View source for Coromandel Peninsula

{{Short description|Peninsula in New Zealand}}
{{About|the area in New Zealand|the region in India|Coromandel Coast}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Coord|36|50|S|175|35|E|region:NZ-WKO_type:landmark_source:GNS_scale:1000000|display=title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2011}}
[[File:NZ-Coromandel P.png|thumb|right|Location of Coromandel Peninsula]]
[[File:Motukawao.jpg|right|thumb|Motukawao Islands and Hauraki Gulf from near Colville]]
[[File:Coromandel Waikawau Bay.JPG|right|thumb|Waikawau Bay]]
[[File:Tairua.jpg|right|thumb|Tairua]]
[[File:Coromandel01.png|thumb|View over Mercury Bay from the Tairua–Whitianga road]]
[[File:Coromandel Forest n.jpg|thumb|right|Rainforest of inland Coromandel Peninsula]]

The '''Coromandel Peninsula''' ({{langx|mi|Te Tara-o-te-Ika-a-Māui}}) on the [[North Island]] of New Zealand extends {{convert|85|km}} north from the western end of the [[Bay of Plenty]], forming a natural barrier protecting the [[Hauraki Gulf]] and the [[Firth of Thames]] in the west from the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is {{convert|40|km}} wide at its broadest point. Almost its entire population lives on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In clear weather the peninsula is clearly visible from [[Auckland]], the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, {{convert|55|km}} to the west. The peninsula is part of the [[Thames-Coromandel District]] and the [[Waikato|Waikato Region]].

==Names==
The [[Māori language|Māori]] name for the peninsula is ''Te Tara-o-te-Ika-a-Māui'', meaning "the barb of Māui's fish". This comes from the legend of [[Māui (mythology)#Māui and the fish|Māui and the Fish]], in which the demigod uses his hook to catch a great fish (Te Ika-a-Māui or the North Island) from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. In [[Hauraki Māori]] tradition, the fish is likened to a [[stingray]], with the [[Wellington Region]] being its head, the [[Northland Peninsula]] its tail, and Coromandel Peninsula its barb or spine.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tūroa |first=Taimoana |year=2000 |editor-last=Royal |editor-first=Te Ahukaramū Charles |title=Te Takoto o te Whenua o Hauraki = Hauraki Landmarks |publisher=Reed |page=37}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Hauraki–Coromandel region – Māori migration and settlement |last=Monin |first=Paul |url= https://admin.teara.govt.nz/en/hauraki-coromandel-region/page-4 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |date=1 April 2016 |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref>

The English-language name for the peninsula comes from HMS ''Coromandel'' (originally named [[HMS Malabar (1804)|HMS ''Malabar'']]), a ship of the British [[Royal Navy]] that stopped at [[Coromandel, New Zealand|Coromandel Harbour]] in 1820 to buy [[Agathis australis|kauri]] spars. The ship was named for the [[Coromandel Coast]] of India.

==Geography==
The peninsula is steep and hilly and largely covered in [[The bush|bush]]. The [[Coromandel Range]] forms the spine for most of the peninsula, with the [[Moehau Range]] at the northern end providing the highest point at nearly {{convert|900|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz9217/MOEHAU-RANGE/|title=Moehau Range, Waikato|website=NZ Topo Map|language=en|access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref> The large [[Great Barrier Island]], which lies beyond the northern tip, can be thought of as an extension of the ranges. The island is separated from [[Cape Colville]] on the peninsula's northern coast by the [[Colville Channel]].

Although the peninsula is close to large centres of population such as [[Auckland]] to the west and [[Tauranga]] to the southeast, its rugged nature means that much of it is relatively isolated, and the interior and northern tip are both largely undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. The [[Coromandel Forest Park]] covers much of the inland part of the peninsula.

Numerous small islands and island groups lie offshore, such as the [[Motukawao Islands]] to the northwest, the [[Aldermen Islands]] and [[Slipper Island]] to the southeast, and the [[Mercury Islands]] to the northeast.

The peninsula shows considerable signs of past volcanism. It comprises the eroded remnants of the [[Coromandel Volcanic Zone]], which was highly active during the [[Miocene]] and [[Pliocene]] periods.<ref name="Adams1994">{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/00288306.1994.9514626 |title=Geochronological and geochemical evolution of late Cenozoic volcanism in the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand|first1=C. J.|last1= Adams |first2=I. J. |last2=Graham |first3=D. |last3=Seward |first4=D. N. B. |last4=Skinner |journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |year=1994 |volume=37 |pages=359–379 |issue=3 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Volcanic activity has since primarily shifted southeast to the [[Taupō Volcanic Zone]], although [[Mayor Island / Tūhua]] some 25&nbsp;km to the east was recently active. Geothermal activity is still present on the peninsula, with hot springs in several places, notably at [[Hot Water Beach]] (in the central east coast between [[Whitianga]] and [[Tairua]]) and near [[Te Aroha]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mpdc.govt.nz/our-community/walking-a-cycling-tracks/te-aroha-walking-tracks/mokena-geyser-access.html |title=Mokena Geyser Access |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209145553/http://mpdc.govt.nz/our-community/walking-a-cycling-tracks/te-aroha-walking-tracks/mokena-geyser-access.html |archive-date=9 February 2013 |df=dmy-all }} Mokena Hou section of the MPDC website</ref>

==People==
Owing to the nature of the land, much of the Coromandel's population clusters in a small number of towns and communities along the southeastern and southwestern coasts. Only five towns have populations of over 1000 ([[Coromandel, New Zealand|Coromandel]], [[Whitianga]], [[Thames, New Zealand|Thames]], [[Tairua]], and [[Whangamatā]]),{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} and of these only Thames, with {{NZ population data 2018|Thames|y}} people, and Whitianga, with {{NZ population data 2018|Whitianga|y}} people, have populations of over 5000.{{NZ population data 2018||||y}} Several small towns dot the coast of the [[Firth of Thames]] in the southwest. Other small towns on the peninsula include [[Te Puru]], [[Matarangi]], [[Whangapoua]], [[Whiritoa]], [[Hikuai]], Port Jackson, Port Charles, [[Tairua]], [[Pauanui]] and [[Colville, New Zealand|Colville]]. The population of several of these centres is highly seasonal, with many Aucklanders having holiday homes in the Coromandel.{{#tag:ref|Normal New Zealand usage tends to refer to places informally as being "in the Coromandel" rather than "on the Coromandel Peninsula".{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}|group=Note}} During the summer holiday period around Christmas and New Year, visiting families and travellers from around the North Island add significantly to activity in the area, particularly in Whangamatā, Whitianga, Matarangi, Tairua and Pauanui.

The peninsula is a popular place to live for people who have chosen an [[alternative lifestyle]], especially those who have left Auckland. The 1970s saw thousands of [[hippies]] relocate from large cities around New Zealand to the Coromandel in search of an [[environmentally friendly]] lifestyle associated with the [[counterculture]] [[back-to-the-land movement]]. {{As of | 2010}}, increasing numbers of affluent Aucklanders have started moving to the Coromandel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/82318755/exaucklanders-escape-commutes-and-cost-of-living|title=Escaping commutes and cost of living|website=Stuff|date=22 July 2016|access-date=2016-09-27}}</ref>

Population density decreases with both distance from the coast and distance north. Of the main population centres, only Coromandel, Colville, Matarangi and Whitianga lie in the north of the peninsula, and much of the inland parts remain virtually uninhabited.

==History==
Prior to contact with Europeans, the Tahanga Quarries of Opito Bay were an important source of [[basalt]] (''karā'' or ''pakawera''), which [[Māori people|Māori]] used in the production of stone tools such as [[adze]]s (particularly during the [[Māori history#Archaic period (1300–1500)|Māori Archaic period]] (1300–1500)).<ref>{{Cite Q|Q58677025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Q|Q58629011}}</ref>

==Industries and attractions==
The area was once known largely for its hard-rock [[gold mining]] and kauri forestry industries, but is now a popular tourist destination. Most mining ceased around the 1980s.<ref name="MINE"/> In late 2009, New Zealand's Energy and Resources Minister [[Gerry Brownlee]] ([[New Zealand National Party|National Party]]) noted that there was a possibility of new mining in conservation areas, even though he had previously declared that a stocktake of mineral resources in protected areas did not indicate a desire to mine there.<ref name="MINE">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10612000 |title=Conservation land could be mined – Govt |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=27 November 2009 |access-date=23 February 2011}}</ref>

A forest park occupies much of the centre of the peninsula, and the coasts are dotted with numerous beaches and scenic views. Evidence of the region's geothermal origins can be found in [[hot spring]]s, notably at [[Hot Water Beach]] on the peninsula's east coast. The town of Whangamatā is a popular holiday retreat, and Whitianga on [[Mercury Bay]] is renowned for its [[yachting]]. The peninsula's waters are also a popular destination for [[Scuba diving|scuba divers]]. [[Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove)|Cathedral Cove]], named for its cathedral-like arch through the limestone cliff, is a popular destination, only accessible by boat or on foot. In recent years, [[dolphin]]s and more coast-loving [[whale]]s are [[Whale watching in New Zealand|appearing along the coasts]] as their numbers began to recover, such as [[southern right whale]], [[Bryde's whale]] and [[humpback whale]].

==Transport==
The towns are connected by [[New Zealand state highway network|State Highways 25 and 25A]], which form a circuit around the peninsula. Not all of the roads on the peninsula are sealed (i.e. are [[gravel road]]s) notably the [[309 Road]], which connects Coromandel Town and Whitianga. Some hire car companies have contracts that specifically exclude driving on these roads.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vroomvroomvroom.co.nz/rental-information/driving/restrictions/|title=Driving restrictions|publisher=VroomVroomVroom|access-date=29 July 2020}}</ref> A passenger ferry runs from Ferry Landing to Whitianga, providing direct access to the shops and restaurants of Whitianga for pedestrians and cyclists based in Cook's Beach, Flaxmill Bay, Front Beach, and Ferry Landing. The ferry takes only 5 minutes to cross the harbour, while the trip by road takes 40 to 45 minutes.

{{Wide image|Coromandel Peninsula Panorama.jpg|1050px|Opito Bay on the east coast of Coromandel Peninsula}}

== Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.thecoromandel.com Destination Coromandel], tourism site for the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki district councils

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Coromandel Peninsula| ]]
[[Category:Firth of Thames]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Thames-Coromandel District]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Waikato]]