The
South Taranaki BightIn geography, bight has two meanings. A bight can be simply a bend or curve in any geographical feature—usually a bend or curve in the line between land and water....
is the name given to the large bay which extends south and east from the south coast of
TaranakiTaranaki 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....
in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
's
North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. With more symmetry than poetry or originality, it is matched by the
North Taranaki BightThe North Taranaki Bight is the name given to the large bay which extends north and east from the north coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. The name is echoed by the South Taranaki Bight to the south of Cape Egmont....
to the north of
Cape EgmontCape Egmont is the westernmost point of Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located close to the volcanic cone of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont....
.
The size of the bight depends to a large extent on the source referring to it. Strict definitions refer to it stretching from the mouth of the Kaupokonui Stream south of
Mount TaranakiMount Taranaki, Mount Egmont, or simply Taranaki is an active but quiescent stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Its official name is the equivocal Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont. The 2518-metre-high mountain is one of the most symmetrical volcanic...
to the mouth of the
Patea RiverThe Patea River is in Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs for 105 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, passing east through Stratford before swinging south and reaching the South Taranaki Bight near the town of Patea....
. More loose descriptions of the bight, however, consider the entire lower North Island west coast as far as
WaikanaeWaikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet"...
on the
Kapiti CoastThe Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...
, as being part of the bight.