North Cape (New Zealand)

	North Cape ; Māori : Otou
	; View of the North Cape with Murimotu Island from the southeast from the sea
	Geographical location
Coordinates	34 ° 25 ′ S , 173 ° 3 ′ E Coordinates: 34 ° 25 ′ S , 173 ° 3 ′ E
location	Far North District , Northland Region, North Island
Waters	Pacific Ocean
length	1 800 m
width	1 170 m
height	209 m
lighthouse	Beacon on Murimotu Island
	; Map of New Zealand by James Cook from 1770

The North Cape , in the language of the Māori Otou called, is a chapter in the Far North District of the Region Northland on the North Island of New Zealand .

geography

The North Cape is located on the northeast tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula , around 34 km east of Cape Reinga and around 80 km north-northwest of Kaitaia , the next largest city in the Far North District and the peninsula.

The cape, with its tip pointing east, is formed by the island of Murimotu Island , which has a connection to the mainland at low tide and is only an island at high tide . To call the cape the North Cape , however, is a bit misleading, as the northernmost point of the North Island is formed by the cliffs of the Surville Cliffs , which are about 4 km northwest of the cape.

The up to 234 m high mountain landscape, which extends north of the Waikuku Flat plain and to which the Cape on its east side belongs, is sometimes referred to in literature as the North Cape Peninsula .

geology

The mountainous landscape of the North Cape Peninsula is of volcanic origin and the northeast of the part called the peninsula, to which the Cape belongs, consists primarily of serpentinite and gabbro rock. In the north, steep cliffs have formed due to erosion , and to the south and south-west the mountain landscape slopes down to the sandy plain of Waikuku Flat .

history

The use of the term North Cape has not always been clear in the past. On December 10, 1769, the cape was sighted for the first time on the first South Seas voyage of the navigator and explorer Captain James Cook and given the name during the renewed sighting on December 19, 1769. The cartographers were wrong in assuming that the cape was the northernmost point of the North Cape Peninsula , but the name North Cape for the cape further east was taken from Cook's records and is still used today.

Scientific reserve

The entire mountain landscape of the North Cape Peninsula was designated as the North Cape Scientific Reserve as early as 1980 and has only been accessible with permission and subject to conditions. The protected area serves on the one hand for nature conservation and on the other hand for research for scientific purposes. Some of it has a unique flora and fauna. Some species are only found on the cliffs of the Surville Cliffs . The area is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

The southwestern Waikuku Flat is another reserve of the DOC, called Mokaikai Scenic Reserve . This sanctuary is open to the public, but only accessible by land via the property of the local Māori . Permission from the responsible Māori administration is required for access . Another strip of Māori land lies between the Mokaikai Scenic Reserve and the North Cape Scenic Reserve . It extends from Kerr Point and the north end of Tom Bowling Bay in the northeast to Tokatoka Point on the west coast.

literature

Janet Davidson, JA Grant-Mackie, JE Morton, JA Rattenbury : North Cape - A Scientific case for Conservation . In: Auckland University Field Club (Ed.): Tane . Volume 15 , 1969, p. 5–12 (English, online [PDF; 1.4 MB ; accessed on July 7, 2018]).
RE Beever : Fartheste North - Botanical Notes on the North Cape . In: New Zealand Regional Botanical Society Journal . Volume 42 . New Zealand Regional Botanical Society , June 22, 1987, p. 49–52 (English, online [PDF; 660 kB ; accessed on July 7, 2018]).

Web links

Robert Findlay Hay : North Cape District . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed July 5, 2018]).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Topo maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed July 7, 2018 .
^ Davidson, Grant-Mackie, Morton, Rattenbury : North Cape - A Scientific case for Conservation . In: Tane . 1969, p. 5 .
^ John Mitchell : New Zealand list . Captain Cook Society , February 2000, accessed July 3, 2018 .
^ Brian Hooker : The problem of North Cape, New Zealand, in maps . Finding New Zealand , archived from the original on November 2, 2007 ; accessed on September 2, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
^ ^A ^b Beever : Fartheste North - Botanical Notes on the North Cape . In: New Zealand Regional Botanical Society Journal . 1987, p. 49 f .

[LINZ_Topo_Maps-1] Topo maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed July 7, 2018 .

[Tane_Vol_15_S5-2] Davidson, Grant-Mackie, Morton, Rattenbury : North Cape - A Scientific case for Conservation . In: Tane . 1969, p. 5 .

[Captain_Cook_Society_NZList-3] John Mitchell : New Zealand list . Captain Cook Society , February 2000, accessed July 3, 2018 .

[Hooker-4] Brian Hooker : The problem of North Cape, New Zealand, in maps . Finding New Zealand , archived from the original on November 2, 2007 ; accessed on September 2, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).

[Beever_S49f-5] A ^b Beever : Fartheste North - Botanical Notes on the North Cape . In: New Zealand Regional Botanical Society Journal . 1987, p. 49 f .