Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty
Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi (Māori)
The Bay of Plenty seen from Whakatāne
The Bay of Plenty seen from Whakatāne. The Whakatāne River (foreground) is one of eight major rivers that empty into the bay.
Map
Coordinates37°40′S 177°00′E / 37.667°S 177.000°E / -37.667; 177.000
EtymologyNamed by James Cook for an abundance of resources; Māori name in honour of Toi-te-huatahi
River sourcesRaukokore River, Kereu River, Haparapara River, Motu River, Hawai River, Waioeka River, Waiotahe River, Whakatane River, Rangitaiki River, Tarawera River, Kaituna River, Wairoa River, Wainui River, Aongatete River, Otahu River, Wentworth River, Wharekawa River
Ocean/sea sourcesPacific Ocean
Basin countriesNew Zealand
IslandsMayor Island / Tūhua, Mōtītī Island, Motunau / Plate Island, Moutohora Island, Te Paepae o Aotea, Whakaari / White Island
Sections/sub-basinsWhangamatā Harbour, Tauranga Harbour, Ōhiwa Harbour
SettlementsWhangamatā, Waihi Beach, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki

The Bay of Plenty (Māori: Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi) is a large bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi (the Ocean of Toitehuatahi) in the Māori language after Toi-te-huatahi, an early ancestor, the name 'Bay of Plenty' was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay.