Canterbury

The Canterbury region, bounded on the east by the Pacific and on the west by the Southern Alps, extends for some 100km from east to west and 300km from north to south. Within this area are great plains, torrential rivers and New Zealand's mightiest mountains.

The region has a population of around 440,000, most of them living near the coast. The largest town is Christchurch. The density of population decreases rapidly towards the interior of the South Island and the mountains. Between 1986 and 1991 the population of the whole region increased by 2.2 per cent.