Egmont National Park
| Egmont National Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Taranaki, New Zealand |
| Nearest city | New Plymouth, New Zealand |
| Area | 335 km² |
| Established | 1900 |
| Governing body | Department of Conservation |
Egmont National Park is located south of New Plymouth, close to the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named for the mountain which dominates its environs, which itself was named by Captain Cook after John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont, the First Lord of the Admiralty who promoted Cook's first voyage. Taranaki has been the Māori name for the mountain for many centuries, and the mountain is now officially named "Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont".
The park, established in 1900, is dominated by the dormant volcano of Mount Taranaki. The park receives massive annual precipitation which is essentially orographic in origin as moist westerlies moving inland from the Tasman hit Mount Taranaki and the adjacent Pouakai and Kaitake ranges and are thus forced to rise. Since the area has high annual rainfall and mild coastal climate there is a lush rainforest covering the foothills- this forest is nationally significant for the total absence of beech trees ( genus Nothofagus).
Rather, a rich Northern rātā/Rimu/Broadleaf forest is present, although the entire park ecosystem displays distinct patterns of vegetative zonation- the former 2 large species of tree are common at lower elevations whereas Kamahi tends to dominate the stunted high altitude forest. The character of the plant communities continues to change with increasing altitude, to subalpine and alpine shrublands at high elevations, which are in stark contrast to the surrounding pasture farmlands. Notable among the geographical features of the park is its clear radial drainage pattern, which can be roughly discerned in the photo at left.