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Mō te rohe o Waikato About the Waikato region

Regional snapshot

Map of New Zealand, with the Waikato region shown in dark green.

The Waikato is the fourth largest region in New Zealand, covering 25,000 square kilometres. It stretches from the Bombay Hills and Port Waikato in the north down to the Kaimai Ranges and Mt Ruapehu in the south, and from Mokau on the west coast across to the Coromandel Peninsula in the east. The region has 1,138 km of coastline.

The Waikato region has:

  • 9.5 per cent of New Zealand's population
  • the longest river in New Zealand (the Waikato River)
  • the largest lake (Lake Taupō)
  • internationally significant wetlands
  • the country’s most important geothermal systems
  • extensive native and exotic forests, and
  • Tongariro National Park.