Geography of New Zealand
The geography of New Zealand encompasses two main islands (the North and South Islands, or Te-Ika-a-Maui and Te Wai Pounamu in Māori) and a number of smaller islands, located near the centre of the water hemisphere. New Zealand's landscape ranges from the fjord-like sounds of the southwest to the sandy beaches of the far north. South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps while a volcanic plateau covers much of central North Island. Temperatures rarely fall below 0 °C or rise above 30 °C and conditions vary from wet and cold on South Island's West Coast to dry and continental a short distance away across the mountains and subtropical in the northern reaches of North Island.
New Zealand's varied landscape has appeared in television series, such as Xena: Warrior Princess. An increasing number of movies have also been filmed there, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
It is situated about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, its closest neighbours to the north being Tonga and Fiji. The relative proximity of New Zealand north of Antarctica has made South Island a gateway for scientific expeditions to the continent.
New Zealand is in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean at 41°S 174°E / 41°S 174°E. It has an area of 267,710 square kilometres (103,738 sq. mi) (including Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Islands, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands), making it slightly smaller than Italy and Japan and a little larger than the United Kingdom. These islands are the main areas of land that emerged from the largely submerged continent of Zealandia, which came into existence about 83 million years ago before sinking about 20 million years ago.
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