Auckland Region: Encyclopedia II - Auckland Region - Geography

Auckland Region - Geography

The region extends from the mouth of the Kaipara Harbour in the north across the southern stretches of the North Auckland Peninsula, past the Waitakere Ranges and the isthmus of Auckland to the Hunua Ranges and low-lying land south of the Manukau Harbour. The region ends within a few kilometres of the mouth of the Waikato River. It is bounded in the north by the Northland Region, and in the south by the Waikato Region.

In land area it is smaller than all the other regions and unitary authorities except Nelson. Its highest point is the summit of Little Barrier Island, at 720 metres.

Auckland Region - Territorial Waters

The Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea form the coastline around the Auckland region. The east coast is lapped by the waters of the Hauraki Gulf, an arm of the Pacific sheltered by a considerable number of small and large islands, notably Great Barrier Island in the northeast. An arm of the Hauraki, the Waitemata Harbour forms the main port of Auckland city.

To the west lie two large natural harbours, the Kaipara and the Manukau. Both of these have treacherous entrances and are little used by shipping. The Kaipara Harbour (of which the southern half is in the Auckland region) is one of the world's largest natural harbours, covering an area of 530 km².

The region is blessed with many fine beaches, especially on the Tasman coast south of the Kaipara. These include Muriwai and Piha beaches.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Geography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki