Story: Sea floor

New Zealand and its seabed

New Zealand and its seabed

This 1996 chart shows the complex sea floor landscape that surrounds New Zealand. The colours indicate sea floor depth. New Zealand’s sea floor covers more than 4 million square kilometres. It encompasses a continental shelf with extensive underwater plateaus (orange to yellow), continental slopes (green to aquamarine), deep sea floor (blue) and deep ocean trenches (mauve).

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NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

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How to cite this page:

Ashley Rowden, 'Sea floor - The sea floor environment', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/map/8945/new-zealand-and-its-seabed (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Ashley Rowden, published 12 Jun 2006