Travel the World: New Zealand Geography

The Cook Strait connects the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean and is known for treacherous seafaring conditions including dangerous currents. According to the legend of the great navigator Kupe, he followed a huge octopus named Te Wheke-a-Muturangi across the strait and killed it in the Tory Channel.

Marlborough has a very dry climate and is known for wine production. The more stress to the grapes, the better the wine. Do you like Sauvignon Blanc? If so, you'll want to visit this, the heart of New Zealand's flourishing wine industry.

A happening and sophisticated urban center, Auckland is located around two large harbors and features a plethora of bars and interesting shops. Auckland Domain park has several museums and surrounds the entire blast crater of the Pukekawa volcano.

Mount Cook, also known as Mount Aoraki is 12,218 feet high and is the highest point in the New Zealand Islands chain. It is named after British Captain James Cook who was killed after trying to kidnap a Hawaiian chief in 1779.

After being isolated for hundreds of years, these culturally unique people were the first inhabitants and there are over 600,000 New Zealanders who identify as Maori. They traveled great distances in huge ocean-going canoes.

The estimated population of New Zealand is 4.79 million, which is roughly equal to that of South Carolina. The islands have a population density of 47.1 Kiwis per square mile.

Kiwi birds are about the size of a chicken, but their egg weighs up to 20% of its body weight — the largest of any bird in the world. The Kiwi is primarily nocturnal and four out of five of its species are listed as vulnerable.

Lake Taupo has a surface area of 238 square miles and is the second largest freshwater lake in Oceana. It's a famous fishery for trophy-sized brown and rainbow trout. Fishermen from around the globe travel there to test its waters.

The deformation caused by these massive pieces of the earth's crust sliding against each other formed New Zealand's mountain ranges — some of which are still rising from the sea.

Also known as Tasmantis, Zealandia is almost entirely submerged beneath the sea. Zealandia's status as a continent is currently being debated by scientists.

Mount Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano on the southern shore of Lake Taupo. Its slopes feature the North Island's major ski resorts and only glaciers. Visually dramatic scenes of Mordor were filmed there for the Hobbit movies.

The River's course was formed 17,000 years ago and its name translates in Maori to "flowing water." This enormous waterway rises on the slopes of Mt. Ruapehu, creating the Huka Falls.

The South Island has 23 peaks over 9,800 feet above sea level. Lord of the Rings filmmakers feared moviegoers would think scenes of the mountains too stunning to be real.

Many of the caves lie beneath residential properties. Some Auckland amateur detectives are trying to discover them with LiDar (Light Detection and Ranging) equipment.

The Taupo Volcanic Zone is home to three active peaks: Mount Ngauruhoe, Mount Ruapehu and Mount Tongariro which sent three-foot long chunks of andesite a mile up into the air while erupting in 2012.

These base rocks were once part of Gondwanaland, a massive super-continent that broke apart 180 million years ago, along with South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica.

Gondwanaland formed about 550 million years ago and joined up with other continents to form Pangea, around 355 million years ago.

This volcanic rift is the world's youngest geothermal system and was created by the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. Steam fissures and bubbling hot lakes surround an incredible thermal world.

Covering over 17,000 square miles, this lowland region that borders on the Pacific Ocean features sheep, beef and dairy farming in addition to growing fruit, like peaches, plums, apricots and cherries.

The Southern Alps run along most of the length of the South Island. Near the foothills of the Southern Alps, Fran Josef Glacier is a hot spot for glacier nuts. Tasman Glacier is over 16 miles long.

Made from a green-skinned grape brought over from France, Sauvignon Blanc is planted in over 53,000 acres making it one of the country's largest exports. Enjoyed at book clubs throughout the world.

Rotorua hosts a dazzling variety of mud pools, geysers and hot springs that can have a sometime odorous quality. But still, a great place to soak it all in.

Bordering the Tasman Sea is somewhat rough hill country known by the locals as the Kakaimata Range. Home to famous Bridal Veil Falls, The Hamilton Zoo and Ngarunui Beach, it's a vacation paradise.

Known for spectacular beaches and river rafting, this region has a significant Maori population — over 24 percent identify with the founding culture. Hawke's Bay is a treasury of natural tourist attractions.

On the South Island lives a large network of mountain valleys once drowned by the rising ocean. Between Tasman Bay and Cloudy Bay, Marlborough Sounds is so big it can be seen from space.

New Zealand is 1,000 miles from the continent of Australia — that's almost the distance from California to Nebraska. That's also approximately New Zealand's length.

Tokelau is an island group composed of three beautiful tropical coral atolls. The people there are called Tokelauans and the main religion is the Congregational Christian Church.

New Zealand has a largely symbolic claim called The Ross Dependency in Antarctica. Named after Sir James Clark Ross who discovered the Ross Sea. It's one cool piece of real estate.

In 1947 the Statute of Westminster Act gave the New Zealand Parliament full legislative powers and legally separated New Zealand's crown from the British Crown.

This fascinating culture of early explorers paddled and sailed their large ocean-going canoes (called Waka) from Eastern Polynesia over 2,500 miles across the open Pacific to settle in New Zealand around 1250.

New Zealand is about 1,000 miles long. This seamount is around 250 miles wide with a total land area of over 100,000 square miles.

Formed over millions of years by glacial action, Milford Sound is a major tourist attraction. It's surrounded by rock faces over 3,500 feet high on two sides and has two huge waterfalls. Rudyard Kipling once called it the "Eight Wonder of the World".

These massive bodies of water are located in the southwest region of the South Island in an area that sounds oddly like a car dealership — Fjordland.

Located in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, Lady Knox shoots 60 feet into the air for up to an hour at a time. Before Lady Knox, the tallest geyser was Waimangu, which shot 1600 feet in the air. Waimangu stopped erupting in 1904.

Known for its healing properties, Hell's Gate is the most active geothermal park in New Zealand. It has boiling hot pools, erupting waters and mud baths steeped in Maori legend. A truly magical place, unless you're a lobster.