NEW ZEALAND, gland. A British ony in the South Pacific Ocean, situated between latitudes and S.. and between longitudes and E.. a little more than miles southeast of the Australian con tinent. New Zealand proper consists of two large islands. North Island and South or Middle Island, separated by Cook Strait, from 16 In 100 miles wide. and of a smaller island, Stewart Island. lying 25 miles south of South Island. from which it is separated ln• Foveaux Strait. Several of the outlying groups. known as the Anekland. Chat ham, Cook, Kermadec island:. and other small islets. are also attached to the colony. The area of North Island is 11,464 square miles. of South Island 55.525, and of Stewart Island 665 square miles. The total area of the eolony is estimated at 101.471 square miles, being nearly equal to that of Italy, to which pv1611%111:I shape of New• Zealand bears a striking resemblance.
Torofm.mre. The surfaee of North Island is in the main gently inlat intr. Wit 11 low hills and tableland.; forest ed. There ore, however, several peaks in this island, from 4000 to over 9000 feet high. Of these Tarawera and Tongariro, on the mainland, and \Vhakari, in the Bay of Plenty, are active volcanoes, while the highest extinct cones are Buapehu(9715 feet)and Mount Egmont or Taranaki. The latter is a soli tary peak standing at the west entrance to Cook Strait. It is 8270 feet high, and its summit is covered with perpetual snow. South Island fers in a marked degree from North Island. It has no volcanoes, but along its whole western coast runs a lofty and rugged mountain range known as the Southern Alps, which rivals the European Alps in its wild mountain scenery. It has a height of from 8000 to over 12,000 feet, Mount Cook, the highest point, being 12,349 feet above the sea. It is deeply cleft, with numerous
ravines and precipices, while on the western slope there are great glaciers, in some places reaching within a few hundred feet of the sea. The range is generally covered with forests to the snow line. On the eastern flank of the Alps is a plateau bounded by a lower range running through the centre of the island. from which the land deseends in terraced, grassy plains to the eastern coast.
The coast-line of New Zealand measures about 3000 miles, of which forms the coast of North Island. which is much indented with hays• two of them almost separating the north western peninsula from the mainland. Beatty good harbors, however, are few, as most of the bays are obstructed by bars. The best harbors are those of Auckland and \Vellington. The rivers are small and un important, the largest being the Waikato, in North Island. The lakes by contrast are esting. Those in North island are of volcanic origin. The largest is Lake Tanpo, with a di• :tinker of 22 miles and an enormous depth. The region surrounding it is full of hot springs and geysers, among which rose the famous pink and white terraces of siliceous deposits which were destroyed an eruption in 1SS6. in South Isl and. along the eastern slope of the Alps, extends a series of elongated mountain lakes supposed to he, like the deep fiords of the southwest coast, of glacial origin. The largest is Wakatipu, which is said to rival Lake Lucerne in beauty. Though its surface is 1060 feet above sea-level, its bottom is in some places 500 feet below.