|
Rurima Island
Rurima Island is a small island in the Bay of Plenty, off New Zealand's North Island. The island is the largest of the Rurima Rocks, with the smaller Moutoki and Tokata Islands lying about east and west respectively. Located approximately west of Moutohora Island and northwest from the mouth of the Rangitaiki River, the Rurima Rocks are an uninhabited nature reserve owned by the Ngāti Awa iwi. Kiore (Polynesian Rat) were eradicated in the 1980s, and Moutoki Island has long been an outpost for tuatara. The closest settlement is Thornton, about upstream from the mouth of the Rangitaiki. Rurima Island is about long, with two bays and sandy beaches on the northwest side. A wide shallow reef, almost a lagoon, stretches north from the pohutukawa-covered island. Snorkelling, diving and kayaking are popular activities here. The wreck of the ''SS Tasman'', holed on the southwest reef in 1912, lies nearby. There is some geothermal activity on and near the islands.A. R. Duncan and H. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuatara
Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back". The single extant species of tuatara is the only surviving member of its order. Rhynchocephalians originated during the Triassic (~250 million years ago), reached worldwide distribution and peak diversity during the Jurassic and, with the exception of tuatara, were extinct by 60 million years ago. Their closest living relatives are squamates (lizards and snakes). For this reason, tuatara are of interest in the study of the evolution of lizards and snakes, and for the reconstruction of the appearance and habits of the earliest diapsids, a group of amniote tetrapods that also includes dinosaurs (including birds) and crocodilians. Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure up to from head to tail-tip a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of " paradise". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves, and some are privately owned. Devon Island in Canada's far north is the largest uninhabited island in the world. Small coral atolls or islands usually have no source of fresh water, but occasionally a freshwater lens can be reached with a well. Terminology Uninhabited islands are sometimes also called "deserted islands" or "desert islands". In the latter, the adjective ''desert'' connotes not desert climate conditions, but rather "desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied". The word ''desert'' has been "formerly applied more widely to any wild, uninhabited region, including forest-land", and it is this archaic meaning that appears in the ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such ..., and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by country Africa Antarctica Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Lists of islands by continent Lists of islands by body of water By ocean: By other bodies of water: List of ancient islands Other lists of islands External links Island Superlatives {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Islands * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Islands Of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the seventh-largest island nation on earth, and the third-largest located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. The following is a list of islands of New Zealand. The two largest islands – where most of the human population lives – have names in both English and in the Māori language. They are the North Island or ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' and the South Island or ''Te Waipounamu''. Various Māori iwi sometimes use other names, with some preferring to call the South Island ''Te Waka o Aoraki''. The two islands are separated by Cook Strait. In general practice, the term ''mainland'' refers to the North Island and South Island. However, the South Island alone is sometimes called "the mainland" – especially by its residents, as a nickname – because it is the larger of the two main islands. To the south of the South Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Outlying Islands
The New Zealand outlying islands are nine offshore island groups that are part of New Zealand, with all but Solander Islands lying beyond the 12nm limit of the mainland's territorial waters. Although considered an integral parts of New Zealand, seven of the nine island groups are not part of any administrative region or district, but are instead each designated as an ''Area Outside Territorial Authority''. The two exceptions are the Chatham Islands, which are covered by their own special territorial authority, and the Solander Islands, which are part of the Southland Region and Southland District. Eight island groups sit on the New Zealand continental shelf, which forms a part of Zealandia. The Kermadec Islands, northeast of mainland New Zealand, are on a ridge, whose location as part or not part of Zealandia is not yet proven by geologists. Both sources show a map drawn of Zealandia, marking the location of islands north and south of New Zealand. The term is also used so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geothermal Gradient
Geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change with respect to increasing depth in Earth's interior. As a general rule, the crust temperature rises with depth due to the heat flow from the much hotter mantle; away from tectonic plate boundaries, temperature rises in about 25–30 °C/km (72–87 °F/mi) of depth near the surface in most of the world. However, in some cases the temperature may drop with increasing depth, especially near the surface, a phenomenon known as ''inverse'' or ''negative'' geothermal gradient. The effects of weather, sun, and season only reach a depth of approximately 10-20 metres. Strictly speaking, ''geo''-thermal necessarily refers to Earth but the concept may be applied to other planets. In SI units, the geothermal gradient is expressed as °C/km, K/km, or mK/m. These are all equivalent. Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion, heat produced through radioactive decay, latent hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metrosideros Excelsa
''Metrosideros excelsa'', commonly known as pōhutukawa ( mi, pōhutukawa), New Zealand Christmas tree, New Zealand Christmas bush, and iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow or white) flowers, each consisting of a mass of stamens. The pōhutukawa is one of twelve '' Metrosideros'' species endemic to New Zealand. Renowned for its vibrant colour and its ability to survive even perched on rocky, precarious cliffs, it has found an important place in New Zealand culture for its strength and beauty, and is regarded as a chiefly tree (') by Māori. Etymology The generic name ''Metrosideros'' derives from the Ancient Greek ' or "heartwood" and ' or "iron". The species name ''excelsa'' is from Latin ', "highest, sublime". ' is a Māori word. Its closest equivalent in other Polynesian languages is the Cook Island Māori word ', referring to a coastal shrub with white berries, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Rat
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution. Description The Polynesian rat is similar in appearance to other rats, such as the black rat and the brown rat. It has large, round ears, a pointed snout, black/brown hair with a lighter belly, and comparatively small feet. It has a thin, long body, reaching up to in length from the nose to the base of the tail, making it slightly smaller than other human-associated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bay Of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The Bay of Plenty Region, governed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, incorporates several large islands in the bay, in addition to the mainland area. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toi'' (the Sea of Toi) in the Māori language after Toi, an early ancestor, the name 'Bay of Plenty' was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay. History According to local Māori traditions, the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. These include the '' Mātaatua'', '' Nukutere'', '' Tākitimu'', '' Arawa'' and '' Tainui'' canoes. Many of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngāti Awa
Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatāne, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te Teko and Matatā. Two urban hapū also exist in Auckland (''Ngāti Awa-ki-Tamaki'') and Wellington (''Ngāti Awa-ki-Poneke''). History Early history Ngāti Awa traces its origins to the arrival of Māori settlers on the '' Mātaatua'' waka (canoe). The ''Mātaatua'' settlers established settlements in the Bay of Plenty and Northland. Initially, the tribe controlled a large area in Northland, but conflicts with other northern iwi resulted in a southward migration. One group eventually settled in the eastern Bay of Plenty, whose descendants would eventually found the iwi. Awanuiarangi II is recognised as the eponymous ancestor of Ngāti Awa. Awanuiarangi II was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> List Of Islands")
