Hawke Bay - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hawke Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It stretches from the Mahia Peninsula

Mahia Peninsula

The Mahia Peninsula is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the cities of Napier and Gisborne.-Geography:The peninsula is long and wide rising to its highest point at Rahuimokairoa reaching about above sea level. Mahia was initially an island which over time, has had...

in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers

Cape Kidnappers

Cape Kidnappers is a headland at the southeastern extremity of Hawke Bay on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located 20 kilometres southeast of the city of Napier...

in the southwest, a distance of some 100 kilometres.

Captain James Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

, sailing in HM Bark Endeavour

HM Bark Endeavour

HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....

, sailed into the bay on 12 October 1769. After exploring it, he named it for Sir Edward Hawke, First Lord of the Admiralty on 15 October 1769, describing it as some 13 league

League (unit)

A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...

s (about 40 miles) across.

This area of the New Zealand coast is subject to tectonic uplift, with the land being raised out of the sea. For this reason, the coastal land in this area has significant marine deposits, with both marine and land dinosaur fossils having been found inland. The Napier earthquake of 3 February 1931 resulted in several parts of the seabed close to the city of Napier

Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

being raised above sea level.

Because the central mountain ranges come close to the coast at the north end of the bay, much of the bay's northerly coastline has deeply eroded tablelands that end in steep seaside cliffs which descend to narrow beaches.

The town of Wairoa

Wairoa

Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...

lies to the north end of the bay, at the mouth of the Wairoa River

Wairoa River

Wairoa is the name of several rivers and streams in New Zealand. Wairoa is Māori for long water.* Wairoa River * Wairoa River * Wairoa River * Wairoa River * Wairoa River...

and its flood plain, while the port city of Napier lies on the coast near the southern end of the bay, on the edge of another flat river flood plain. The Hawke's Bay region, which is distinct from the bay itself, lies on the coastal land around the bay and also in the hinterland to the south.

The bay itself is Hawke Bay, whereas the region which surrounds it bears the bay's former name, Hawke's Bay.

See also