North Island >> Photo gallery of Taranaki

Photo gallery of Taranaki

Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island and it is named for the region's main geographical feature, Mount Taranaki. Although Maori had called the mountain Taranaki for many centuries, Captain James Cook re-named it Egmont after the Earl of Egmont the recently retired First Lord of the Admiralty who had encouraged his expedition. So, the second-tallest mountain in the North Island - 2,518 m (8,261 ft) - has two alternative official names, "Mount Taranaki" and "Mount Egmont".
Maori legend says that Taranaki previously lived with the Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu mountains in the central North Island but fled to its current location after a battle with Tongariro.
The region is exceptionally fertile, thanks to generous rainfall and the rich volcanic soil, dairy farming predominates.