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The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name.
The bay itself
The bay stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The region is bound by the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges in the west and extends inland to the sparsely populated forest lands around Rotorua, Kawerau and Murupara. Several islands are located in the bay, notably Mayor Island/Tuhua, Motiti Island, Whale Island and, most famously, the active volcano of Whakaari/White Island.
The bay was named by James Cook some time during November 1769. Cook named it the Bay of Plenty after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages he visited on the coast, in stark contrast to the observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay.
The region
The local government region has a 2004 estimated population of 257,500, which is forecasted to increase to 277,900 by the year 2011. The region is dominated by two cities: Tauranga (population 106,500) and Rotorua (55,100). As a compromise between the cities, the town of Whakatane was selected as the seat for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Other towns in the region include Te Puke, Katikati and Opotiki. Agriculture and tourism are the region's two main industries, with the geothermal region around Rotorua being a popular tourist destination.
The area is forested and has extensive agriculture. The climate is nearly tropical, being both humid and warm most of the year. Notable crops are kiwifruit, apples, avocados and timber. As with most of New Zealand, sheep farming is common.
Demographics
The total resident population of the Bay Of Plenty region at the time of the 2001 Census was 239,412
Of those, 78.2 percent said they belong to the European ethnic group. 24.4 percent were under the age of 15 years and 9.6 percent were unemployed.
Largest Cities/Towns
Tauranga 106,500
Rotorua 55,100
Whakatane 18,200
Kawerau 7,100
Te Puke 7,050
Opotiki 4,000
Katikati 2,950
Bay of Plenty-East Coast | Territorial Authorities of New Zealand
"Bay of Plenty"