336 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



New Zealand 



New Zealand, lying over 1000 miles from Australia, and like it, 

 completely isolated, consists of two main islands of about equal 

 size, and a number of small outlying ones. The two principal 

 islands lie between 34° and 47° S. lat., and the total area is a little 

 more than 100,000 square miles. 



New Zealand presents a strong contrast to Australia, both in 

 topography and climate. Its relatively small area results in a 

 decidedly insular climate with very much less range of precipita- 

 tion and temperature than is found in continental Australia. 

 Owing to the higher latitude, the climate as a whole is rather cool, 

 but severe frost is rare in the lowlands, and the effect of the sur- 

 rounding ocean is seen in the relatively small range of temperature 

 due to latitude. Thus between Auckland in the North Island, 

 and Invercargill, ten degrees further south, there is less than 10°F. 

 difference in the mean annual temperatures. 



For the most part, rain is abundant and well distributed, and 

 originally extensive forests covered much of the country. Most 

 of the forest has disappeared, especially in the North Island. 

 There are, however, in the South Island, areas of light rainfall, 

 which are natural grass-lands, and may be compared to the Amer- 

 ican prairies. The most important of these is the Canterbury 

 Plain. 



New Zealand is very mountainous, and there are extensive 

 volcanic formations especially in the North Island. The Rotorua 

 district, familiar to tourists, recalls the Yellowstone Park, with 

 its geysers and thermal springs. 



The lofty snow-clad Southern Alps parallelling the west coast of 

 the South Island, culminate in Mt. Cook, over 12,000 feet high, 

 from which extensive glaciers descend, almost to its base. These 

 mountains greatly influence the climate of the South Island, 

 intercepting a large part of the moisture from the ocean, so that 

 in the narrow strip of territory, Westland, between the mountains 

 and the coast, there are stations with as much as 200 inches of 

 annual rainfall; while Christchurch, on the east coast has only 

 about 25 inches, and some eastern stations even less. 



This eastern dry region is mostly treeless, the ground covered 

 with coarse tussock-grasses, especially Festuca N ovae-Zeylandeae, 



