Bay of Islands Geography, History, Location & Facts

The Bay of Islands is in Northland, near the far north of New Zealand's North Island.

Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

Country: New Zealand
Coordinates: 35.2000° S, 174.1667° E
Region: Northland, North Island
Type: Coastal bay and island group

Short answer

Where is the Bay of Islands?

The Bay of Islands is in Northland, near the far north of New Zealand's North Island.

It is a coastal bay with many islands, sheltered waters, historic Maori places, and early European contact sites including Waitangi and Russell.

Country: New Zealand

Region: Northland, North Island

Type: Coastal bay and island group

Landscape: Sheltered bay, islands, inlets, beaches, and peninsulas

Historic places: Waitangi, Russell, Paihia, Kerikeri area

Known for: Maritime geography, Maori history, Treaty of Waitangi context, and coastal travel

Bay of Islands overview

The Bay of Islands is a sheltered coastal embayment and archipelago on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, off the Northland peninsula. Its geography includes approximately 144 islands, protected waters, deep tidal channels, rocky headlands, beaches, and estuaries, giving it historical, cultural, and ecological importance within the region.

Bay of Islands geography

The Bay of Islands is a coastal bay in Northland, New Zealand, known for a broken shoreline, sheltered water, islands, beaches, and small harbors.

Its geography matters because the bay is not one town or one island. It is a wider maritime landscape that includes places such as Paihia, Russell, Kerikeri, Waitangi, and many island landforms.

Bay of Islands history

The Bay of Islands has deep Maori history and became one of the earliest major zones of sustained European contact in New Zealand.

Searches for Bay of Islands history often connect with Waitangi, Russell, missionary activity, maritime trade, and the political context around the Treaty of Waitangi.

Bay of Islands coordinates

Bay of Islands is commonly mapped at approximately 35.2000° S, 174.1667° E, or -35.2000, 174.1667 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 35.2000° S, 174.1667° E

Decimal: -35.2000, 174.1667

Where Bay of Islands is located

The Bay of Islands is on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, off the Northland peninsula, at approximately 35.3°S, 174.1°E. Largely within the Far North District of the Northland Region, it opens to the Pacific Ocean and is framed by headlands including Cape Brett. Whangarei is farther south along the Northland coast. Rias, peninsulas, and estuaries give the surrounding shoreline its irregular form.

Why Bay of Islands is important

The history of the Bay of Islands reflects its Indigenous, maritime, and colonial significance. Ngāpuhi maintain ancestral connections, marae, and customary relationships along its coasts, where islands, estuaries, and sheltered channels have long supported Indigenous coastal economies and social organization. Anchorage, ship provisioning, and coastal settlement also shaped the maritime history of this ria landscape.

Sea-level rise and local tectonic activity formed the drowned river valleys and irregular shorelines. Before European contact, Polynesian communities developed along the coast, leaving archaeological traces at fortified pā sites, including middens and earthworks. Captain James Cook later anchored in the bay and charted parts of it during his Pacific voyages. Sheltered inlets subsequently supported settlements associated with whaling, timber extraction, and ship provisioning. On the southern shore, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi became central to New Zealand’s colonial governance and later land and political histories. Economic change and growing conservation awareness have since altered the use of the bay’s land and waters.

Natural features of Bay of Islands

Deep tidal channels run among the bay’s numerous small, often forested islands. Steep rocky headlands, sandy beaches, sea cliffs, and sheltered coves shape tidal circulation and coastal habitats, while eroded bedrock gives way to sediment-filled estuaries with seagrass beds and saltmarsh. On the seaward edge, Piercy Island, or Motukōkako, contains the natural “Hole in the Rock” sea arch. Around the bay’s settlements, surviving 19th-century structures record early European building traditions within the maritime landscape.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Bay of Islands

Parts of the bay are subject to formal protection and coordinated governance involving national and regional agencies alongside local rūnanga and trusts. The Department of Conservation administers selected terrestrial reserves, and regional councils regulate coastal water quality and resource consents. The Waitangi National Trust manages a significant heritage property on the southern shore, and iwi participate in co-management and customary resource stewardship. Conservation efforts focus on protecting estuarine habitats, controlling sedimentation sources, and monitoring fisheries and marine mammal populations, supported by ongoing scientific programmes and regional environmental monitoring.

Bay of Islands facts

Captain James Cook anchored in and charted parts of the Bay of Islands during his Pacific voyages, contributing to its mapping by European navigators.
Piercy Island, also known by its Māori name Motukōkako, contains the natural “Hole in the Rock” sea arch on the bay’s seaward edge.
Ngāpuhi iwi assert ancestral connections to the Bay of Islands and maintain multiple marae and customary relationships along its coasts.
Some islands within the Bay of Islands combine private ownership with legally protected conservation designations, reflecting mixed land-tenure arrangements.
Sections of the Bay of Islands coastline and several historic structures are listed by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as places of national heritage interest.

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