Articles tagged as New Zealand | Smithsonian Magazine

New Research

Hundreds of Blue Whales Are Permanent Residents Off New Zealand’s Coasts

Survey and genetic data show the whales of South Taranaki Bight are a unique population of non-migratory blue whales

May 18, 2018

A spectacular sinkhole the length of two football fields and the depth of a six-story building has opened up on a New Zealand farm.

The gaping chasm has revealed 60,000-year-old volcanic deposits

May 9, 2018

This sphere is now spinning miles above Earth's surface. You can see it with a naked eye glinting across the night sky.

Rocket Lab Launched This Glittery Sphere Into Orbit

The sphere reflects so much sunlight it can be seen from Earth with the naked eye

January 25, 2018

New Research

Scientist Autopsy the Aftermath of the Largest Underwater Volcanic Eruption of the Last Century

In 2012, miles of floating rock appeared in the Pacific. Now, scientists have studied the Havre seamount eruption that caused the mysterious pumice ‘raft’

January 15, 2018

The Volcanoes That Still Threaten New Zealand’s Safety

Ever since the deadly eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, New Zealand has invested heavily in a sophisticated warning system

January 11, 2018

A hasty 1900 pigeongram sent to H. Winkelmann by Charles Werner, a great Barrier Island resident. "Dear Mr Winkelmann," it reads, "Charlie Soborne has smashed his arm last night from the wrist to the elbow by a rifle bullet. His father says that the arm will have to be amputated at once so Ernest asked me to send you this... send a steamer at once to the Barrier... also if possible a lawyer."

This New Zealand Island’s Pigeon Mail Stamps Are Still Prized

Pigeons carried correspondence between Great Barrier Island and the New Zealand mainland for about a decade in the early 20th century

November 1, 2017