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Story: Soils

New Zealand's best soils

New Zealand's best soils

The best soils in New Zealand are found in pockets of land throughout the country, as this map shows. These areas are used predominantly for growing crops, or for market gardening.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Allan Hewitt, Soils – What makes a good soil?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/12342/new-zealands-best-soils (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Allan Hewitt, published 1 March 2009.

Comments


30 January 2017
Hi Gaz. This image is based on an image produced by Landcare which in turn was created from maps prepared by Murray Jesson, Hugh Wilde and Trevor Webb from the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory. Landcare run a ‘Soils portal’ which might be more useful if you want more detailed information: https://soils.landcareresearch.co.nz Regards, Jamie Mackay
Gaz
12 January 2017
Could you please give a link or reference for this map other than just "Landcare"? A version that can be zoomed-in on? Many thanks.