Auckland
Auckland is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand, with an urban population of about 1.547 million. The city lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, the Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitākere Ranges to the west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
2mild-summer
warm and relatively dry; openmeteo mean 16.1-20.3 °C (Feb warmest 20.3; sea warmest at 21 °C); the sailing and beach season; the drier months (Nov-Feb 2.3-2.5 mm/day)
- the 'City of Sails' season — the Hauraki Gulf, the Viaduct Basin and the west-coast surf beaches (Piha) are the defining summer affordance
- the America's Cup / regatta season and the Waiheke Island wine trips
cool-wet-winter
cooler and slightly wetter; openmeteo mean 11.5-14.5 °C (Jul coolest 11.5); the wetter months (May-Jul 3.4-3.9 mm/day); fog common (Whenuapai averages 44 fog days/year); sea coolest at 14 °C
- the mild wet winter — the indoor cultural season and the west-coast surf; 'snowfall is extremely rare'
- the autumn-winter fog and the SW prevailing winds
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Americas Cup
- the Viaduct Basin hosted three America's Cup challenges (2000, 2003, 2021)
Pasifika Festival
- the Pasifika Festival — the largest of its kind in New Zealand, celebrating the city's Polynesian population
Auckland Lantern Festival
- the Auckland Lantern Festival — the largest of its kind in New Zealand
On the record
source-trackedAuckland has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). It is the warmest main centre of New Zealand.
Snowfall is extremely rare: the most significant fall since the start of the 20th century was on 27 July 1939.
The landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field.
The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water.
One of Auckland's nicknames, the 'City of Sails', is derived from the popularity of sailing. 135,000 yachts and launches are registered in Auckland, and about one in three Auckland households own a boat.
Auckland is home to the largest ethnic Polynesian population of any city in the world.
The percentage of people born overseas was 44.9%, compared with 28.8% nationally.
The Viaduct Basin, on the western edge of the CBD, hosted three America's Cup challenges (2000, 2003 and 2021).
After the Second World War, the city's transport system and urban form became increasingly dominated by the motor vehicle. Arterial roads and motorways became both defining and geographically dividing features of the urban landscape.
Auckland's housing is amongst the least affordable in the world, based on comparing average house prices [to incomes].
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.