Moturoa (island)

This article is about the island off the coast of New Plymouth. For Moturoa / Rabbit Island in the Tasman Region, see Moturoa / Rabbit Island.

Moturoa
Moturoa Island
Motumahanga and Moturoa
Map
Geography
Locationnear Port Taranaki
Coordinates39°02′55″S 174°01′40″E / 39.04861°S 174.02778°E / -39.04861; 174.02778
ArchipelagoSugar Loaf Islands
Length120 m (390 ft)
Width100 m (300 ft)
Highest elevation81 m (266 ft)
Administration
Demographics
Population0

Moturoa is a steeply sloped island off the coast of Taranaki, New Zealand. It is the easternmost and largest of the Sugar Loaf Islands, hence its name, which is Māori for "long island".[1] Moturoa is 120 metres long at its longest point, and around 100 metres wide. It is separated from the Taranaki coast of the North Island mainland by an 800-metre (2,600 ft) wide channel. The entrance to Port Taranaki lies just to the east.[2]

The island has lent its name to Moturoa, a suburb of New Plymouth, which lies on the mainland 1.5 kilometres to the southeast.

A cluster of smaller islands, of which Whareumu (Lion Rock) is the largest, lies some 60 metres off the island's southwest coast.

  1. ^ "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  2. ^ Moturoa NZTopomap. Retrieved 31 August 2019.