New Zealand
I. Location and Topography
located in the southern Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
North Island and South Island are divided by Cook Strait
there are approx. 220 mountains, the highest being Mount Cook (3754m)
active volcanos found on North Island, rugged shoreline and landscape with many torrents, cliffs and valleys
II. Facts and Figures 32756see19xmn5e
15 times more sheep than inhabitants (3.68 million)
capital is Wellington, biggest city is Auckland (0.9 million)
total land coverage 270,534 sqkm (about the same size as United Kingdom)
average temperature in Auckland in January is 24 degrees Celsius em756s2319xmmn
III. History
first European (Abel Janszoon Tasman) set foot on North Island in 1642
James Cook explored New Zealand in 1769
1840 Treaty of Waitangi was signed, New Zealand was annexed by U.K.
Sovereign Constitution was passed by General Assembly in 1852
became Dominion of British Commonwealth in 1907
IV. The Maori people and their Culture
original inhabitants of New Zealand www.sunshineswingers.de.vu
Maori is second language, taught in most schools
today only 9% of population, 95% of those live on North Island
V. Economy
dominated by agriculture and export of wool, meat and dairy products
biggest exporter of Kiwis worldwide
A report given by Christopher Vickers (chvickershotmail.com) on March 9,2000
Sources of Information: New Zealand Tourism Bord; Microsoft Encarta 2000; Internet
