New Zealand Geography and Nature

North and South Island Geography, Mountains, Lakes and Volcanoes

58 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise North and South Island Geography, Mountains, Lakes and Volcanoes now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 58 questions

  1. Which strait separates the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand?
  2. Which sea lies between New Zealand and Australia?
  3. What is the third largest island of New Zealand, south of the South Island?
  4. What is the highest mountain in New Zealand?
  5. Which mountain range runs down the length of the South Island?
  6. Which is the largest lake in New Zealand by area?
  7. Which is the longest river in New Zealand?
  8. Which city, on the Waitemata and Manukau harbours, is the largest in New Zealand?
  9. Which is the largest city of the South Island?
  10. Which city, founded by Scottish settlers, has a University of Otago?
  11. Which is the capital of New Zealand?
  12. Which volcano on the central North Island is the highest active volcano in the country?
  13. Which geothermal city in the North Island is known for geysers and boiling mud pools?
  14. Which fiord in Fiordland National Park is the most visited?
  15. Which two glaciers on the West Coast of the South Island reach nearly to rainforest?
  16. Which large flat region of the South Island is used for farming?
  17. Which tectonic plates meet beneath New Zealand?
  18. Which fault runs along much of the South Island and could produce a major earthquake?
  19. In which year did a deadly earthquake destroy much of Napier and Hastings?
  20. Which national park is New Zealand's oldest, gifted by a Maori chief in 1887?
  21. Which park is a dual World Heritage Site, listed for both natural and Maori cultural values?
  22. Which city is farthest east of the main cities, among the first to see the sunrise?
  23. Which town on Lake Wakatipu is a centre for adventure tourism?
  24. Which city, among capitals, lies closest to the South Pole?
  25. What is the southernmost large town on the South Island's mainland, from which ferries run to Stewart Island?
  26. Which strait separates the South Island of New Zealand from Stewart Island (Rakiura)?
  27. Which is the largest lake in the South Island of New Zealand by surface area?
  28. What unusual hydrological phenomenon occurs naturally in Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown?
  29. What landmark environmental campaign in the late 1960s prevented raising the waters of Lake Manapouri?
  30. Which active volcanic cone in Tongariro National Park famously served as Mount Doom in Peter Jackson's films?
  31. What geological feature characterizes Mount Taranaki (Mount Egmont) in the western North Island?
  32. What distinctive shape earned Mount Aspiring (Tititea) the title 'the Matterhorn of the South'?
  33. What major tectonic fault runs approximately 480 km along the length of the South Island?
  34. Which is the youngest volcano in the Auckland Volcanic Field, having erupted approximately 600 years ago?
  35. How many monogenetic volcanic vents are recognized across the Auckland Volcanic Field?
  36. Which New Zealand river has the highest average water discharge rate, draining Lakes Hawea, Wanaka, and Wakatipu?
  37. What type of river system is exemplified by the Rakaia, Rangitata, and Waimakariri rivers in Canterbury?
  38. What mountain pass is crossed by hikers on the renowned Milford Track between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound?
  39. Which national park on the South Island is renowned for its pancake limestone rock stacks and blowholes at Punakaiki?
  40. What is the longest glacier in New Zealand, stretching approximately 27 km down the eastern Southern Alps?
  41. At Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua), which two major water bodies dramatically meet?
  42. What is the easternmost point of mainland New Zealand?
  43. What geological catastrophe violently destroyed the world-famous Pink and White Terraces on 10 June 1886?
  44. What is the deepest lake in New Zealand, reaching depths of approximately 462 metres?
  45. Which distinctive volcanic island situated 48 km off the Bay of Plenty coast had a tragic fatal eruption in December 2019?
  46. What coastal landscape feature on Banks Peninsula was formed by two extinct, eroded Miocene volcanoes?
  47. What is the highest mountain in the North Island of New Zealand?
  48. What is the longest sandspit in New Zealand, extending 34 km into Golden Bay at the northern tip of the South Island?
  49. Which alpine highway pass connects Canterbury to Westland via the Otira Viaduct?
  50. Which North Island river was granted the legal status of an indivisible living person (Te Awa Tupua) in 2017?
  51. What geological feature forms the natural breakwater enclosing Nelson Harbour?
  52. Which deep fjord in southwest New Zealand is home to Stirling Falls and the iconic Mitre Peak?
  53. What mountain pass carries the highest paved public highway in New Zealand at 1,076 metres altitude?
  54. What large inland basin between Canterbury and the Southern Alps is renowned for turquoise glacial lakes Tekapo and Pukaki?
  55. What coastal scenic reserve near Dunedin features a colony of northern royal albatross and yellow-eyed penguins?
  56. What caused the official height of Aoraki / Mount Cook to be revised down from 3,764 metres to 3,724 metres?
  57. Which large man-made lake on the Waitaki River hydroelectric scheme is the second-largest lake in the South Island by area?
  58. What is the name of the drowned glacial valley system forming Queen Charlotte and Pelorus sounds?

Keep practising

More general knowledge topics

All general knowledge →

Ready for more general knowledge?

Play the GK ChallengeGeneral knowledge hub