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Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island.
Geography
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Marlborough's geography can be roughly divided into four sections. Two of these sections, in the south and the west, are mountainous. This is particularly true of the southern section, which rises to the peaks of the Kaikoura Ranges. These two mountainous regions are the final northern vestiges of the ranges that make up the Southern Alps, although that name is rarely applied to mountains this far north.
Between these two areas is the long straight valley of the Wairau River. This broadens to wide plains at its eastern end, in the centre of which stands the town of Blenheim. This region has fertile soil and temperate weather, and as such has become a centre of the New Zealand wine industry.
Marlborough's fourth geographic zone lies along its north coast. here, the drowned valleys of the Marlborough Sounds make for a convoluted and attractive coastline. The town of Picton is located at the southern end of one of the larger sounds, Queen Charlotte Sound .
People and government
Marlborough is administered by a unitary authority, the Marlborough District Council.
Much of the region's population is found around the coastal plains around and to the south of the mouth of the Wairau, and in smaller settlements along the coast of the Sounds. Other that Blenheim and Picton, Marlborough's towns include Havelock, Renwick, Ward, and Seddon. For some purposes, the town of Kaikoura is also considered part of Marlborough.
Marlborough's world-famous former residents include rocket scientist William Pickering and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ernest Rutherford.
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