New Zealand

temperate with sharp regional contrasts

predominately mountainous with large coastal plains

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

15,134 km

7,000 sq km (2014)

Oceania

earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity volcanism: significant volcanism on North Island; Ruapehu (2,797 m) has a history of large eruptions in the past century; Taranaki has the potential to produce dangerous avalanches and lahars; other historically active volcanoes include Okataina, Raoul Island, Tongariro, and White Island; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

note 1: consists of two main islands and a number of smaller islands; South Island, the larger main island, is the 12th-largest island in the world and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps; North Island is the 14th-largest island in the world and is not as mountainous, but it is marked by volcanism note 2: New Zealand lies along the Ring of Fire, which is a belt bordering the Pacific Ocean that contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes and up to 90% of the world's earthquakes note 3: almost 90% of the population lives in cities and over three-quarters on North Island; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world

natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone

almost twice the size of North Carolina; about the size of Colorado

41 00 S, 174 00 E

over three quarters of New Zealanders, including the Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas