Caswell Sound

Last updated

Taitetimu / Caswell Sound
Taitetimu (Māori)
Caswell Sound
NZ Fiordland relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Taitetimu / Caswell Sound
Location in New Zealand
New Zealand (relief map).png
Disc Plain red.svg
Taitetimu / Caswell Sound
Taitetimu / Caswell Sound (New Zealand)
Location Tasman Sea
Coordinates 45°0′0″S167°07′30″E / 45.00000°S 167.12500°E / -45.00000; 167.12500
River sources Stillwater River
Basin  countries New Zealand
Max. length16 km (9.9 mi)
Max. width1 km (0.62 mi)

Taitetimu / Caswell Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Contents

Geography

The fiord is located between Te Houhou / George Sound and Taiporoporo / Charles Sound, [1] on the central Fiordland coast. It is 16 kilometres in length, and extends in a roughly west-northwestern direction. The fiord is relatively straight except near its mouth, when it turns northward, and has no major arms or indentations. A small island, Styles Island, sits close to the southern shore at the fiord's entrance to the Tasman Sea.

A straight ridge of peaks lies parallel with the fiord's south shore, between it and the valley of the Juno River. The highest point of these peaks, at 1,485 metres (4,872 ft), lies just to the west of the small mountain lake, Lake Shirley, which flows into the fiord over the Shirley Falls. Mountains also stand against the northern shore of the fiord, several of them rising above 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). [1]

Several small rivers enter the fiord along its southern and northern shores, but the main river feeding the fiord is the Stillwater River, which flows into the fiord's eastern end. Shortly before entering the fiord it flows into the northeastern edge of Lake Marchant, exiting to the fiord at the lake's northwest. Lake Marchant is also fed by the Large Burn, which enters the lake's southern end. [1]

Name

A. W. Reed lists four plausible origins for the fiord's name in his seminal Place Names of New Zealand (1975). The most favoured of these possibilities is that it was named for Jim Caswell, a half-caste Māori or Australian Aborigine guide to an early 19th-century sealing party. Reed does, however, also detail correspondence he had received that suggested that Royal Navy Commander William Caswell was in charge of a survey of the sounds during the 1830s and that other place names in the area make his a likely origin of the name. Confusing things further is the presence of two other naval officers with the surname Caswell (George and Thomas) who had visited the area. [2]

In October 2019, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Taitetimu / Caswell Sound. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford Sound</span> Fiord in the southwest of New Zealands South Island

Milford Sound is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth Wonder of the World. The fiord is most commonly accessed via road by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called Milford Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiordland</span> Geographical region of New Zealand

Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" comes from a variant spelling of the Scandinavian word for this type of steep valley, "fjord". The area of Fiordland is dominated by, and very roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiordland National Park</span> National park on South Island of New Zealand

Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering 12,607 km2 (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wāhipounamu a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 1990. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park, combined with the deep glacier-carved valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doubtful Sound / Patea</span> Fiord in New Zealand

Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zealand's most famous tourism destination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Te Anau</span> Lake in the South Island of New Zealand

Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of 344 km2 (133 sq mi), making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand and the largest in the South Island. It is the second largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume. The main body of the lake runs north-south, and is 65 km in length. Three large fiords form arms to the lake on its western flank: North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. These are the only inland fiords that New Zealand has, the other 14 are out on the coast. Several small islands lie in the entrance to Middle Fiord, which forks partway along its length into northwest and southwest arms. The surface of the lake is at an altitude of 210 m. It has a maximum depth of 425 m, so much of its bed lies below sea level, with the deepest part of the lake being 215 metres below sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eglinton River</span> River in New Zealand

The Eglinton River is located in the region of Southland in the southwest of New Zealand. It flows through Fiordland National Park for 50 kilometres (31 mi). Its headwaters are at Lake Gunn, 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Milford Sound, and it flows generally south before entering Lake Te Anau along the lake's eastern shore opposite the entrance to North Fiord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky Sound</span> Fiord on New Zealands South Island

Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waiau River (Southland)</span> River in New Zealand

The Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland region of New Zealand. 'Waiau' translates to 'River of Swirling Currents'. It is the outflow of Lake Te Anau, flowing from it into Lake Manapouri 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the south, and from there flows south for 70 kilometres (43 mi) before reaching the Foveaux Strait 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tuatapere. It also takes water from Lake Monowai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakituma / Preservation Inlet</span> Fiord in the South Island of New Zealand

Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi), it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound / Patea, and the neighbouring Taiari / Chalky Inlet to the north. Rakituma was briefly the site of an attempted fishing and gold mining settlement at Cromarty during the 19th century, however this was quickly abandoned once the level of gold declined in relation to more promising fields elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradshaw Sound</span> New Zealand fiord

Kaikiekie / Bradshaw Sound is one of the larger New Zealand fiords. It is one of the sub fiords/arms that make up the Doubtful Sound/Thompson Sound complex and forms the northernmost of the blind or dead end fiords in this system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humboldt Mountains (New Zealand)</span> Range of mountains in the Southern Alps of New Zealand

The Humboldt Mountains or Humboldt Range are one of the many ranges which make up the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in the South Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northwest of Lake Wakatipu in the Otago Region. Parts of the range lie within Fiordland National Park, and they form the southern extremity of Mount Aspiring National Park. The range was named by early explorer James McKerrow, and like many geographic features worldwide, it was named in honour of notable scientist Alexander von Humboldt.

Sutherland Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the smallest of the fiords that make up the coast of Fiordland, and the only one with limited sea access. It is the second most northerly of the fiords, 22 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi and eight kilometres northeast of Hāwea / Bligh Sound. The fiord is ten kilometres in length and the Light River and the Dark River flow into the eastern end. The fiord is composed of two main sections - a large bay opening into the sea, and a more traditional fiord as the inner section. These are separated by a narrow channel less than 100 metres (330 ft) wide at its narrowest point.

Thompson Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Sound</span> Fiord of the South Island of New Zealand

Charles Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Te Houhou / George Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Martins Bay is an indentation in the southwest coast of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the south of Big Bay and some 30 kilometres north of the mouth of Milford Sound at the northern tip of Fiordland. The Hollyford River reaches the Tasman Sea at Martins Bay.

Hinenui / Nancy Sound is a fiord on the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost fiords in Fiordland, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand's South Island and part of Fiordland National Park. As with the neighbouring fiords of Tamatea / Dusky Sound to the north and Rakituma / Preservation Inlet to the south, Taiari / Chalky Inlet is a complex fiord with many channels and islands along its roughly 28 km (17 mi) length. Most notably, this includes the sections Moana-whenua-pōuri / Edwardson Sound and Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound, which split at Divide Head in the middle of Taiari and each extend for roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) inland in a V-shape.

The Darran Mountains are a prominent range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. They contain the park's highest peak, Mount Tūtoko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the South Island</span> Overview of the Geography of South Island

The South Island, with an area of 150,437 km2 (58,084 sq mi), is the largest landmass of New Zealand; it contains about one-quarter of the New Zealand population and is the world's 12th-largest island. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft), making it 9th-highest island, with the high Kaikōura Ranges to the northeast. There are eighteen peaks of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in the South Island. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The dramatic landscape of the South Island has made it a popular location for the production of several films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It lies at similar latitudes to Tasmania, and parts of Patagonia in South America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 NZ Topographic Map: Caswell Sound
  2. Reed, A.W. (1975). Place names of New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. pp. 70–71.
  3. "NZGB notices – October 2019". Land Information New Zealand. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.