vereignty to Queen
Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the
British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of
land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native
peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent
dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars.
New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances
lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to
address longstanding Maori grievances.

Geography New Zealand

Location:
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

Geographic coordinates:
41 00 S, 174 00 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 268,680 sq km
land: 268,021 sq km
water: NA
note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands,
Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Area - comparative:
about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
15,134 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain:
predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m

Natural resources:
natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold,
limestone

Land use:
arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 6.92%
other: 87.54% (2005)

Irrigated land:
2,850 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by
invasive species

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the
southernmost nati