Doubtful sound

	Doubtful Sound ; Māori: Patea
	Geographical location
Coordinates	45 ° 19 ′ S , 166 ° 59 ′ E Coordinates: 45 ° 19 ′ S , 166 ° 59 ′ E
Region ISO	NZ-STL
Country :	New Zealand
region	Southland
Sea access	Tasman Sea
	Data about the sound
entrance	4th 200 m wide
length	around 30 km
width	Max. 2.5 km
Coastline	around 62 km
Water depth	Max. 421 m
Tributaries	Elizabeth River and numerous streams (creeks)
Islands	Bauza Island Utah Island , Shelter Islands , Nee Island , Nee Islets , Hares Ears , Fergusson Island , Elizabeth Island , Rolla Island
	Photography of the sound
	; Doubtful sound

Doubtful Sound with Rolla Island and the entrance to Hall Arm

The Doubtful Sound ( Māori Patea ) is an estuary in Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand . It is also often referred to as " The Sound of Silence " (The Inlet of Silence).

Origin of name

The inlet was named " Doubtful Harbor " by the British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook in 1770 after he was unsure whether it was safe to anchor in the water. 23 years later, the Spanish navigator Malaspina navigated the water, measured it and gave some distinctive points of the sound Spanish names that are still used today.

geography

The Doubtful Sound is located on the west coast of the southern part of the South Island of New Zealand. It begins around 46 km west of Te Anau and extends over a length of around 30 km west to the Tasman Sea , to which it opens to a width of around 4.2 km. Its widest point inland is around 2.5 km. Various other estuaries branch off from Doubtful Sound into the side valleys of the Fiordland mountain landscape . At the eastern end of the sound , these are the approximately 3.4 km long Deep Cove and the approximately 8.5 km long Hall Arm . On the southern side of Doubtful Sound , the Crooked Arm meanders around 15 km to the southwest and a little further out to sea the 5.5 km long First Arm extends into the mountain landscape. About 12 km southeast of the entrance to Doubtful Sound , Pendulo Reach connects to Thompson Sound and Bradshaw Sound to the north . Secretary Island, angled to the north for around 20 km, lies between Doubtful Sound and Thompson Sound .

geology

The Doubtful Sound is, in the classic sense, a fjord that was created by the formation of glaciers. But the early European settlers and seafarers referred to numerous valleys in the Fiordland region as sounds , a name that is actually used for the river valleys flooded from the sea side, just as the sounds originated in the Marlborough Sounds in the north of the South Island. The seafarers, mostly of English or Welsh origin, did not know any fjords from their homeland and so they used the names they knew for the inlets, which are still used today.

Flora and fauna

There is a rich fauna in the water. It is special because there is a layer of fresh water several meters deep on the sea water, which almost does not mix with the sea water. Due to different refraction indices , hardly any light reaches the deeper area, so that species settle there that actually only occur in much greater water depths. These include various starfish and anemones as well as black corals .

In addition to a colony of bottlenose dolphins , thick-billed penguins and New Zealand fur seals can also be found in the sound .

tourism

As the deepest of all inlets in the Fiordland region at 421 m, the coasts and the mountains surrounding the Doubtful Sound are virtually untouched. Only the smaller ships of some companies based in the region undertake day trips into the Doubtful Sound , sometimes with overnight stays on the ships. The tours are also popular because, in addition to the many waterfalls in the waters of the Sound, seals, penguins and dolphins can be observed.

In addition to the guided tours, the fjord is also a popular destination for kayakers. There is a connection either by sea or by a road that starts at Lake Manapouri .

Waterfalls worth seeing are the Browne Falls , Helena Falls and the Lady Alice Falls .

Web links

Commons : Doubtful Sound - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Doubtful Sound Travel Guide

Individual evidence

^ Doubtful Sound / Patea area . Department of Conservation , accessed February 19, 2018 .
^ Enchanting experience in Doubtful Sound . In: Stuff - Southland Times . Fairfax Media , July 4, 2012, accessed February 19, 2018 .
↑ ^a ^b Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 19, 2018 .
↑ Coordinates and longitudes were partly made using Google Earth Version 7.1.8.3036 on February 19, 2018.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Milford Sound & Doubtful Sound . (PDF 1.1 MB) Destination Fiordland , November 2016, accessed on April 7, 2019 .
^ Section C The Marlborough Costal Environment . (PDF 3.98 MB) Marlborough District Council , June 2014, p. 34 , accessed on August 31, 2019 .

[DOC_Doubtful_Sound-1] Doubtful Sound / Patea area . Department of Conservation , accessed February 19, 2018 .

[Stuff_2012_07_04-2] Enchanting experience in Doubtful Sound . In: Stuff - Southland Times . Fairfax Media , July 4, 2012, accessed February 19, 2018 .

[LINZ_Topo250_maps-3] Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 19, 2018 .

[Google_Earth-4] Coordinates and longitudes were partly made using Google Earth Version 7.1.8.3036 on February 19, 2018.

[DF_Milford_Doubtful-5] Milford Sound & Doubtful Sound . (PDF 1.1 MB) Destination Fiordland , November 2016, accessed on April 7, 2019 .

[MDC_Costal_Environment-6] Section C The Marlborough Costal Environment . (PDF 3.98 MB) Marlborough District Council , June 2014, p. 34 , accessed on August 31, 2019 .