New zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand (pronunciation: /njuːˈziːlənd/) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui), and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and around 600 smaller islands, covering a total area of 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi).
Etymology
The name "New Zealand" comes from “Zeeland” (which translates to "Sealand") in Dutch, after it was sighted by Dutch Explorer Abel Tasman. It was later anglicised to "New Zealand" by British naval captain James Cook of HM bark Endeavour who visited the islands more than 100 years after Tasman during 1769–70.
Related Terms
- North Island: One of the two main landmasses of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The North Island is more populous, with approximately three-quarters of New Zealand's population.
- South Island: The larger but less populous of the two main islands of New Zealand. The South Island's West Coast is the only part of the country with significant tracts of lowland temperate rainforest.
- Pacific Ocean: The largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions, which separates Asia and Australia from the Americas.
- Abel Tasman: A Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
- James Cook: A British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to Australia in particular.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on New zealand
- Wikipedia's article - New zealand
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