Geography of New Zealand Geography of New Zealand New Zealand ("") is an island country located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, near the centre of the water hemisphere. It is a long and narrow country and comprises around 600 islands. The two main islands by size are the North Island (or "Te Ika-a-Māui") and the South Island (or "Te Waipounamu"), separated by the Cook Strait; the third-largest island, Stewart Island (or "Rakiura"), is located off the tip of the South Island across Foveaux Strait. Significantly smaller islands include Waiheke Island, Chatham Island, Great Barrier Island and more, although many are uninhabited. New Zealand's landscape
Palk Strait Palk Strait The Palk Strait (, Sinhala: පෝක් සමුද්‍ර සන්ධිය "Pok Samudra Sandhiya") is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with Palk Bay in the southwest. The strait is wide. Several rivers flow into it, including the Vaigai River of Tamil Nadu. The strait is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras (1755–1763) during the Company Raj period. Palk Bay is studded at its southern end with a chain of