New Zealand and the Pacific Islands

7th Grade UBD - Unit 8 – The Pacific and Oceania

Preview

New Zealand- A country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, consisting of two major islands.

The Pacific Islands- Geographers divide the Pacific Islands into high islands and low islands. High islands can support a larger population of people than low islands.

Reach Into Your Background

Many people dream of living on a tropical island, or at least visiting one. Do you? Jot down a brief description of your “dream island.”

(5 minutes)

Partner ActivityWork with a

neighbor and compare your list with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)

Key Ideas- New Zealand New Zealand has more than 50 volcanoes, some of which are still

active today. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the right

to vote. Eighty percent of New Zealand’s electricity is provided by hydropower. Tourism is the main industry in New Zealand with over two million

visitors a year. New Zealand’s main exports are lamb, wool, butter, cheese, kiwifruit,

and wine.

New ZealandVideo- New Zealand

Key Term

New Zealand – A country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, consisting of two major islands.

Key Term

Wellington – The capital city of New Zealand.

New Zealand

New Zealand is a remote, mountainous group of islands in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean.

The two main islands, are separated by the Cook Strait. Australia, its nearest neighbor, is 1,000 miles away.

The South Island is home to the highest mountain peak in New Zealand, Mount Cook.

Geography

The islands of New Zealand were created just 23 million years ago when land was thrust out of the ocean by volcanic forces.

New Zealand has more than 50 volcanoes, some of which are still active today.

Geography

The backbone of New Zealand Is a string of volcanic mountains formed along the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. These mountains from the two large island.

The two islands are quite distinct geographically.

Geography

The North Island is narrow and hilly.

Spread across the center is a plateau and an active geothermal region.

The volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers make for a popular tourist destination.

Key Term

Geyser – A natural hot spring that shoots a column of water and steam into the air.

Geography The South Island

is home to the highest mountain peak in New Zealand, Mount Cook, which rises to 12,316 feet and is called "Cloud Piercer" by the Maori people.

Nature Because of its remote location,

New Zealand is rich in unusual wildlife that is not seen anywhere else in the world.

Nearly all the land animals are birds and many of these species have lost the ability to fly.

The Maori people and European settlers introduced animals to the islands and the flightless birds had no defense against them.

Nature

In the last 1,000 years, half of all animals on the islands have become extinct.

Deforestation and draining of swamp land is also threatening many remaining species, including the kiwi bird.

Fewer than 75,000 wild kiwis remain.

Nature Bats are the only land

mammals to have made the ocean crossing to New Zealand.

The giant weta, at 2.5 ounces, weighs three times more than a mouse. It is a relative of crickets and is considered one of the world's heaviest insects also lives in New Zealand.

History

The Maori people arrived by canoe from islands in Polynesia near Tahiti around 1,000 A.D.

In the 1600s, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visited the islands, but his party left after being attacked.

History

In 1769, Captain James Cook came to the islands. The British established settlements and signed a treaty with the Maori in 1840.

History

The Maori protested the treaty after their lands were seized, and in the 1860s, they began a 12-year war against the British for control of the North Island.

Peace was restored to the islands in the 1870s.

History

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote.

The country became a dominion of Britain in 1907 and gained its independence from Britain in 1947.

People and Culture

New Zealanders, or "Kiwis" as they are called, have been shaped by their isolation.

Today, most Kiwis are no longer farmers, with 86 percent of the population living in cities.

More people live on North Island, than the whole population of the South Island.

Urbanization

The vast majority of people live in large cities along the coast. Three out of four New Zealanders live on the North Island.

The North Island has very busy airports and harbors.

Energy

Eighty percent of New Zealand’s electricity is provided by hydropower.

Scientists have determined that the Western coast of New Zealand has the best prospect for small-to-medium scale generation of wave power.

More than a third of New Zealand’s energy is used in transport.

Economy

Tourism is the main industry in New Zealand with over two million visitors a year.

New Zealand’s main exports are lamb, wool, butter, cheese, kiwifruit, and wine.

Maori CultureVideo- Maori Culture

Kiwifruit

Developed in New Zealand in the early 1900s from a vine found in China, the kiwifruit was originally known as the Chinese gooseberry.

However, when exporters wanted to promote the fruit as a memorable New Zealand product. They renamed it “kiwifruit” after the flightless kiwi.

Global Trade PatternsNew Zealand’s economy depends on exporting

many of its agricultural and industrial products. New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, is an important link in the nations' overseas trade. It has a superb

harbor and sits near the middle of the country.

Question- What are some of New Zealand’s agricultural exports?

Global Trade Patterns

Answer- The main exports are lamb, wool, butter, cheese, kiwifruit, and wine.

Questions

1. What percent of New Zealand’s energy is used for transport?

2. Tourism is the main industry in New Zealand with how many visitors per year.

3. New Zealand’s main exports are?

Answers1. What percent of New Zealand’s energy is used for transport?

More than a third of New Zealand’s energy is used in transport.

2. Tourism is the main industry in New Zealand with how many visitors per year.

Tourism is the main industry in New Zealand with over two million visitors a year.

3. New Zealand’s main exports are? New Zealand’s main exports are lamb, wool, butter,

cheese, kiwifruit, and wine.

Key Ideas- The Pacific Islands

Geographers divide the Pacific islands into high islands and low islands.

Most people who live on the Pacific Islands live at a subsistence level. That is, they usually grow or catch only enough to feed themselves.

The rise in sea level predicted by some scientists as a result of global warming presents a major problem to Pacific Islanders since it could make some islands uninhabitable.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/oceania/referencemap_image_view

High Islands and Low Islands

Geographers divide the Pacific Islands into high islands and low islands.

Volcanoes form high islands. They usually have mountains. The soil, which consists of volcanic ash, is very fertile.

Because of their size and because people can grow crops here, high islands support more people than low islands.

High Islands and Low Islands Far fewer people live on low

islands than on high islands. Low islands have poor sandy

soil and little fresh water, so it is difficult to raise crops.

Most low islanders survive by fishing. They may also grow coconuts, yams, and a starchy root called taro.

Key Term

High Islands– A Pacific Island that has been formed by a volcano and is usually mountainous.

Key Term

Low Islands – A Pacific Island that is a reef or small coral island in the shape of a ring.

Key Term

Atolls – A ring-shaped coral island surrounding a lagoon.

Key Term

Coral – A rock like material made up of the skeletons of tiny sea creatures.

Life on Coral Reefs

The bruising force of the Pacific surf is softened by the coral reefs around many islands in this area of the world.

This is important since it helps even small islands survive the hurricanes and storms that rage in the Pacific.

Environmental Change

The rise in sea level predicted by some scientists as a result of global warming presents a particular problem to Pacific Islanders.

A rise of only 8 to 10 inches could make some islands uninhabitable.

Global WarmingVideo- Global Warming

Eyewitness To HistoryReading Activity- Eyewitness To History 24

Economic Activites

Many Pacific Islanders today make their living from farming and fishing.

Coconut products, pineapples, bananas, and some types of fish are exported from the Pacific Islands.

Most people, however, only grow or catch only enough to feed themselves.

Economic Activites

Pacific Island tourism is a growing industry.

Vacationers in search of scenic beauty have increasingly headed for these islands. Fiji, for instance actively promotes tourism.

Airport in this region are also a stopping point for airplanes traveling between North America and Australia.

Economic Activites

Some Pacific Island governments, do not want a large tourist industry.

They fear that visitors might change the indigenous culture.

Toward Independence

Most of the world paid little attention to the Pacific Islands until World War II.

During the war, Japanese and United States forces fought many bloody battles on the islands. Afterwards, many islands became trust territories.

Key Term

Trust Territories – A dependent colony or territory supervised by another country by commission of the United Nation.

Questions

1. Why do far fewer people live on low islands than on high islands?

2. Why do some Pacific Island governments, not want a large tourist industry?

Answers

1. Why do far fewer people live on low islands than on high islands?

This is because low islands are quite small. Also, low islands have poor sandy soil and little fresh water, so it is difficult to raise crops.

2. Why do some Pacific Island governments, not want a large tourist industry?

Some governments fear that visitors might change the indigenous culture.

Independent Activity Using sheets of paper,

design a souvenir T-shirt for New Zealand or the Pacific Islands that identifies their unique physical and cultural characteristics. Then write a half page summary explaining your design choice.

(30 minutes)

Independent Activity

What has been the

“muddiest” point so

far in this lesson? That

is, what topic remains

the least clear to you?

(4 minutes)

Partner Activity Work with a

neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)