^[2]

Eight important cities are in the North Island, notably New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington, the capital, located at the southern extremity of the island. Approximately 76% of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island.

Naming and usage

Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years,^[3] the New Zealand Geographic Board has found that, along with the South Island, it has no official name. The board intends to make North Island the island's official name, along with an alternative Māori name. Although several Māori names have been used, Maori Language Commissioner Erima Henare sees Te Ika-a-Māui as the most likely choice.^[4]

The definite article is used with the names of the North and South islands, as the North Island and the South Island, like the North Sea and the Western World, but unlike Rangitoto Island or West Point. Maps, headings or tables and adjectival expressions use North Island, whereas the North Island is used after a preposition or before or after a verb, e.g. my mother lives in the North Island, the North Island is smaller than the South Island, or I'm visiting the North Island. When specifying that the island is where a place, person, or object is located, it is normal to use the word in rather than on, for example Hamilton is in the North Island.

Māori mythology

According to Māori mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui. Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it from the sea. While he was not looking his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui (The Fish of Māui). The mountains and valleys are said to have been formed as a result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish. Until the early 20th Century, an alternative Māori name for the North Island was Aotearoa. In present Māori usage, Aotearoa is a collective name for New Zealand as a whole.

Ecology

North Island has an extensive flora and bird population, with numerous National Parks and other protected areas. Hamilton Ecological District is an example of a smaller protected area within a national park unit.

Regions of the North Island

Nine local government regions cover the North Island and all its adjacent islands and territorial waters.

• Northland
• Auckland
• Bay of Plenty
• Gisborne
• Waikato
• Taranaki
• Manawatu-Wanganui
• Hawkes Bay
• Wellington

Cities and towns in the North Island

• Auckland
• Gisborne
• Hamilton
• Hastings
• Masterton
• Napier
• New Plymouth
• Palmerston North
• Rotorua
• Taupo
• Tauranga
• Wanganui
• Whangarei
• Wellington

Smaller urban areas are found on the List of towns in New Zealand, as are components of larger metropolitan area.

Geographic features

• Cape Reinga
• East Cape
• Cape Palliser
• Lake Taupo
• Mt Maunganui Beach
• Tongariro National Park
• Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
• Waikato River
• Waipoua Kauri Forest
• Waitomo Caves
• Ninety Mile Beach

Notes

v • d • e Regions of New Zealand North Island Northland · Auckland · Waikato · Bay of Plenty · Gisborne¹ · Hawke's Bay · Taranaki · Manawatu-Wanganui · Wellington South Island Tasman¹ · Marlborough¹ · Nelson¹ · West Coast · Canterbury · Otago · Southland ¹ Unitary authorities

Coordinates: 38°24′S 175°43′E / 38.4°S 175.717°E / -38.4; 175.717