Little Barrier Island

Little Barrier Island or Hauturu lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the north of Auckland. The island is separated from the mainland to the west by Jellicoe Channel, and from the larger Great Barrier Island to the east by Cradock Channel. The two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean.

The island is an extinct andesitic volcanic cone, roughly circular in shape about 6 km (4 miles) across, with an area of 28 km² (11 miles²). It erupted from 1 million to 3 million years ago, and is most closely related to two volcanoes over 120 km (75 miles) to the northwest, near Whangerei. [] Colloquially known as Little Barrier, the island is steeply sloping, and deeply dissected by ravines radiating from Convert|722|m|ft|0|abbr=on Mount Hauturu.

Uninhabited except for rotational conservation staff, it is one of New Zealand's premier native wildlife sanctuaries and thus access is heavily restricted. The island was named Hauturu, meaning "resting place of the winds", reputedly by the Polynesian explorer Toi. Along with its larger neighbour, it was given its English name by Captain James Cook on November 23 1769.

References

* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/L/LittleBarrierIsland/LittleBarrierIsland/en Little Barrier Island - 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]

External links

* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=34353 Department of Conservation - Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) Nature Reserve]
* [http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/fms/coast/soe09.pdf Cultural Heritage of the Gulf] (brief history on page 5)