Queen Charlotte Sound (New Zealand)

	Queen Charlotte Sound ; Māori: Tōtaranui
	Geographical location
Coordinates	41 ° 14 ′ S , 174 ° 7 ′ E Coordinates: 41 ° 14 ′ S , 174 ° 7 ′ E
Region ISO	NZ-MBH
Country :	New Zealand
region	Marlborough
Sea access	Tasman Sea
	Data about the sound
entrance	11 700 m wide
length	around 40 km
width	Max. 10 km
surface	195.53 km 2
Coastline	318 km
Water depth	Max. 80 m
places	Picton
Tributaries	Waitohi River and numerous streams (brooks)
Islands	Motuara Island , Long Island , Pickersgill Island ( Matapara ), Blimine Island ( Oruawairua ), Allports Island , Marbel Island and various rocks jutting out of the water
Industrial port	Picton
Marina	Picton
Ferry dock	Picton
	Photography of the sound
	; Queen Charlotte Sound , looking northeast, Allports Island on the left

The Queen Charlotte Sound ( Māori Tōtaranui ) is an estuary in the north of the South Island of New Zealand with access to the Tasman Sea .

geography

The 195.5 km ² large Queen Charlotte Sound extends over some 40 km from the ferry port of Picton made in ostnordöstliche direction until his transition into the Tasman Sea between Cape Jackson on the north side and Cape Koamaru on the south side of the 11.7 km wide Access to the sound . In Queen Charlotte Sound , there are six islands Motuara Iceland , Long Iceland , Pickersgill Iceland ( Matapara ) Blimine Iceland ( Oruawairua ) Allports Iceland and Marbel Iceland . By far the largest island, Arapawa Island , extends for around 28 km on the northeast side of the Queen Charlotte Sound and delimits the sound to the southeastern Tory Channel and part of the Cook Strait .

On either side of the Queen Charlotte Sound are two large inlets, Endeavor Inlet and East Bay, as well as more than 20 large bays and a number of coves that are considered smaller bays. The depth of the sound differs on average between 30 m and 45 m, with 75 m being the second deepest point of the sound at the transition to the Tory Channel , which is called the Dieffenbach Point here . Alongside on the west side of Blumine Island there is a fault that has depths between 50 m and 80 m and thus marks the deepest point of the sound .

The tidal current of the inlet is at its center at 1 to 3 knots at the entrance to the Tory Channel and the tidal range at Picton is around 1.5 m. In the main part of the sound, the water exchanges itself once within around 31 days.

geology

Like all sounds , channels and inlets of the Marlborough Sounds , the waters consist of former river valleys flooded by the sea. While the South Island was sinking, the sea level has been rising since the last glacial period , which led to the flooding of coastal areas and coastal valleys.

Shipping

The western part of the Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton is used by Interislander and BlueBridge ferries . When coming from Wellington via Cook Strait , the ferries turn from the Tory Channel into Queen Charlotte Sound and follow it to the ferry terminal at Picton . Freight and cruise ships also use the Sound with their destination Picton . There are two marinas in Picton and Waikawa that serve as departure points for cruises in the Marlborough Sounds , Cook Strait and the Tasman Sea.

Shipping accidents

There are around 57 shipwrecks on the bottom of the Marlborough Sound , some of them in Queen Charlotte Sound . The Shamrock capsized and sank in 1834, taking 10 sailors into the depths and in 1849 the schooner Comfort with a crew of six mysteriously disappeared in the sound . But the most famous and final accident occurred on February 15, 1986 when the cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov , coming from Picton , rammed a rock near Cape Jackson and on the following day around 11 km southwest at Gannet Point in Port Gore Bay , west of the Queen Charlotte Sound , sank.

literature

Rob Davidson, Clinton Duffy, Peter Gaze, Andrew Baxter, Sam DuFresne, Shannel Courtney, Peter Hamill : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . Marlborough District Council , September 2011 (English, Online [PDF; 1.1 MB ; accessed on February 22, 2018]).

Web links

Commons : Queen Charlotte Sound - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 19 .
↑ Coordinates and longitudes were partly made using Google Earth Version 7.1.8.3036 on February 20, 2018.
↑ Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 22, 2018 .
↑ Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 90 .
↑ Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 91 .
↑ Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 16 .
↑ ^a ^b Oliver Lewis : Add them to the list: Underwater survey discovers new wrecks in Marlborough Sounds . In: Stuff - National . Fairfax Media , September 1, 2017, accessed February 22, 2018 .
^ The Last Cruise of the Mikhail Lermontov. In: The New Zealand Maritime Record . New Zealand National Maritime Museum , accessed February 22, 2018 .

[Davidson_ua_S19-1] Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 19 .

[Google_Earth-2] Coordinates and longitudes were partly made using Google Earth Version 7.1.8.3036 on February 20, 2018.

[LINZ_Topo250_maps-3] Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 22, 2018 .

[Davidson_ua_S90-4] Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 90 .

[Davidson_ua_S91-5] Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 91 .

[Davidson_ua_S16-6] Davidson et al. a. : Ecologically Significant Marine Sites in Marlborough, New Zealand . 2011, p. 16 .

[Stuff_2017_09_01-7] Oliver Lewis : Add them to the list: Underwater survey discovers new wrecks in Marlborough Sounds . In: Stuff - National . Fairfax Media , September 1, 2017, accessed February 22, 2018 .

[NZ_NMM_Mikhail_Lermontov-8] The Last Cruise of the Mikhail Lermontov. In: The New Zealand Maritime Record . New Zealand National Maritime Museum , accessed February 22, 2018 .