Geography
The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island. The region bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay which extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers.
The Hawke's Bay region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges.
The region's boundaries vary somewhat from the former provincial boundaries of Hawke's Bay, and some towns in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region to the southwest, such as Dannevirke and Woodville have a historical association with Hawke's Bay.
The region consists of Wairoa District, Hastings District, Napier City, and Central Hawke's Bay District, as well as the town of Taharua in Taupo District and the town of Ngamatea in Rangitikei District.
One trivial fact is that the region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and the longest in the world according to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from Waipukurau.
| # | Towns with more than 1,000 people | 2010 | 2010 (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hastings | 66,140 | 42% | |
| 2 | Napier | 42,810 | 29% | |
| 3 | Taradale | 16,600 | 11% | |
| 4 | Havelock North | 12,360 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Wairoa | 8,480 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Waipukurau | 4,050 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Waipawa | 1,890 | 1.2% | |
| Total Population | 152,330 | 99% |
Read more about this topic: Hawke's Bay
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