page_title: Palmerston North
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Palmerston North / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Palmerston North, New Zealand; city centre from the fourth floor of Palmerston North Hospital.
context_page_description: Palmerston North is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manawatu River, 35 km from the river's mouth, and 12 km from the end of the Manawatu Gorge, about 140 km north of the capital, Wellington. Palmerston North is the country's eighth-largest urban area, with an urban population of 80,300.
  The official limits of the city take in rural areas to the south, north-east, north-west and west of the main urban area, extending to the Tararua Ranges; including the town of Ashhurst at the mouth of the Manawatu Gorge, the villages of Bunnythorpe and Longburn in the north and west respectively. The city covers a land area of 395 square kilometres.
  The city's location was once little more than a clearing in a forest and occupied by small communities of Māori, who called it Papa-i-Oea, believed to mean "How beautiful it is". In the mid-19th century, it was settled by Europeans—originally by Scandinavians and, later, British colonists.
context_section_description: Although the land Palmerston North is situated on is bounded by the lofty Ruahine and Tararua ranges in the east and south respectively, the city has a predominantly flat appearance. The occasional rise in elevation occurs further away from the river and is especially pronounced in the north and northeast, and also on the south side of the river. The typical urban area elevation ranges between 20–40 metres (65–130 ft) above sea level.
  The highest point is 760 metres (2,493 ft) above sea level. This is in the Tararua ranges, south-east of Scotts Road.
  The lowest point is 10 metres (33 ft) above sea level. This is at the river bank near Te Puna Road. Incidentally, both these locations are in the south-west of the city, by Linton.
  There are 5.54 square kilometres (1,369 acres) dedicated to public reserves.
  The length of the Manawatu river within the city boundary is 29.9 kilometres (18.6 mi) and its tributary at Ashhurst, the Pohangina, is 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi).
caption: Looking southeast towards Palmerston North city centre from Palmerston North Hospital. In the distance is Tararua Range.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-P200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2006:07:02 10:09:49", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Tag 0x5012": "1", "Image ExifOffset": "274", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Image Contrast": "Normal", "Image Saturation": "Normal", "Image Sharpness": "Normal", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "602", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "1544", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "9", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:07:02 10:09:49", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:07:02 10:09:49", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "187/10", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944"}