Information AboutBay Of Plenty |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BAY OF PLENTY | |
| bay of plenty-east coast | |
| b | |
| territorial authorities of new zealand | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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THE BAY ITSELF The bay stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The region is bound by the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges in the west and extends inland to the sparsely populated forest lands around Rotorua , Kawerau and Murupara . Several islands are located in the bay, notably Mayor Island/Tuhua , Motiti Island , Whale Island and, most famously, the active volcano of Whakaari/White Island . The bay was named by James Cook some time during November 1769 . Cook named it the Bay of Plenty after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages he visited on the coast, in stark contrast to the observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay . THE REGION The local government region has a (population 106,500) and Rotorua (55,100). As a compromise between the cities, the town of Whakatane was selected as the seat for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Other towns in the region include Te Puke , Katikati and Opotiki . Agriculture and tourism are the region's two main industries, with the geothermal region around Rotorua being a popular tourist destination. The area is forested and has extensive agriculture. The climate is nearly tropical, being both humid and warm most of the year. Notable crops are Kiwifruit , Apple s, Avocado s and Timber . As with most of New Zealand, sheep farming is common. DEMOGRAPHICS The total resident population of the Bay Of Plenty region at the time of the 2001 Census was 239,412 Of those, 78.2 percent said they belong to the European ethnic group. 24.4 percent were under the age of 15 years and 9.6 percent were unemployed. LARGEST CITIES/TOWNS Tauranga 106,500 Rotorua 55,100 Whakatane 18,200 Kawerau 7,100 Te Puke 7,050 Opotiki 4,000 Katikati 2,950 |