Te Houhou / George Sound is a

fiord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of

Fiordland 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, ...

Geography

The fiord is located between

Taitetimu / Caswell Sound 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. Geography The fiord is located between Te Houhou / George Sound and Taiporoporo / Charles Sound, on the cen ...

and

Hāwea / Bligh Sound Hāwea / Bligh Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located in Fiordland, 30 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound, and is 15 kilometres in length. The fiord forms a crooked "Z" shape. Wild Natives River flows into the inner ...

,NZ Topographic Map: George Sound
/ref> on the northern central Fiordland coast. At in length and over wide at its widest point, it is the longest fiord in northern Fiordland. George Sound extends in a roughly northwestern direction, and has two major indentations; Southwest Arm in the south, and Anchorage Cove halfway along its northeastern shore. Several rivers enter the fiord, the largest of which are the George River, the Whitewater River, and the

Edith River The Edith River is a river of Fiordland, New Zealand. It rises to the west of the Edith Saddle and flows westward into Lake Alice, which drains into George Sound. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterways named ...

. The George River flows into Anchorage Cove, halfway along the northeast coast of the fiord. The Whitewater River enters the fiord's southwest coast almost opposite the mouth of the cove. The Edith River and nearby smaller Katherine Creek both enter the southeastern end of the fiord, with the Edith River flowing through Lake Alice and over the Alice Falls into the waters of the fiord. A walking track connects the mouth of Katherine Creek with Lake Hankinson, close to the top of

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the larg ...

, over the Henry Pass.

Name

A. W. Reed lists two plausible origins for the fiord's name in his seminal ''Place Names of New Zealand'' (1975): "Although it has been recorded that the sound was named after the '' King George'', commanded by Captain S. Chase, it is almost certain that it was named after George Stevens, the pilot of HMS ''Acheron''." In October 2019, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Te Houhou / George Sound.

References

Sounds of Fiordland {{Fiordland