Auckland Islands

Motu Maha or Maungahuka (Māori)
The Auckland Islands as seen by STS-89 in 1998, with the northwest towards the top of the image
Map of the Auckland Islands
Geography
Location	Southern Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	50°42′S 166°06′E / 50.7°S 166.1°E / -50.7; 166.1
Archipelago	Auckland Islands
Total islands	31+
Major islands	Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Dundas Island, Green Island
Area	570[1] km2 (220 sq mi)
Highest elevation	705 m (2313 ft)
Highest point	Mount Dick
Administration
New Zealand
Area Outside Territorial Authority	New Zealand Subantarctic Islands
Demographics
Population	0 (2015)

The Auckland Islands (Māori: Motu Maha "Many islands" or Maungahuka "Snowy mountains")^[2] are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying 465 km (289 mi) south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying 460 km² (180 sq mi), is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island, and Green Island, with a combined area of 570 km² (220 sq mi).^[1] The islands have no permanent human inhabitants.

The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead Area Outside Territorial Authority, like all the other outlying islands except the Solander Islands.

Ecologically, the Auckland Islands form part of the Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion. Along with other New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, they were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.^[3]

Geography

The Auckland Islands lie 360 km (220 mi) south of Stewart Island, and 465 km (289 mi) from the South Island port of Bluff, between the latitudes 50° 30' and 50° 55' S and longitudes 165° 50' and 166° 20' E.

They include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island, and Green Island, with a combined area of 570 km² (220 sq mi). The islands are close to each other, separated by narrow channels, and the coastline is rugged, with numerous deep inlets.^[1]

Auckland Island, the main island, has an approximate land area of 510 km² (197 sq mi), and a length of 42 km (26 mi). It is notable for its steep cliffs and rugged terrain, which rises to over 600 m (1,969 ft). Prominent peaks include Cavern Peak (659 m or 2,162 ft), Mount Raynal (635 m or 2,083 ft), Mount D'Urville (630 m or 2,067 ft), Mount Easton (610 m or 2,001 ft), and the Tower of Babel (550 m or 1,804 ft). The southern end of the island broadens to a width of 26 km (16 mi).^[4]

Here, the narrow channel of Carnley Harbour (the Adams Straits on some maps) separates the main island from the roughly triangular Adams Island (97 km² (37 sq mi)),^[5] which is even more mountainous, reaching a height of 705 m (2,313 ft) at Mount Dick. The channel is the remains of the crater of an extinct volcano, and Adams Island and the southern part of the main island form the crater rim. The main island features many sharply incised inlets, notably Port Ross at the northern end.

The group includes numerous other smaller islands, notably Disappointment Island (northwest of the main island) and Enderby Island (off the northern tip of the main island), altogether covering 12 km² (4.6 sq mi).^[5]

Most of the islands have a volcanic origin, with the archipelago dominated by two 12-million-year-old Miocene shield volcanoes, subsequently eroded and dissected.^[6][7] These rest on older volcanic rocks 15–25 million years old with some older granites and fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks from around 100 million years ago.^[8]

Islands

The following table includes named islands according to Land Information New Zealand.^[5]

Climate

Port Ross features a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc according to the Köppen climate classification system). Like many other Subpolar oceanic climates, Port Ross, along with the Auckland Islands in general, are characterised by the near-constant overcast weather and never being too hot or too cold.

This borders on an extremely mild-wintered, maritime-influenced tundra climate.