The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. The bay stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The region is bound by the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges in the west and extends inland to the sparsely populated forest lands around Rotorua, Kawerau and Murupara.
Several islands are located in the bay, notably Mayor Island/Tuhua, Motiti Island, Whale Island and, most famously, the active volcano of Whakaari/White Island.
The bay was named by Captain Cook some time during October or November 1769. Cook named it the Bay of Plenty after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Maori villages he visited on the coast, in stark contrast to the observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay.
The local government region has a 2004 estimated population of 257,500. The region is dominated by two cities: Tauranga (population 106,500) and Rotorua (55,100). As a compromise between the cities, the town of Whakatane was selected as the seat for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Other towns in the region include Te Puke, Katikati and Opotiki. Agriculture and tourism are the region's two main industries, with the geothermal region around Rotorua being a popular tourist destination.
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