French Pass
| French Pass | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Connects waters | Tasman Bay | |
| with water | Admiralty Bay | |
| Separates land mass | D'Urville Island | |
| of land mass | South Island (New Zealand) | |
| Data | ||
| Geographical location | 40 ° 55 ′ 19 ″ S , 173 ° 50 ′ 1 ″ E | |
|
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| Smallest width | 480 m | |
| Greatest depth | 20 m | |
The French Pass ( Māori Te Aumiti ) is a treacherous, narrow strait between D'Urville Island and a very rugged peninsula at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island . The small settlement in Elmslie Bay , which is just under 1 kilometer southeast of the strait, is also referred to as the French Pass .
geography
The strait runs between D'Urville Island and the South Island in a north-easterly direction and connects the Tasman Sea with Admiralty Bay east of the strait , which leads further east to the Cook Strait , via the Current Basin adjoining southwest . At its narrowest point, the French Pass measures 480 meters and is almost in the middle interrupted by rocks jutting out of the water. A 100 meter wide fairway is 20 meters deep, while to the east and west not far from the strait there are depressions of 68 meters and 105 meters.
The French Pass has one of the strongest tidal currents in New Zealand, reaching around 5 to 7 knots, which corresponds to a flow rate of 2.6 to 3.6 meters per second. In order to be able to cross the strait safely even when visibility is poor, the French Pass Lighthouse, which consists of two beacons, is located on both sides of the fairway .
Anatakupu Island is northeast of the French Pass .
history
In the tradition of some Māori tribes, Kupe's pet , a warthog ( King Shag ) named Te Kawau-a-Toru, found its final resting place in the French Pass . The mythical Polynesian explorer Kupe what discovered the Cook Strait with his canoe. While exploring Cook Strait, Kupe was attacked by a giant octopus . During the fierce battle with the octopus, the current shape of the banks of the sound was created. Kupe's bird led him to the French Pass and scouted the area for Kupe. Te Kawau-a-Toru had a huge wingspan and was reputed to be a sacred bird with the "eye of the ancestors" and to have insight into the knowledge of the ancestors. While checking the strait to see if it was safe for Kupe's canoe, Te Kawau-a-Toru was caught in the tidal current, broke a wing and drowned. The jagged reef that adjoins the channel is, according to these myths, the stone-turned-bird Kupes - Te Aumiti a te Kawau-a-Toru (the current that swallowed Toru's Shag). A nearby crag on which the lighthouse now stands are its petrified bones.
The first documented navigation of the canal by a European took place in 1827 by Jules Dumont d'Urville . This crossed the passage on your second trip to New Zealand with the corvette of the French navy Astrolabe . While the ship headed for the narrowest part of the canal, the ship turned sideways and no longer responded to the rudder. The ship hit rocks twice and was then washed over the reef into Admiralty Bay. His experience led d'Urville to remark that no one should attempt the French Pass except in extreme emergency.
In 1888 a round-headed dolphin appeared in the street. For the next 24 years he accompanied the ships passing through for 8 kilometers and became known as the Pelorus Jack . He was also the first dolphin in the world to be protected by law. Pelorus Jack was last sighted in April 1912. The lighthouse keeper at French Pass said he found his crumbling body on the beach.
Tidal current
To the northeast of the French Pass is the Cook Strait with a tidal range of up to 2 meters , on the opposite side Tasman Bay with up to 4 meters. This can lead to a significant pressure gradient across the pass. This is exacerbated by the time lag of the tide on both sides. Flow rates of 5 to 7 knots can be achieved.
Strong vertical currents can occur in the depressions to the east and west of the strait. In March 2000, a group of student divers and their instructor were dragged up to 90 meters into one of these holes by this vertical current. Three divers died and four were injured. The results of the investigation into this incident, which became known internationally as the " French Pass Accident ", led to the diving training courses of all major international diving organizations being revised.
literature
- Robert McNab: Murihiku: A History of the South Island of New Zealand and the Islands Adjacent and Lying to the South, from 1642 to 1835 . Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, Wellington 1909, Discovery of the French Pass, 1827, pp. 367-378 (English, online ).
- Olive Baldwin: Story of New Zealand's French Pass and d'Urville Island . Fields Pub. House, Plimmerton 1979 (English).
- Craig Stevens, Philip Sutton: Measuring Tidal Currents near Cook Strait, NZ . In: Geomares Publishing (Ed.): ADCP Flow Surveys . Volume 11, Number 8. Lemmer, NL September 2007 (English, online ).
- Craig Stevens, Philip Sutton, Murray Smith, Ralph Dickson: Tidal flows in Te Aumiti (French Pass), South Island, New Zealand . In: Royal Society of New Zealand (Ed.): New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research . Volume 42. Wellington 2008, doi : 10.1080 / 00288330809509973 (English).
Web links
- Te Aumiti (French Pass) Tidal Stream. Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 19, 2015 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Stevens, Sutton, Smith, Dickson (2008)
- ↑ a b Te Aumiti (French Pass) Tidal Stream. Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 19, 2015 .
- ^ French Pass Lighthouse. Maritime New Zealand, accessed February 22, 2016 .
- ^ King shag New Zealand Birds. Retrieved March 2.
- ↑ Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal. First peoples in Māori tradition: Te Aumiti (French Pass) Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, October 28, 2008.
- ↑ Baldwin 1979, p. 164
- ↑ Gerard Hutching. Dolphins: The story of Pelorus Jack Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, October 22, 2008
- ^ Heath RA (1978) Semidiurnal tides in Cook Strait. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 12: 87-97.
- ^ Stevens, Sutton, Smith, Dickson (2008)
- ^ G. McGeoch, FM Davis: Analysis of a complex recreational scuba diving accident: French Pass, New Zealand, 2000. In: Diving and hyperbaric medicine. Volume 39, Number 1, March 2009, ISSN 1833-3516 , pp. 20-28, PMID 22753164 .
- ^ Graham McGeoch and F Michael Davis: Analysis of a complex recreational scuba diving accident: French Pass, New Zealand, 2000. In: Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, Issue 39. Rubicon Foundation, March 2009, accessed November 8, 2018 .