Naturally beautiful and young at heart ...
New Zealand's landmass is one of the most recently settled on the planet.
Because it is geographically isolated, New Zealand’s first settlers arrived only around 2000 years ago.
During isolation, the land developed some very distinctive flora and fauna with over 80% of the land covered in forest. After the arrival of humans and introduced species, some animals became extinct as forestland was cleared to make way for settlers.
New Zealand owes its geographic landscape to the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates it sits on. Due to plate movement over millions of years, landmarks have formed such as the Southern Alps, Lake Taupo and Mount Ruapehu to name a few.
Today New Zealand is a tourist attraction due to its serene natural beauty and strong conservation focus. Full of beautiful mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and beaches, there are plenty of recreational activities to entice visitors no matter the season.
In this section you can learn more about how natural landforms were created and what threats they face today.