The Māori name for Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau, means a city “desired by many.” Looking at the unique geography of New Zealand’s largest city, it’s easy to understand where this name came from. Wedged between the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Auckland is home to two harbors, lined by beaches and sprinkled with islands. And dotted across Auckland’s landscape are volcanic cones—humble evidence that the entire city is built on top of a volcanic field of as many as 53 peaks. While the field is considered active, the volcanoes themselves are dormant, with the most recent eruption taking place around 600 years ago. Today, the volcanoes are gentle grassy mounds, broad humps flatter than they are tall, with telltale craters at their center. These volcanoes punctuate the city as popular places to walk and sightsee, but they offer more than just convenient viewpoints. Their modest slopes are layered in Māori history, carrying the archaeological remnants of a time when their fertile volcanic soils sprouted crops and timber palisades. At the link in bio, learn how you can best experience Auckland’s ancestral volcanoes.