Egmont National Park

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Egmont National Park, in New Zealand, is dominated by the dormant volcano of Mt. Taranaki. Since the area has a high rainfall rate and mild coastal climate there is a lush rainforest covering the foothills, changing to subalpine and alpine shrublands at high elevations, which are in stark contrast to the surrounding pasture farmlands. Mt. Taranaki was first named Mt. Egmont by Captain Cook. This full-resolution simulated natural color Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image covers an area of 53.4 x 49.4 km with a spatial resolution of 15 meters per pixel, and was acquired on May 27, 2001.

Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle photographed Egmont National Park in 2002.

Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Image of the Day for October 17, 2003

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Egmont National Park, New Zealand

The lush forests of Egmont National Park, on New Zealand‘s North Island, contrast with the pasturelands outside the circular park boundaries. The unique shape of the park results from its first protection in 1881, which specified that a forest reserve would extend in a 9.6-kilometer radius from the summit of Mt. Taranaki (named Mt. Egmont by Captain Cook). The park covers about 33,500 hectares and Mt. Egmont stands 2518 meters tall. The volcano began forming 70,000 years ago, and last erupted in 1755. A series of montane habitats occur in procession up the flanks of the volcano—from rainforest, to shrubs, to alpine, and finally snow cover.

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Egmont National Park

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