Map of New Zealand North Island

New Zealand consists of two major and several smaller islands. The smaller of the two major island is the so called North Island. It is the fourteenth largest island in the world, and around 80% of the country's population lives here. Both the country's capital (Wellington) and the largest city (Auckland) is located on the North Island. There are a couple of indentations around the shape of the island, the Bay of Plenty on the north coast, North Taranaki Bight on the west coast, or the South Taranaki Bight on the southwestern coast. Mount Ruapehu is the highest point on the island, which is also an active volcano. Another prominent active volcano on the island is Mount Taranaki. Lake Taupo, lying almost right at the center of the island is the largest lake of New Zealand. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by the Waikato River.