Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames (Māori: Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its southeastern coast.
| Firth of Thames | |
|---|---|
An image showing the Hauraki Gulf. The Firth of Thames is the large bay to the southeast. | |
| Location | North Island of New Zealand |
| Area | 8,927 hectares (22,060 acres) |
Ramsar Wetland | |
| Designated | 29 January 1990 |
| Reference no. | 459 |
Its Maori name is Tikapa. In traditional legend, the firth and the greater Hauraki Gulf are protected by a taniwha named Ureia, who takes the form of a whale.
The firth lies at the southern end of the Hauraki Gulf, southeast of the city of Auckland. It occupies a rift valley or graben between the Coromandel Peninsula and Hunua Ranges, which continues into the Hauraki Plains to the south.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.