Hawke Bay (), formerly named ''Hawke's Bay'', is a large bay on the east coast of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand, surrounded by the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

region. It stretches from

Māhia Peninsula Māhia Peninsula () is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, in the Hawke's Bay region, between the towns of Wairoa and Gisborne. It includes Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1, located near Ahuriri Point at the southern tip ...

in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui in the southwest, a distance of some . Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, sailing in HMS ''Endeavour'', entered the bay on 12 October 1769. After exploring it, he named it for Sir Edward Hawke, First Lord of the Admiralty, on 15 October 1769, describing it as some 13 leagues (about ) across. Hawke had decisively defeated the French at the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as the ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' by the French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off ...

in 1759.

This part of the New Zealand coast is subject to tectonic uplift, with the land being raised out of the sea. For this reason, the coastal land in this area has significant marine deposits, with both marine and land dinosaur fossils having been found inland. The Napier earthquake of 3 February 1931 resulted in several parts of the seabed close to the city of Napier being raised above sea level. Because the central mountain ranges come close to the coast at the north end of the bay, much of the bay's northerly coastline has deeply eroded tablelands that end in steep seaside cliffs which descend to narrow beaches. Despite the bay being renamed ''Hawke Bay'', without an apostrophe, the region surrounding it continues to bear the former name of ''Hawke's Bay''. Several medium-sized towns are located in the immediate surrounds of the bay, including

Wairoa Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mā ...

at the mouth of the Wairoa River and its flood plain in the north, the so-called 'twin cities' of Napier and

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

in the south, and the town of

Havelock North Havelock North () is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local government saw it merg ...

slightly further inland. Napier Port serves as the main export port for the region, and is the second largest in the North Island by tonnage.

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External links

{{Commons category-inline Landforms of Hawke's Bay Bays of New Zealand