The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-MÃÂui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of accounting for approximately % of the total residents of New Zealand.
Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are WhangÃÂrei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, and New Zealand's capital city Wellington, which is located at the south-west tip of the island. Wellington is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state.
During the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South islands were connected by a vast coastal plain which formed at the South Taranaki Bight. During this period, most of the North Island was covered in thorn scrubland and forest, while the modern-day Northland Peninsula was a subtropical rainforest. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating the islands and linking the Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea.
The climate of North Island is mainly temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Mean annual temperatures reach up to in the north. There is a subtropical influence in the Northland Peninsula. Wellington the wettest of major cities in North Island, receiving around of precipitation annually. Auckland and Wellington both receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. Snow is rare at sea level in North Island. Snow has accumulated in Wellington on rare occasions, including in 2011. Wellington is also the windiest city in the world. Smog can occur on calm winter days in Auckland.