New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean consisting of two large islands (the North and South Islands) and a number of smaller islands. It is known as Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) in the indigenous Maori language. New Zealand's landmass totals 268,680 square kilometres, slightly smaller than that of Japan and slightly more than that of the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1,600 kilometres along a north-north-east axis. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands of New Zealand include Stewart Island, Waiheke Island, Great Barrier Island, and the Chatham Islands.
The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps where New Zealand highest mountain, Mount Cook (3,754 metres), is located. The South Island has 18 peaks of more than 3,000 metres. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but possesses many landscape features resulting from volcanic activity. The North Island's tallest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres), is an active volcano. New Zealand's dramatic and varied landscape has made it a popular location for television and film production, including feature films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
New Zealand's climate is mild and temperate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0°C or rising above 30°C. Conditions range from wet and cold on the West Coast of the South Island to subtropical in the North Island. Of the major cities, Christchurch is the driest while Auckland is the wettest. New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2,000 kilometres across. Its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. The population is mostly of European descent, with the Maori being the largest minority.
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Polynesian settlers arrived between the 13th and 15th centuries, establishing the indigenous Maori culture. The first recorded Europeans to reach New Zealand were led by Abel Tasman, who sailed up the west coasts of the South and North Islands in 1642. British mariner Captain James Cook undertook extensive surveys of the islands in 1769, leading to European whaling expeditions and eventually European colonisation. New Zealand was initially administered as a part of the colony of New South Wales, becoming a separate colony in 1841 and an independent nation 1907.