New Zealand (eng. New Zealand, Maori Aotearoa) is a state in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, in Polynesia, located on two large islands (North Island and South Island) and a large number (approximately 700) of adjacent smaller islands. The capital of the country is the city of Wellington. The population of New Zealand is about 4,443,900 people (for 2012).
The pioneers of New Zealand should rightly be considered as immigrants from Eastern Polynesia, who began the development of these islands presumably in the XI-XIV centuries. Several waves of relocations and consistent development in the new territories created two cultures, albeit largely similar, but independently developing, and two peoples who received the Maori and Morori self-names. Moriori lived compactly on the islands of the Chatham archipelago, and Maori inhabited the North and South Islands. It was with Maori that the first Europeans who came to these lands met.
In addition to the two main islands, New Zealand owns about 700 islands of significantly smaller area, most of which are uninhabited. The largest of these are Stewart Island, Antipode Islands, Auckland Island, Bounty Islands, Campbell Islands, Chatham Archipelago and Kermadec Islands. The total area of the country is 268 680 sq. Km. This makes it a little smaller in size than Italy or Japan, but somewhat larger than the UK. The length of the coastline of New Zealand is 15,134 kilometers. South Island is the largest island of New Zealand and the 12th largest island on the planet, its area is 150,437 sq. Km.
Volcanic activity in modern New Zealand is also high, and there are 6 volcanic zones active in the country, five of which are located on the North Island. In the area of Lake Taupo, presumably in 186 BC. e. occurred the largest in the history of mankind documented volcanic eruption. The consequences of the eruption are described in historical chronicles as remote as China and Greece. At the site of the eruption is now located the largest in the Pacific region freshwater lake Taupo, with an area comparable to the territory of Singapore.
Due to the special geological and geographical conditions in New Zealand there are many rivers and lakes. Most rivers are short (less than 50 km), originate in the mountains and quickly descend to the plains, where they slow down their current. Waikato is the largest river in the country with a length of 425 km. The country also has 33 rivers with a length of more than 100 km and 6 rivers with a length of 51 to 95 km. The total length of rivers and other inland waterways in the country is 425,000 km.
New Zealand is one of the few countries in the southern hemisphere that has glaciers on its territory (Tasmansky, Fox, Franz Joseph, etc.). The Tasmanian glacier forms a narrow ice tongue, 27 km long, in some places up to 3 km wide; its total area is 52 sq. km. In some parts it reaches a thickness of 610 m and is the largest glacier in New Zealand.
Of the representatives of the fauna of New Zealand, the most famous are the kiwi birds (Apterygiformes), which have become the national symbol of the country. Among the birds, it is also necessary to mention kea (Nestor notabilis) (or Nestor), kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) (or owl parrot), takahe (Notoronis hochstelteri) (or wingless lizard).
Only in New Zealand, the remains of giant moa (Dinornis) birds that were exterminated about 500 years ago survived, reaching a height of 3.5 m. A little later, supposedly only about 200 years ago, the largest known species of eagles, the Haast eagle, was exterminated wings up to 3 meters and weighed up to 15 kg.
The flora of New Zealand has about 2000 species of plants. The country's forests are divided into two main types - mixed subtropical and evergreen. Foot forests dominate in the forests (Podocarpus). They survived, although they sharply declined during the industrial development of forests, overgrown with agathis of New Zealand (Agathis australis) and cypress dacridium (Dacrydium cupressinum).
The largest national park in New Zealand and one of the most beautiful in the world is Fiordland National Park (Fiordland National Park).
The country has several zoos and botanical gardens, the largest of which is, opened in 1922 and containing on its territory more than 170 species of animals, Auckland Zoo. In addition, large zoos are open in the cities of Wellington and Auckland, and the only zoo with a free housing for animals operates in Christchurch. A unique park was created near the town of Whangarei, specializing in the conservation of animals of the subfamily big cats.
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