| Location: |
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
41 00 S, 174 00 E
|
| Area: |
total:
268,680 sq km
land:
268,670 sq km
water:
10 sq km
note:
includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
|
| Area - comparative: |
about the size of Colorado
|
| Maritime claims: |
continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea:
12 NM
|
| Climate: |
temperate with sharp regional contrasts
|
| Terrain: |
predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
|
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Mount Cook 3,764 m
|
| Natural resources: |
natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
|
| Land use: |
arable land:
9%
permanent crops:
5%
permanent pastures:
50%
forests and woodland:
28%
other:
8% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
2,850 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity
|
| Environment - current issues: |
deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside
|
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
|
| Geography - note: |
about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world
|
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