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The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, the other being the South Island
South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major Islands of New Zealand of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" , possibly evolved from Te Wahi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone"....
. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island
List of islands by area

This is a list of islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 2,500 km? , and several other islands over 500 km? ....
. It has a population of

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.






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The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, the other being the South Island
South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major Islands of New Zealand of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" , possibly evolved from Te Wahi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone"....
. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island
List of islands by area

This is a list of islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 2,500 km? , and several other islands over 500 km? ....
. It has a population of

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 % of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island.

According to Maori
Maori

The Maori are the indigenous people Polynesian people of Aotearoa . The group probably arrived in south-western Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300....
 mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod
Demigod

The term "demigod", meaning "half-god", is used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human. Demi-gods include the Celtic hero C?chulainn, Gilgamesh, and Heracles....
 Maui
Maui (Maori mythology)

In Maori mythology, Maui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery....
. Maui 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 the Maori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Maui
Te Ika-a-Maui

Te Ika-a-Maui is the Maori name for the North Island of New Zealand. It is translated to "the fish of Maui", from the story of when Maui hauled up the North Island on his waka....
 (The Fish of Maui). The mountains and valleys are said to have been formed as a result of Maui's brothers' hacking at the fish.

Regions of the North Island


Nine local government regions
Regions of New Zealand

The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Twelve are governed by an elected regional council, while four are governed by Territorial Authorities of New Zealand which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authority....
 cover the North Island and all its adjacent islands and territorial waters.

  • Northland
    Northland Region

    The Northland Region , one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealand's administrative regions....
  • Auckland
  • Bay of Plenty
    Bay of Plenty

    The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BoP, is a Regions of New Zealand in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name....
  • Gisborne
    Gisborne, New Zealand

    Gisborne is the name of a unitary authority in New Zealand, being both a Regions of New Zealand and a district. Gisborne is also the name of the largest settlement within the Gisborne Region....
  • Waikato
    Waikato

    Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. Exact boundaries of the region depend largely on the use of the name, but in all cases it refers to an area around the city of Hamilton, New Zealand and extending along the banks of the Waikato River....
  • Taranaki
    Taranaki

    Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island and is the 10th largest region of New Zealand by population. It is named for the region's main geographical feature, Mount Taranaki....
  • Manawatu-Wanganui
    Manawatu-Wanganui

    Manawatu-Wanganui is a region situated in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, around the city of Palmerston North and the central city of Wanganui....
  • Hawkes Bay
  • Wellington


Cities and towns in the North Island

(Smaller urban areas are found on the List of towns in New Zealand
List of towns in New Zealand

This is a list of towns in New Zealand. The term "town" has no current statutory meaning in New Zealand, the few "Town Districts" having been abolished in 1989 or earlier....
.)

  • Auckland
    Auckland

    The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban areas of New Zealand with over 1.3 million residents, percent of the country's population....
  • Gisborne
    Gisborne, New Zealand

    Gisborne is the name of a unitary authority in New Zealand, being both a Regions of New Zealand and a district. Gisborne is also the name of the largest settlement within the Gisborne Region....
  • Hamilton
    Hamilton, New Zealand

    Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's seventh largest territorial authorities of New Zealand....
  • Hastings
    Hastings, New Zealand

    Hastings is the administrative centre of the Hastings District in the Hawke's Bay of the North Island of New Zealand. Hastings is located inland from the City of Napier....
  • Levin
    Levin

    Levin may refer to:People with the surname Levin or Levina:*Levin *Gilbert Levin, an astrophysics scientistIn places:* Levin, New Zealand, a town in the southern North Island...
  • Lower Hutt
    Lower Hutt

    Lower Hutt is a city in the Wellington Region region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City....
  • Masterton
    Masterton

    File:Masterton 01.JPGMasterton is a town in the Wellington Region region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a geographical region that is separated from metropolitan Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges....
  • Napier
    Napier, New Zealand

    Napier is a seaport List of cities in New Zealand in Hawke's Bay , New Zealand. It has a population of Less than twenty kilometres separate the centres of Hastings City and Napier, and as such the two are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"....
  • New Plymouth
    New Plymouth

    New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers came....
  • Palmerston North
    Palmerston North

    Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of As of 2008 Palmerston North is the eleventh largest city in New Zealand, and the centre of the seventh largest urban area....
  • Paraparaumu
    Paraparaumu

    Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies in the Kapiti Coast, 50 kilometres north of the nation's capital city, Wellington....
  • Porirua
    Porirua

    Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, 20 km north of the Wellington. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city....
  • Pukekohe
    Pukekohe

    Pukekohe is a small but growing rural service town in the Franklin , New Zealand of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland, New Zealand City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River....
  • Rotorua
    Rotorua

    Rotorua is a city on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand, and Rotorua District is the encompassing local authority area....
  • Taupo
    Taupo

    Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato....
  • Tauranga
    Tauranga

    Tauranga is a port city located in the western Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand, approximately south-east of Auckland. It has an urban population of ...
  • Wanganui
    Wanganui

    Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region.Like several New Zealand centres, it was officially designated a List of cities in New Zealand until administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by a District Council....
  • Whangarei
    Whangarei

    Whangarei, pronounced [ is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although it is commonly classified as a city, officially it is under the jurisdiction of the Whangarei District Council, a local body created in 1989 to administer both the city proper and its hinterland....
  • Upper Hutt
    Upper Hutt

    Upper Hutt is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is part of Wellington Region....
  • Wellington


Geographic features

  • Cape Reinga
    Cape Reinga

    Cape Reinga is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is located over 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia....
  • East Cape
    East Cape

    For other uses, see East Cape .East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne, New Zealand...
  • Cape Palliser
    Cape Palliser

    Cape Palliser is a headlands and bays on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island and the southernmost point of the North Island - it is in fact considerably further south than Nelson, New Zealand or Blenheim, New Zealand in the South Island....
  • Cook Strait
    Cook Strait

    Cook Strait is the strait between the North Island and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
  • Hikurangi Trench
    Hikurangi Trench

    The Hikurangi Trench is a linear deep in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, lying between the southern end of the Cook Strait and the Chatham Rise....
  • Lake Taupo
    Lake Taupo

    Lake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. It has a perimeter of approximately 193 kilometres, a deepest point of 186 metres and a surface area of 616 square kilometres....
  • Mt Maunganui Beach
  • Tongariro National Park
    Tongariro National Park

    Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 25 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites....
  • Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
    Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu

    Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the Maori language name for a hill, high, close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay , New Zealand....
  • Waikato River
    Waikato River

    The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake....
  • Waipoua Kauri Forest
    Waipoua Forest

    Waipoua Forest preserves some of the best examples of kauri forest remaining in New Zealand. It is notable for having two of the largest living kauri trees, Tane Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere....
  • Waitomo Caves
    Waitomo Caves

    The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kuiti....
  • Ninety Mile Beach
    Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand

    Ninety Mile Beach is a beach located on the western coast of the Far North , New Zealand of the North Island of New Zealand. It stretches from just west of Kaitaia towards Cape Reinga along the Aupouri Peninsula....