| Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies 30 km south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly fewer than 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.
The island has an area of 1,746 kmē. The north is dominated by the swampy valley of the Freshwater River. The river rises close to the northwestern coast and flows southeast into the large indentation of Paterson Inlet. The highest peak is Mt Anglem, close to the northern coast, at a height of 979 metres. It is one of the peaks in a rim of ridges that surround the Freshwater valley.
The southern half is more uniformly undulating, rising to a ridge that runs south from the valley of the Rakeahua River, which also flows into Paterson Inlet. The southernmost point in this ridge is Mt Allen, at 750 metres. In the southeast the land is somewhat lower, and is drained by the valleys of the Toitoi, Lords and Heron rivers. South West Cape in the southwest, is the southernmost point of the main islands of New Zealand.
Mason Bay, on the west side, is notable as a long sandy beach on an island where beaches are typically far more rugged. One suggestion is that the bay was formed in the aftershock of a meteoric impact in the Tasman Sea.
Three large and numerous small islands lie around the coast. Notable among these are Ruapuke Island, in Foveaux Strait 32 km northeast of Oban; Codfish Island, close to the northwest shore; and Big South Cape Island, off the southwestern tip. The Titi (Muttonbird) Island groups are between Stewart Island/Rakiura and Ruapuke Island, around Big South Cape Island, and off the southeastern coast. Other islands of interest include Bench, Native, and Ulva Island, all close to the mouth of Paterson Inlet, and Pearl, Anchorage, and Noble Island, close to Port Pegasus in the southwest.
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