New Zealand is situated on the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, making it one of the most active earthquake and volcanic regions in the world.

The relative close proximity of New Zealand to Antarctica has made the South Island a major gateway for scientific expeditions to the continent.

New Zealand claims the ninth largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 4,083,744 km2 (1,576,742 sq mi), more than 15 times its land area.

[16] Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island.

New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwana supercontinent.

It passes directly under many settlements on the West Coast of the South Island and shaking from a rupture would likely affect many cities and towns throughout the country.

[34] This region is dominated by the rugged and relatively untouched Fiordland, an area of flooded glacially carved valleys with little human settlement.

[37] The country's highest mountain is Aoraki / Mount Cook; its height since 2014 is listed as 3,724 metres (12,218 feet) (down from 3,764 m (12,349 ft) before December 1991, due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion).

These caves are found where there are relatively recent basaltic volcanoes in New Zealand, such as the Auckland volcanic field particularly on Rangitoto, Mount Eden and Matukutūruru.

As cave systems take many thousands of years to develop they can now be isolated from the water that formed them, whether through change in sea level or groundwater flow.

The east of the South Island is marked by wide braided rivers, such as the Wairau, Waimakariri and Rangitata; formed from glaciers, they fan out into many strands on gravel plains.

[55] The main geographic factors that influence New Zealand's climate are the temperate latitude, with prevailing westerly winds; the oceanic environment; and the mountains, especially the Southern Alps.

[79][80] A wide variety of other languages make up the remaining approximately 6 percent of New Zealanders—with Samoan, Hindi, French and various Chinese dialects being the most common.

[1] As the world's largest exporter of sheep, New Zealand's agricultural industry focuses primarily on pastoral farming, particularly dairy and beef, as well as lambs.

[82] In addition to pastoral farming, fisherman harvest mussels, oysters and salmon, and horticulture farmers grow kiwifruit, as well as peaches, nectarines and other fruits.

[83] New Zealand's distance from world markets and spatial variation in rainfall, elevation and soil quality have defined the geography of its agriculture industry.

Many farmers are worried about their livelihoods and the effects that the rabbits will have on food supply and trade, as their numbers are quickly growing out of control.

[87] Almost half of New Zealand's climate change emissions are generated by greenhouse gases, mainly methane and nitrous oxide, which come from farming and agriculture.

The increase of carbon dioxide in the air helps the plants to grow faster, but the long-term effects of climate change threaten farmers with the likelihood of more frequent and severe floods and droughts.

[88] Growers of kiwifruit, a major export in the horticulture industry of New Zealand, have experienced difficulties as a result of climate change.

In the 2010s, warm winters did not provide the adequate cool temperatures needed for the flowering of kiwifruit, and this resulted in a reduction of the yield sizes.

[90] New Zealand is swept by weather systems that bring heavy rain; settlements are usually close to hill-country areas which experience much higher rainfall than the lowlands due to the orographic effect.

Mountain streams which feed the major rivers rise rapidly and frequently break their banks covering farms with water and silt.

[91] Close monitoring, weather forecasting, stopbanks, dams, and reafforestation programmes in hill country have ameliorated the worst effects.

[98] New Zealand's geographic isolation for 80 million years[99] and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country's species of animals, fungi and plants.

[109] Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived,[110] with around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian settlement.

Fresh water quality is under pressure from agriculture, hydropower, urban development, pest invasions and climate change,[114] although much of the country's household and industrial waste is now increasingly filtered and sometimes recycled.

Some areas of land, the sea, rivers or lakes are protected by law, so their special plants, animals, landforms and other distinctive features are sheltered from harm.

New Zealand's varied landscape has appeared in television shows, such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.

An increasing number of feature films have been shot on location in New Zealand for its scenery, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy.